MahaRERA Takes Action Against 628 Projects for Registration and QR Code Non-Compliance

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has proactively targeted 628 housing projects across the state for failing to comply with regulations requiring the display of registration numbers and QR codes in advertising materials.

Of these 628 projects, 312 are from the Mumbai region, including Mumbai, Mumbai suburban, Thane, Nashik, and Konkan. About 250 projects are from the Pune region, covering Pune city, western Maharashtra, and Marathwada, while 66 projects are from the Nagpur region.

To protect investments, MahaRERA has urged homebuyers to avoid transactions with housing projects that lack the mandatory RERA registration number. “Promoters of housing projects are not permitted to advertise their projects without a MahaRERA registration number.

Starting August 1, 2023, it is also mandatory to display a QR code with every advertisement, enabling homebuyers to access important project information.

Despite this, some developers are violating these guidelines. Therefore, MahaRERA is always on the lookout for such advertisements and regularly initiates action against the violators,” said Ajoy Mehta, chairman of MahaRERA.

For effective enforcement of these guidelines and to identify violators, MahaRERA collaborates with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). This partnership aims to monitor both traditional and new-age advertising formats, with the aid of artificial intelligence.

The collaboration has successfully identified violators across newspapers, websites, online video streaming channels, and social media. Notably, the violation rate is significantly higher on social media compared to traditional advertisement formats.

Under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, any project in Maharashtra exceeding 500 square meters or involving more than eight apartments (including plots) must be registered with MahaRERA. No marketing activities or sales are allowed without securing this registration number.

Furthermore, starting August 1, 2023, developers are required to provide detailed project information, including the project’s name, developer’s name, registration renewal status, expected completion date, pending complaints, litigations, and any recovery warrants. This information can be accessed by scanning the project’s QR code.

Despite these mandatory requirements, some developers continue to disregard the guidelines, prompting MahaRERA to initiate suo motu action and issue show-cause notices to the violators.