Maharashtra: No MahaRERA Registration Required For Projects Under 500 Square Meter

The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has issued a streamlined order aimed at reducing complexities in the registration process for real estate projects that are exempt from mandatory registration.

As per its order dated October 22, 2024, the real estate projects are exempt from registration with MahaRERA if they either cover a land area of 500 square meters or less, or involve no more than eight units, regardless of the project’s total area or the number of phases.

This clarification removes previous ambiguities and ensures that developers meeting these criteria can proceed without additional regulatory requirements.

Additionally, the order sheds light on what constitutes “completion” for plotted projects. For projects with a finalized land sub-division layout, approvals from relevant authorities, and, where applicable, non-agricultural use permissions, MahaRERA now considers these elements sufficient to denote a project’s completion. This new rule eliminates the need for further registration of the Agreement for Sale or Sale Deed, so long as the project complies with the exemption criteria outlined in the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016.

This latest MahaRERA directive replaces prior regulations issued in 2019, 2022, and 2023, offering a unified approach to real estate compliance. The order is expected to ease the registration process and provide much-needed clarity, streamlining real estate transactions and simplifying compliance for developers across Maharashtra.

Commenting on the order, Dhiraj Mandal, Director of Mumbai Realtors, said, "MahaRERA has made it mandatory to register every real estate project which has land area more than 500 sq.mts and has more than 8 apartments. We don't advice people to buy in projects which are not registered as there is very little transparency since a lot of data regarding the project is not available in the public domain, resulting in customer unable to make an informed decision, and the chances of things going wrong are greater than a registered project."