Homebuyers have filed 29,374 complaints against 5,508 real estate projects in Maharashtra with the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA), according to data accessed by HT.com from the MahaRERA.
The data shows that a majority of these complaints are linked to projects that were already underway before the implementation of RERA in the state in May 2017.
Of the 5,508 projects with complaints, 3,473 were ongoing prior to MahaRERA’s launch, while 2,035 were registered after the regulatory framework came into effect.
Since its inception, MahaRERA has registered 50,131 real estate projects across Maharashtra. Of these, 17,280 projects have been marked as completed, and developers have submitted the required documentation to verify their completion.
However, over 13,300 projects have been declared lapsed by MahaRERA, according to the latest data.
Status of complaints
Of the total 29,374 complaints filed by homebuyers in Maharashtra, 23,908 were related to projects launched before the implementation of RERA, while 5,466 complaints were against post-RERA projects, according to data from MahaRERA.
The data showed that the authority has disposed of 21,888 complaints out of 29,374 filed, reflecting a resolution rate of approximately 74%.
Conciliation route gaining traction in dispute resolution
According to MahaRERA officials, many homebuyers and developers have opted for the conciliation route to resolve disputes amicably.
As per the data, a total of 6,474 complaints have been referred for conciliation so far.
“Conciliation has been successful in 2,006 cases, which is around a 30% success rate. We are taking several steps to ensure complaints by homebuyers are resolved by our intervention. As many as 81% of the complaints filed against projects ongoing since pre-RERA inception have been disposed of, and 46% of the complaints filed against projects ongoing post-RERA inception,” Manoj Saunik, chairman of MahaRERA, told HT.com.
“We are also conducting physical hearings of complaints whenever requested. However, the majority of the homebuyers prefer online hearing of complaints, considering the ease and comfort of the same. I have heard complaints from several Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) who have praised the option of online hearing. But, nonetheless, we are open for physical hearing too,” Saunik said.
MahaRERA registration profile
Data shows that MahaRERA is the only real estate regulatory body in India that has registered over 50,000 real estate projects. Of these, around 50% are registered in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Pune alone.
Tamil Nadu stands second with 27,609 and Gujarat, third, with 15,322 residential projects.
The regulator said that almost one-third (around 35%) of the country’s housing projects are registered in Maharashtra.
According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs data shared by MahaRERA, all the RERA bodies in the nation have approved 1,44,617 housing projects.
MahaRERA established in 2017
MahaRERA was established in May 2017 under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, with the aim of bringing transparency and accountability to the real estate sector, including developers and agents.
According to the latest data, over 50,000 real estate projects are currently registered with MahaRERA. Pune district has the highest number of projects, 12,788, followed by Thane, 6,746, Mumbai suburbs, 5,907, and Raigad, 5,360.
