MahaRERA has directed a builder to bear stamp duty and registration charges promised in an allotment letter and project disclosures, while also ordering interest payment to a homebuyer for delayed possession of a plot bought for nearly Rs 1.6 crore.
The case involved a buyer who paid Rs 1.6 crore towards the sale consideration, maintenance security deposit and corpus fund. The buyer said the allotment letter indicated that the builder would bear the stamp duty and registration expenses. When the sale agreement was later prepared, however, the builder sought to transfer those costs to the buyer.
The dispute also covered representations made about the project. According to the case details reported by The Times of India, the development had been presented as a gated township with internal roads intended exclusively for residents and a recreational ground reserved for homebuyers. The buyer later found that the internal roads were open to public access and that the recreational ground had been taken over by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation and was accessible to the general public.
The buyer claimed that these changes reduced the value of the plot by about 33% and approached MahaRERA. The authority found that the buyer qualified as an allottee even though the sale agreement had been notarised but not registered. It also held that the builder had breached Section 13(1) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, by accepting almost the entire amount without registering the agreement for sale.
The builder told MahaRERA that it was willing to execute a registered agreement, but argued that the process had been delayed because the buyer was disputing parts of the agreement. It also described the provision requiring the builder to pay stamp duty and registration charges as a typographical error and sought to withdraw it.
MahaRERA rejected that position after examining the builder’s project disclosures. Clause 8 of the deviation report uploaded on the MahaRERA website stated that the builder would bear stamp duty and registration charges payable on the agreement and documents executed under it. The model agreement for sale submitted with the disclosure contained the same provision, while a later amended pro forma agreement omitted it.
The authority held that the builder was bound by its own disclosures made before MahaRERA and could not subsequently shift the liability to the buyer. It directed the builder to bear the applicable stamp duty and registration charges in line with the commitments contained in the allotment letter and project disclosures.
MahaRERA also considered the buyer’s claim for interest over delayed possession. The builder argued that interest should not be payable after the occupation certificate was issued on April 27, 2026, and that delays had resulted from the buyer’s disputes. The authority partly accepted the argument and ordered interest from January 1, 2026, until April 27, 2026.
The interest is to be calculated on the actual amount paid for the plot at the State Bank of India’s Marginal Cost of Funds Based Lending Rate plus 2%, as prescribed under Section 18 of the RERA Act and the applicable rules. Based on the plot consideration of Rs 1,59,91,614, the amount was estimated at approximately Rs 5.43 lakh.
MahaRERA further directed the builder to take steps to establish the association or society of allottees. After its formation, the builder must fulfil its obligations relating to maintenance, corpus funds, the conveyance deed and other requirements under RERA and the applicable rules.
