The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) was introduced in 2016, which is applicable pan India. The RERA aims to develop and safeguard the interest of homebuyers and prevent them from being misused or duped by real estate agents or builders. The RERA has mandated the registration of the builders and real estate agents. Every state has its own RERA rules, such as Delhi RERA, GujRERA, MahaRERA, RERA Karnataka, RERA Bihar, etc.
In this article, we will discuss whatMahaRERA is, its features and benefits, is MahaRERA approval mandatory, how to register on the MahaRERA portal, documents required for registration, how to file a complaint on MahaRERA, how to report unregistered Agent or project, how to check for registered Agent or project, can RERA authority take action against unregistered projects?
What is MahaRERA?
Th Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (General) Regulations, 2017 (“MahaRERA”) regulate the real estate sector of Maharashtra.
Maharashtra is the first state to implement the RERA act fully. MahaRERA does not allow the advertisement and transaction of unregistered real estate projects. The RERA act mandates the registration of projects larger than 500 sq. m or comprising eight apartments.
MahaRERA has mandated the following:
a) Registration of real estate projects and agents;
b) Sale of flats, buildings, and plots in a transparent manner;
c) Interest of the people such as customers, real estate agents, allottees and promoters involved in real estate transactions should be protected;
d) Resolve any dispute through a dispute resolution mechanism;
e) Set up an appellate tribunal for buyers to resolve the disputes;
f) Suggest the appropriate government authorities promote and develop the real estate sector.
What are the features of MahaRERA?
Following are the features of MahaRERA:
- Applicability: MahaRERA governs the registration for the State of Maharashtra as well as the Union Territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
- Grievances: The regulatory authority has received 8968 complaints from 23rd September 2019. Eight thousand three hundred fifty-one were against registered projects, and 617 were against unregistered projects. The regulatory authority has resolved 5355 disputes against registered projects and 351 against unregistered projects.
- Easy to access: The MahaRERA portal is easy to access and use by the customers. The website contains detailed information about the real estate agent, builders, and projects registered on the portal—this information about the expected possession date, brokers credibility, project completion date, etc.
- Buyer-oriented: The website is specially made for the benefit of the buyers as only the registered projects are advertised on the website. So, there is less chance of being conned, and any delay in the project completion can be stringently handled. Moreover, if there is any delay in handing over of property by the developer and the buyer does not wish to withdraw from the project, then the allottee or buyer is eligible for receiving compensation by way of refund along with the interest amount for every month until the project is handed over.
Benefits of MahaRERA
As the real estate sector has its own risk involved, getting yourself registered on the MahaRERA portal is highly recommended. Following are the benefits of MahaRERA registration:
- Transparency: Registration of projects, agents, and buyers has enabled the buyers to get the information about the project that are advertised, know when the project is ready for possession, such other information related to the property that is being purchased. The buyers have the right to get information about the project’s progress. The developers are obligated to register and submit all the reports related to the project at the portal. Failure to report will attract a penalty. Thus, thereby creating transparency among the users.
- Penalty: Due to MahaRERA, the builders cannot collect funds from the investors and invest in other projects, as the down payment has been fixed at 10%. Failure to comply with these provisions will attract an imprisonment of 3 years and a fine.
- Standardized Carpet Area: RERA has put forward a standard method for calculating the carpet area. The developer or the builder will have to clarify with the RERA about the carpet area for homebuyers. As the price of a property depends on the carpet area, the builder must check the standard carpet area calculation method.
- Accountability: MahaRERA has made the developers accountable to the regulatory authorities. It has also mandated the developers to deposit 70% of all the funds collected from the investors for a particular project into a single account. These funds should be used only for the cost of land or construction purposes. The developer should also report the project’s progress to the regulatory authority.
- Fault in construction: If there is any structural defect in the construction of the property, then the RERA mandates the developer to repair the said defect within 30 days from the date the defect is detected. Defects in the property beyond 5 years of possession will not be repaired.
- Trust: The transparency and accountability feature of the MahaRERA has built the buyers’ trust and revived the real estate sector.
- Appellate Tribunal: RERA has set up an appellate tribunal that looks into the matters relating to commercial or residential properties. Suppose you face any problem or are not satisfied with the construction. In that case, you can approach the appellate tribunal if there is any defect in the construction. The appellate tribunal will try to resolve the dispute within 60 days from the date of application.
Is RERA approval mandatory?
RERA aims to regulate the real estate sectors and settle disputes relating to the real estate industry. The RERA act has made it compulsory for each state and union territory to set up its RERA to monitor the homebuyer’s or investors’ interests and promote transparency in the real estate sector.
Every promoter or developer should register their project with their respective RERA portal. The consumers, i.e., the homebuyers or investors, should invest only in projects that are registered with RERA because unregistered real estate projects are illegal, and the investors should verify whether the project is registered or not. The promoters who have not reported their project will face a penalty of fine or imprisonment as the case may be.
Each project that is registered gets a registration number. Therefore, the promoter or developer should mention their registration number allotted through RERA when advertising or promoting their projects.
How to register on the MahaRERA portal?
Following is the process for registering on the MahaRERA portal:
1) Firstly, Log in to the website at: https://maharerait.mahaonline.gov.in/
2) Next, under the Login button, select the New Registration link;
3) In the new window, select the user type, namely; promoter, Real Estate agent, or complainant;
4) Fill in all the required information;
5) Verify your email address;
6) Lastly, Submit all the required documents.
Documents required for registration
The documents required for registration at the MahaRERA portal are:
For Promoter:
PAN Card of promoter
Name, current photograph, address, contact details of promoter
Copy of the legal title report.
Encumbrances details
Copy of the building plan approval and layout approval.
Signed allotment letter and agreement for sale.
In the event, the promoter is not the owner of the property where construction will take place, copy of collaboration agreement, joint development agreement, development agreement, and such other agreement that the promoter and owner of the property have entered into, reflecting the consent and title of the owner.
Declaration in Form B
Architect Certificate (Form 1 – compulsory for ongoing projects only)
Architect Certificate (Form 4)
CA Certificate (Form 3)
CA Certificate (Form 5).
Engineer (Form 2 – compulsory for ongoing projects only)
Commencement Certificates.
For Agent:
PAN Card, Aadhar Card, DIN
Details of the enterprise; Certificate of Registration
Memorandum of Association
Articles of Association
A current photograph of the Agent
Copy of address proof of principal place of business, telephone number, email address, fax number, etc.
Self-attested copy of Letterheads, rubber stamp
Acknowledgement receipt that real estate agent will use
Three years declaration on income tax returns
Details of real estate projects and promoters on whose behalf the Agent has been working for five years (if any)
Previous Civil or criminal records (if any).
The Agent will be either registered or rejected within 30 days from the date of application.
Can the RERA authority take action against unregistered projects?
Yes, the RERA authority has the right to take action or penalize the builders or developers whose projects are unregistered. So, if the project is being delayed incessantly, or if the project has been applied for Occupancy Certificate, then, no matter if the project is registered or not, the RERA has the authority to take action to redress the grievances of the home buyers and direct the developer to rectify the problem. Suppose the developer refuses to comply with RERA’s order. In that case, the home buyer or the investor shall be liable to receive compensation from the developers.
How to file a complaint on MahaRERA?
MahaRERA has developed an online compliant redressal mechanism to file your complaint. Following are the steps to register a complaint on MahaRERA:
1. Create your account by registering to the portal at https://maharerait.mahaonline.gov.in/
2. Click on ‘New Registration’.
3. Enter all the details as required, such as user type, username, mobile number, password, email address, state, and captcha code.
4. Login to your account.
5. Click ‘Account’ and fill in all the details to complete My Profile.
6. Click ‘Complaint Details’ and select ‘Add New Complaints’ and fill in all the details as required.
7. Upload all the required documents.
8. After filing a complaint, click on ‘Payment’ to make payment. Payment can be made using any mode, either online or offline.
How to check registered agents or projects on the MahaRERA website?
To check the registration of the project, follow the given steps:
- Login to the MahaRERA portal and click on ‘Registration’ at the top menu
- Next, Click on ‘Registered Projects .’ You will be redirected to an external window called ‘Search Project Details’ (make sure to enable the pop-up).
- Now, select the user type (Registered Projects or Registered Agents), Project name, promoter name, MahaRERA Project/Agent registration number, and click ‘Submit.’To check the registration of Agent, follow the given steps:
- Login to the MahaRERA portal and click on ‘Registration’ at the top menu
- Next, Click on ‘Registered Agents’. You will be redirected to an external window called ‘Search Project Details’ (make sure to enable the pop-up).
- Now, select the user type (Registered Projects or Registered Agents), Agent name, MahaRERA Project/Agent registration number, and click ‘Submit.’
How to report unregistered projects?
As a responsible citizen, one can also report any unregistered projects.
Unregistered projects can be reported on the MahaRERA portal by following the given steps:
- Login to the portal and click on ‘Non-Registration’ from the top menu.
- Select ‘Inform Non-Registration’ from the drop-down menu.
- Now, you will be directed to a new window called ‘Source Information/ Source complaint’, where you are required to fill in all the details of the complainant and unregistered project.
- Next, you will receive a Source Information (SI) number for tracking your complaint.
MahaRERA and expired projects
MahaRERA is trying to regulate the expired project. The developers whose projects are expired can apply for an extension from MahaRERA and submit all the required documents.
This acts as a great relief to the home buyers and investors who have invested in the project. Furthermore, by submitting Form 5 (account statement’s annual report) in accordance with Regulation 4 of MahaRERA, the developer is granted an extension of three months.
However, during a pandemic, where the construction work was put on hold due to lack of labour, lockdown, restrictions, lack of raw materials, etc. the MahaRERA had granted an extension of six months.
Conclusion
The real estate sector has revived after the introduction of the RERA act. The home buyers and investors have built up confidence in investing in the real estate sector as the RERA act has made it compulsory to register agents, developers, and projects. MahaRERA has eased the life of homebuyers. It is a transparent and wholesome portal where you can easily inquire about the agents and developers, watch the progress of the project, and report about any wrongful act of the developer.
