The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) currently has a total of 36,869 projects registered at the moment, of which only 26 per cent have been completed while 73 per cent of projects are incomplete.
It is mandatory to register any real estate projects with MahaRERA otherwise action is liable under the RERA Act. In fact, the developer (promoter) cannot even advertise inventories without getting a valid registration approval from the authority. The aim is to hold developers accountable for completing the project on time as buyers' and homebuyers' interests are directly associated with this.
According to MahaRERA, in 2022, a total of 648 projects lapsed the deadline. Therefore, these 648 projects cannot be advertised, marketed, booked, sold, or offered for sale, and persons cannot be invited to purchase any plot, apartment or building in any of these projects.
Moreover, MahaRERA has issued recovery warrants amounting to Rs 461.31 crore to 316 registered projects in the Mumbai suburban section, while 25 warrants, amounting to Rs 63.91 crore, have been issued in Mumbai city.
Meanwhile, developer associations like the Builders Association of India (BAI), Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India - The Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (CREDAI-MCHI) and National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) have already shown interest in abandoned projects that are registered with MahaRERA. However, these associations want the regulatory intervention so that in case of a new developer takes up these projects, they will not have to bear the liabilities of the erstwhile developer. Additionally, they are looking for financial support from the state government.
Anand Gupta, chairperson, housing and RERA committee of BAI said, “If these projects are undertaken by other developers it will not just instil confidence among homebuyers that they will get their home which is stuck today in those incomplete projects, but the industry will also work. Thus, more houses will be built, taking further the central government initiative of housing for all.”
