Why the number matters
Under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, most residential projects must be registered with the state regulator before they are advertised, marketed or sold. In Maharashtra that regulator is MahaRERA. The exemption is narrow: projects on land of 500 square metres or less, or with eight apartments or fewer.
The law also requires the registration number to appear on every advertisement for a registered project. So a brochure, hoarding or listing without one is either for an exempt project or is telling you something.
What to check on the register
Search the project by name or number on MahaRERA's website and read the record itself, not a screenshot of it.
- The promoter. This is the legal entity responsible for the project. In a redevelopment or a joint development it may not be the brand on the hoarding, so ask the developer to explain the relationship.
- The declared completion date. This is the date the promoter has registered with the regulator. Compare it with the possession date you are being told. If they differ, the registered one is the date you can hold them to.
- Approved plans and the number of apartments. The building you are being sold should match the building that was registered.
- Quarterly progress updates. Registered projects must report progress. A record that has gone quiet is worth a question.
Two protections worth knowing
The Act requires 70% of the money collected from buyers to be kept in a separate account and used for that project's land and construction costs. And a promoter may not take more than 10% of the price as an advance without first executing a registered agreement for sale.
Neither makes a project risk-free. Both make a registered project a very different thing from an unregistered one.
How we handle it
Each of our project pages carries its MahaRERA status in its own block, above the enquiry buttons. Where a registration is still being obtained, the page says so, and it is not listed for search until the number exists.
Common questions
- Does every housing project in Pune need MahaRERA registration?
- Most do. The Act exempts projects on land of 500 square metres or less, or with eight or fewer apartments. Anything larger must be registered before it is advertised or sold.
- Where do I check a MahaRERA registration number?
- On MahaRERA's official website, maharera.maharashtra.gov.in, which has a public project search. Read the record there rather than relying on a copy supplied by the seller.
- What if the possession date I am told differs from the registered completion date?
- Ask why, in writing. The completion date registered with MahaRERA is the date the promoter has committed to with the regulator, and it is the one your remedies under the Act are measured against.
