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When MahaRERA can't do much about a project

This is so because such buildings need not register and MahaRERA's jurisdiction is limited to only ongoing projects.

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The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority will not entertain complaints against a project if it has received part occupation certificate, even if the document has been issued by mistake, the housing regulator has said. This is so because such buildings need not register and MahaRERA's jurisdiction is limited to only ongoing projects.

Prasad Patkar filed a complaint to contend that he booked Flat No. 104 on the 1st floor in Tower-B of "Runwal Elegante" at Lokhanwala Complex, Oshiwara, Andheri (West). This project consists of A, B and C towers and is a single project. The developer has registered only Tower-A with MahaRERA as ongoing project. For the other two towers, the developer said that they have received part occupancy certificate for the structures. Patkar complained that even Tower B and C are not complete.

The developer had sent letters asking the complainant to pay the balance amount of consideration and the complainant in turn asked the developer to furnish the approvals and permissions. The complainant said the builder wrote to him saying he would be charged interest for failing to clear the payment on time.

On September 20, 2017, the developer informed Patkar that they have terminated his agreement for his failure to pay the remaining installments. He was also informed that the initial payments would forfeited.

These matter was heard by a full bench to consider the issue of their maintainability. The advocate for the complainant admitted that the flat booked by the complainant is in Tower-B and the part occupancy certificate in respect of Tower-B has been issued. He also said that the said OCs had been issued wrongly. The developer's lawyer contended that since the OCs have been issued in respect of B and C towers, they are not registered with MahaRERA.

The full bench of the authority held, "From the facts and circumstances disclosed in the complaints themselves, it becomes clear that the flats of the complainants are in Tower-B for which occupancy certificate has been issued by the competent authority. Whether it is issued properly or improperly by the said authority is not the issue which can be gone into by MahaRERA especially when the Complainant has approached the proper forum in this regard."

Dismissing the complaint, MahaRERA said, "As per Section 3 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act,2O16, the ongoing projects which have received the completion certificate do not require registration. In the light of these provisions when the part occupancy certificate in respect of B and C Towers has been received by the developer, they have rightly not registered those two towers and registered only Tower A which is incomplete. 

MahaRera gets jurisdiction to entertain only those complaints which relate to a registered project. So far as the locus standi of the Complainants is concerned, their flats are situated in Tower B which is not registered with MahaRERA, therefore, MahaRERA does not get jurisdiction to entertain his complaints. They are not maintainable."

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