MahaRERA Issues Show Cause Notice To 563 Developers For Non-compliance

Maharashtra Regulatory Authority of India (MahaRERA) has sent show-cause notices to 563 developers for non-compliance with uploading details on its website for homebuyers.

According to an official press note issued by MahaRERA, the developers have been issued notices under the Immovable Property Act. According to the Immovable Property Act, 746 projects registered with the real estate regulator in January had to register and update certain forms on the website containing the details of registrations, money received, money spent, etc. This is a legal provision to make this basic information available to homebuyers who have or will invest in these projects.

In May, MahaRERA gave each of these developers a 15-day show-cause notice to correct this data. On the website, 183 of the developers have updated their quarterly reports. The disregard for customers displayed by the remaining 563 developers was seriously noted by MahaRERA. All of them have received show-cause letters under section 7 asking them to provide justifications for not having their projects' registrations revoked. The developers have been given 45 days to answer; if they fail to do so, their project registration may be cancelled. In that situation, all project-related activities, including the bank account, new registrations, and construction, may be put on hold.

Starting in Q1, the regulatory authority started reviewing the projects' financial quarterly progress reports (Financial Quarter Based Project Progress Reporting System). MahaRERA is trying to increase transparency in this industry so that homeowners can have access to all project-related information. In addition to the Real Estate Act's Rules 3, 4, and 5, Order No. 33/2022, dated 5 July, 2022, mandates that every developer update the required statement forms on the website on a quarterly or annual basis. It contains significant customer-related information, such as modifications to the authorised building plan, the project's current state, the number of plots, apartments and garages registered for the project, and the amount of funding received.

A press note issued by MahaRERA says, "All these aspects are explained to the developers while registering their project with MahaRERA. It is also clearly mentioned in the MahaRERA Project Registration Certificate issued to them. Despite this and despite giving ample opportunity to notice, 563 out of 746 developers have not updated their quarterly forms on the website. Therefore a show cause notice under Section 7 has been issued to all of them."