Mumbai: MahaRERA to provide counselling, advisory services to home buyers & builders

The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has become the first such body in India to provide counselling and advisory services to homebuyers and builders. The services will be offered at the regulator's head office in Bandra Kurla Complex, on the fourth floor.

Officials with the real estate regulator anticipate homebuyers to make more use of the latest facility as compared to the developers, the majority of whom already have lawyers within their company. Usually, when faced with any legal issue, the flat purchasers have to scout for a lawyer who charges a counselling fee per sitting.

“With an aim to become more approachable to home buyers, we will provide our services without any fee. The individual need not also seek an appointment and can directly walk in to get guidance,” said a MahaRERA official.

Issues faced by home buyers

Some of the most common grievances faced by the home purchasers include not receiving possession of the apartment booked, poor quality of construction and a delay by the developer in delivering the project, among others.

At the office, the counsellors will facilitate the homebuyers as well as realtors to file a complaint, provide assistance on how to seek relief for their problem, get updates on their complainant status, details about the next hearing date, etc.

For the developers, the nature of queries will differ, such as on how to register or update the project details on the portal, account for the money received, updates on litigations, etc.

Meanwhile, estate agents will not have the benefit of the service.