India’s real estate regulators have reinforced their focus on protecting homebuyers through a series of recent orders and policy directions. Separate developments in Telangana, Bihar and Maharashtra highlight stricter enforcement of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA), with action ranging from penalty proceedings against developers to directives aimed at improving transparency and faster grievance resolution.
In Telangana, the Telangana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TG RERA) initiated penalty proceedings against Pacifica Constructions Pvt. Ltd. for booking and allotting a flat in its Aavas Hyderabad project before obtaining mandatory RERA registration. The authority observed that the flat had been booked in 2017, whereas the project received RERA registration only in 2019, constituting a violation of Section 3 of the RERA Act, which prohibits promoters from advertising, marketing, booking or selling units in an unregistered project.
The complaint was filed by homebuyers Nitika Saraf and Vishal Saraf, who also alleged delays in possession, construction quality issues, lack of essential services and undisclosed penalty charges linked to a previous allottee. While TG RERA held that the request for possession had become infructuous following the execution of the sale deed, it restrained the developer from recovering penalty charges associated with the previous allottee and directed the initiation of penalty proceedings for the pre-registration booking.
In Bihar, Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary directed the Bihar Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Bihar RERA) to simplify regulatory procedures while strengthening transparency, accountability and technology adoption. During a review meeting, he stressed that ease of doing business for developers should be balanced with effective protection of homebuyers’ interests.
The Chief Minister also instructed officials to integrate RERA operations with the state’s digital dashboard to enable real-time monitoring of complaints, pending cases and project-related activities. He emphasized that grievance redressal should remain transparent, time-bound and responsive while unnecessary procedural delays should be reduced.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) ordered a Nagpur-based developer to hand over possession of a residential plot within 30 days and pay statutory interest for nearly seven years of delay. The authority also imposed litigation costs of ₹20,000.
The homebuyer had paid the full sale consideration in 2017, but possession was not delivered within the agreed timeline. MahaRERA rejected the developer’s argument that delays resulted from the buyer’s requests for customised plans, observing that no supporting evidence had been produced. The authority also ruled that the developer could not claim the benefit of COVID-19-related moratorium notifications and directed that interest be paid from December 31, 2018, until possession is handed over along with the occupation certificate.
