Starting in October, homebuyers in Maharashtra will be able to make more informed decisions about housing projects through a new grading system on the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) website. The grading will be based on technical, financial, and legal evaluations of projects, along with an overview provided by developers, and will be updated every six months. MahaRERA chairman, on the eve of his retirement, emphasised that this initiative will be a game changer for buyers. Introduced in September last year, the grading matrix aims to provide transparency and safety for homebuyers. Since MahaRERA’s establishment in May 2017, over 46,000 projects have been registered, with more than 15,000 completed and 25,000 complaints received.
In addition to the grading system, MahaRERA has introduced several key measures to enhance transparency and ensure project quality. These include mandatory quality assurance certificates, separate bank accounts for each project to monitor transactions, and stricter rules on advertising. Developers are now required to include MahaRERA registration numbers and QR codes in advertisements, with non-compliance attracting penalties. Furthermore, real estate agents must undergo training and certification to understand regulatory provisions. To address unviable projects, developers can cancel project registrations under certain conditions. The MahaRERA recovery warrant system, which has helped recover Rs 175 crore from stalled projects, continues to serve as a model for other states.