2 weeks Ago By Nisha Nambiar
Pune: MahaRERA has put the grading of registered real estate projects in the state on hold as the Real Estate Regulatory Act, 2016, does not authorise regulators to grade projects. The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) had planned to start the grading system based on four parameters — technical, financial, legal details, and project overview. The initiative, announced last year, was meant to help homebuyers make informed decisions.
The grading was supposed to begin in October this year. "The grading system will not take place due to the regulatory authority's limitations," a senior MahaRERA official told TOI on Wednesday. "Even as the decision to start grading was made to help homebuyers make informed decisions, if it does not fall under the purview, we will put it on hold," the official said.
"As the Act does not allow a regulatory body to grade projects, going ahead with the plan would mean inviting legal trouble. MahaRERA wants to avoid legal hassles," another official said. Moreover, developers had also opposed the grading system.
State Credai president Pramod Khairnar told TOI that they had vehemently opposed the gradation system announced by the authority. "There is no such provision in the RERA Act. Many factors will indirectly affect the gradation system, which can lead to malpractices.
Credai had opposed the proposal. We are happy that the authorities have decided to put the system on hold," Khairnar said. The Bombay high court, during an inquiry in February 2023 in a case related to a stalled Mumbai real estate market, had asked the state govt whether MahaRERA could rate or classify developers to ensure that buyers make informed decisions regarding the developer.
The regulatory authority had then proposed the grading matrix four months after the high court raised the query. According to MahaRERA, the grading matrix was proposed to be updated every six months in a financial year. "The first grading period was to be from Oct 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025.
The system was to commence after the due date to upload the last quarterly progress report (QPR) was over," MahaRERA had announced in Sept 2023. In Maharashtra, more than 47,400 projects have been registered since the inception of MahaRERA in May 2017. More than 15,600 projects have been completed.
MahaRERA, till date, has received more than 26,800 complaints, of which orders have been passed in more than 17,900 complaints..
