MahaRERA:how to file a complaint against a builder

What MahaRERA is, and what it changed

MahaRERA is the regulator for real estate in Maharashtra, set up under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. Before it existed, a buyer whose possession date slipped by three years had the choice of a civil suit or a consumer complaint, both of which could take longer than the delay itself.

The Act changed three things that matter in practice. Projects above a threshold must be registered, and cannot be advertised or sold until they are. A proportion of the amounts collected from buyers must be kept in a separate account for that project, which limits the diversion of money from one project to another. And a specialised forum hears disputes, with timelines written into the statute.

For a buyer, the first practical consequence is that the project's registration page is a public record. It carries the sanctioned plan, the declared completion date, the approvals obtained, and the quarterly progress the promoter has reported. Much of what a buyer would otherwise have to take on trust is verifiable before signing.

RERA full form, and what the Act actually does

RERA stands for the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. It is a central Act, but real estate is a State subject in practice, so each State constituted its own Authority under it. Maharashtra's is MahaRERA. The Act created three things that did not exist before: compulsory project registration, a ring-fenced project account, and a specialised forum with statutory timelines.

What the Act requires of a promoter

• Register the project before advertising, marketing, booking or selling any unit — for projects above the prescribed threshold of land area or number of apartments
• Deposit seventy per cent of the amounts realised from allottees into a separate account, to be used only for construction and land cost of that project
• Disclose on the portal the sanctioned plan, layout, approvals, the declared completion date, and quarterly progress
• Register agents — brokers dealing in a registered project must themselves be registered
• Rectify structural defects, or defects in workmanship, quality or services, brought to notice within five years of handover — within thirty days and free of charge
• Form the association of allottees and convey title within the periods prescribed

What changed for a buyer

The practical change is that a great deal of what used to be taken on trust is now a public record. The declared completion date is filed, not promised verbally. The carpet area is defined by statute, not by the builder's definition. The approvals either exist on the portal or they do not. Much of the due diligence that once required a lawyer and a site visit can now begin with a search.

Carpet area under RERA: the definition that ended the dispute

Before RERA, “super built-up area” meant whatever the builder said it meant, and buyers routinely paid for a large share of space they could not use or identify. The Act ended this by defining carpet area in the statute itself and requiring that the agreement state it.

The model agreement for sale prescribed under the Maharashtra rules also addresses changes after booking. Where the carpet area actually delivered is less than that agreed, the promoter must refund the excess amount with interest. Where it is more, the promoter may charge for the increase only within a prescribed limit.

How to check a RERA registration number and project status

This is the single most useful thing a buyer can do before paying anything, and it takes a few minutes. A project's registration page is a public record filed by the promoter.

1. Open the State Authority's portal For Maharashtra, that is maharera.maharashtra.gov.in. Every State has its own; use the official one rather than an aggregator, because aggregators go stale.
2. Search by project name, promoter name or registration number The registration number appears in every advertisement and on every hoarding — the Act requires it. If an advertisement does not carry one, that itself is a finding.
3. Open the project page and read the filings Check the declared completion date, the approvals uploaded, the sanctioned plan, the land title documents, and the litigation disclosures.
4. Read the quarterly progress reports This is the part most buyers skip and it is the most revealing. The promoter files its own statement of progress each quarter. A project at thirty per cent completion six months before its declared handover date has told you something, in its own words.
5. Check the promoter's other projects Search the promoter's name rather than the project. A developer with three registered projects all running past their declared dates is a different risk from one with a clean record.
6. Check the agent too Agents dealing in registered projects must themselves be registered. Verify the agent's registration number.

Plots and small projects

Registration is not required where the land is 500 square metres or less, or the project has eight or fewer apartments across all phases (States may set a lower threshold). Plotted developments above the threshold are covered as well. Below the threshold, registration is not required — which means the absence of a registration number is not automatically a red flag, but it does mean the protections of the Act and the portal disclosures are not available to you.

Documents to gather before you file

A MahaRERA complaint is decided largely on documents. Assembling them properly before filing is most of the work, and a complaint filed without them tends to generate directions to produce them rather than relief.

If your project is outside Maharashtra

RERA is a central Act, so the structure is the same everywhere: a State Authority, a registration portal, a complaint under the same provision, an Appellate Tribunal, and the same core entitlements on delay. What varies by State is the fee, the portal design, the registration thresholds and the procedural rules, each State having framed its own.

The method described on this page therefore transfers. Find your State's Authority, search the project, read the filings and the quarterly progress reports, assemble the agreement and the payment record, and file under the same provision. What you should check locally is the complaint fee, the prescribed form, and whether your State accepts filings online or requires a physical set.

What you can complain about

Filing the complaint, step by step

1. Check the project on the portal Search the project on maharera.maharashtra.gov.in and open its registration page. Note the MahaRERA registration number, the declared completion date, and the quarterly progress reports. Download or screenshot what is relevant — these are the promoter's own filed statements.
2. Assemble your documents The registered agreement for sale, the allotment letter, every payment receipt and bank statement showing payments made, the demand letters you received, your correspondence with the builder, and the brochure or advertisement if you are relying on what it promised.
3. Register on the portal and create the complaint Use the complaint-filing link on the MahaRERA site to create a user account, select the complaint option, and identify the project by its registration number. MahaRERA also runs a conciliation and dispute-resolution forum, worth trying where the builder is willing to settle. The form asks for the parties, the project, the facts, and the relief sought.
4. State the facts in a dated sequence Booking date, agreement date, amounts paid with dates, the possession date promised in the agreement, the date it passed, and what has happened since. A clear chronology does more work than strong language.
5. Say exactly what relief you want Interest for delayed possession, refund with interest, compensation, or a direction to complete and hand over. Be specific, because the Authority grants relief on what is asked for.
6. Pay the fee and submit Pay the prescribed fee online — currently ₹5,000 per complaint, though you should confirm the figure on the portal before paying. Save the acknowledgement and the complaint number.
7. Attend the hearings Hearings are listed and notified through the portal, and many are conducted online. Keep the complaint number safe; it is how the matter is tracked.

What relief the Authority can give

The Act sets out what an allottee is entitled to where the promoter fails to complete or hand over by the agreed date. The allottee chooses between two routes:

• Withdraw from the project — and receive the amount paid, with interest at the prescribed rate, together with compensation
• Continue in the project — and receive interest for every month of delay until possession is handed over

Refund and interest are ordered by the Authority; a claim for compensation is decided by MahaRERA's Adjudicating Officer (Section 71), so frame it accordingly. Alongside these, the Authority can direct the promoter to complete the project, to rectify defects within the defect liability period, to comply with the sanctioned plan, and to discharge the other obligations the Act imposes. It can also impose penalties for contraventions such as failure to register.

Appeal and enforcement

An appeal against a MahaRERA order lies to the Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal within sixty days of receiving a copy of the order; a late appeal can be admitted for sufficient cause. Where a promoter appeals against an order directing payment to a buyer, the promoter must first deposit the entire amount payable, including interest and compensation (or at least 30% of any penalty) — a provision designed to stop appeals being used purely to delay payment.

An order that is not complied with is recoverable as an arrear of land revenue. In practice, recovery warrants are issued through the district administration where a promoter does not pay. If an order in your favour is not honoured, the next step is a recovery application rather than a fresh complaint.

Frequently asked questions