Thousands of homebuyers across Maharashtra, especially in Pune, continue to face severe hardship as MahaRERA (Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority) has marked 4,904 real estate projects under ‘abeyance’, rendering them ineligible to accept new bookings or enter into fresh sale agreements. These projects have either failed to obtain Completion Certificates (CC) or have not applied for extensions despite repeated reminders, freezing the development process and leaving buyers in limbo.
Pune Hit the Hardest
According to official data, Pune district alone accounts for 1,244 projects under abeyance, the highest in the state. Other districts affected include:
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Thane – 548 projects
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Raigad – 473 projects
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Mumbai Suburban – 441 projects
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Nashik – 250 projects
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Nagpur – 247 projects
Many of these stalled projects date back over a decade. In one such case, an IT professional in Pune has been waiting for possession of his flat for over 11 years. Despite receiving favorable MahaRERA orders, he has neither received the flat nor a refund. His Rs 30 lakh investment remains stuck in a project near the Sinhagad foothills, which remains less than 20% complete and is now under abeyance.
Multiple Extensions, No Progress
Another buyer from the same project said that the initial MahaRERA order in 2017 directed the builder to complete the work by 2018, which was later extended to March 2025. Yet, construction has not resumed. The buyer, who has invested Rs 16 lakh, said the residents’ association has filed multiple complaints with MahaRERA but received no relief so far.
Action Taken by MahaRERA
MahaRERA officials stated that repeated notices were sent to defaulting developers, yet many failed to respond or submit the required documents. As a result:
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Developers are barred from registering any new sales
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Project bank accounts have been frozen
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The State Registration Department has been notified to halt property registrations for these projects
Officials added that without a Completion Certificate (CC) or Occupancy Certificate (OC), no sale deed can be executed, leading to situations where buyers’ partial or full payments remain locked indefinitely.
Call for Stricter Enforcement
Consumer rights activists are now demanding that MahaRERA initiate refund procedures in all cases of persistent non-compliance. They argue that current mechanisms are insufficient to protect innocent buyers who are being financially and emotionally drained over the years.
Developers Push Back
The developers’ lobby CREDAI acknowledged the issue but claimed that some projects remain under abeyance due to delays in MahaRERA’s website updation. Sunil Furde, CREDAI’s national executive, said many developers have already uploaded their CCs but still face restrictions due to administrative lag.
One developer, speaking anonymously, added, “I uploaded the completion certificate more than a month ago, but it still hasn’t been reflected online. This delay penalizes both buyers and developers unnecessarily.”
Transparency Mandated Under RERA
Under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, developers are legally required to upload both commencement and completion/occupancy certificates. This ensures transparency and helps protect buyers’ interests. However, according to MahaRERA, out of the 50,986 registered projects in Maharashtra, only 17,413 have been marked as completed so far, indicating a widespread compliance gap.
