MahaRERA has said that real estate developers must specify the proposed date by which project amenities and occupation certificate will be delivered.

The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has made it mandatory for real estate developers to mention the exact date by which facilities and amenities will be made available to homebuyers along with the expected date of obtaining the occupation certificate (OC).

It will now be mandatory for real estate developers to specify the proposed date of delivery of these facilities and amenities as well as the area they will cover in Annexure-I of the Agreement for Sale. This provision, which is expected to help homebuyers, is non-negotiable and developers will not be at liberty to alter the same, the MahaRERA said in a statement on July 31.

MahaRERA has also made it mandatory for developers to provide details of the expected date of Occupancy Certificate (OC) for the project, size of the facilities and amenities, whether it is a project being constructed by the developer or has been acquired, if the project is free of Floor Space Index or not as per the rules and regulations of the local planning bodies, said the MahaRERA statement.

Developers offer attractive amenities to homebuyers at the time of booking an apartment

MahaRERA said that at the time of booking an apartment, real estate developers often offer attractive facilities and amenities to homebuyers. However, in most cases, these facilities and amenities are not complete even after the buyers move into the project. It has therefore now made it mandatory for the developers to specify the date of delivery of these facilities in the Agreement for Sale’s Annexure-I.

Amenities that will be covered under the order

The MahaRERA said that amenities for which the delivery timelines will have to be mentioned in the agreement for sale include swimming pool, tennis court, badminton court, theatres, club house, gymnasium, table tennis area, squash court, giant chess area, garden, senior citizen zone, jogging track, juice bar, children play area, among others.

The move will make it binding on the developers not to violate delivery of the facilities and amenities as committed to the homebuyers, MahaRERA’s statement said.

The MahaRERA, in April 2024, had published a draft order on the issue and invited public suggestions and opinions. Thereafter, based on the feedback received, the MahaRERA has taken this decision.

"When advertising their new housing projects, developers often promote a variety of attractive facilities and amenities alongside the actual apartments. However, there is no mention of when the proposed facilities and amenities will actually be made available," said Ajoy Mehta, chairman of MahaRERA.

"It has been observed that many homebuyers have been affected by these shortcomings and have taken a serious note of this issue. After providing all stakeholders ample opportunity to express their views, it has now been made mandatory to specify the delivery timeline for all the promised facilities and amenities in the Schedule II of the Agreement for Sale," Mehta added.

Township projects face problem of delayed amenities

Usually, larger housing projects are spread over multiple phases and in such instances, often, multiple amenities are made available only on completion of the last phase. To ensure residents in the earlier phases are aware about the availability of the facilities and amenities, it now is mandatory to provide a phase-wise and date-specific information of the same, according to MahaRERA.

Additionally, MahaRERA has mandated that developers provide a comprehensive detail of the facilities and amenities in Schedule-II of the Agreement for Sale.

"In the eventuality of any major revisions or changes or corrections or relocation of the specified facilities and amenities or public areas, an approval from MahaRERA is a must. Without such an approval, any and all changes will be considered invalid and illegal," the MahaRERA said in a statement.

"It will also be mandatory for the developers to obtain consent of two-third of the residents if changes are about location and numbers of families and amenities. In other words, developers will not be able to make changes unilaterally, the MahaRERA statement further added.

Source: hindustantimes.com