Delayed possession: 1,015 recovery warrants worth Rs 623 crore issued by MahaRERA against real estate developers

According to MahaRERA officials, in the last three months, more than Rs 17 crore has been recovered from 16 developers.

Since its inception in May 2017, Maharashtra’s real estate regulator MahaRERA has issued 1,015 recovery warrants worth Rs 623 crore against defaulting developers.

However, of those warrants, only 180 have been implemented, resulting in recovery of 21 percent of the receivable amount, or Rs 131 crore, according to the MahaRERA data accessed by Moneycontrol.

MahaRERA issues recovery orders against developers in case of default in handing over possession of property to homebuyers. The execution of recovery warrants has to be implemented by the respective district collectors of the location, basis the warrant issued by the regulator.

According to MahaRERA officials, in the last three months, more than Rs 17 crore has been recovered from 16 developers in Maharashtra. The amount was paid to homebuyers as compensation.

“One thing that we did after realising that the recovery rate is low is that we started sending reminders to the respective district collectors to ensure that the warrants are implemented and compensation is given to homebuyers,” a senior MahaRERA official told Moneycontrol, on condition of anonymity. “Due to our efforts, it will be safe to say that Rs 100 crore worth recovery warrants were implemented where either compensation was paid or property was auctioned.”

Also read: Maharashtra authorities recover Rs 100 crore from developers

Amendment on cards?

“Execution of recovery warrants issued by RERA regulatory authorities across states is facing several issues. We are working on a proposal that will be submitted to the Central government for amendments or to improvise the current provisions to make RERA stronger for execution of recovery warrants,” Ajoy Mehta, Member of the Central Advisory Council (CAC) for RERA and chairman of MahaRERA, told Moneycontrol in April.

He added, “We are planning some mechanism to give more powers under the existing provisions and are also considering a proposal on some form of amendment.”

Also read: RERA amendment on cards to empower homebuyers, Central Advisory Committee may recommend amendment

Mechanism required

Further, the need for a mechanism to execute recovery warrants was also discussed during a meeting of a sub-committee constituted by the CAC on November 2, 2022, under the chairmanship of the secretary of the ministry of housing and urban affairs.

“Secretary, Uttar Pradesh Regulatory Authority expressed his concern about the non-compliance of orders passed by RERA. He suggested that some recovery mechanism may be included in RERA,” the minutes of the meeting showed.

The CAC was set up by the Central government for effective implementation of the real estate law.