According to a recent circular, issued by The Maharashtra State Police Department, the Government has implemented an addendum to The Maharashtra Ownership Flat Act-1963 ( MOFA) & the MRTP Act 1966. According to the circular, builders are liable to be jailed for 3 years, 5 years or 9 years depending upon the nature of the violation of the Act.
Some of the violations on which police can act are as under:
- Possession of flat is not given on the promised date
- Occupation Certificate is not obtained before the date of possession
- The BMC approved plan is not displayed at the site
- On receipt of 20% of the cost of flat, if the agreement is not executed
- If the amount received from the buyer is not deposited in the bank in a separate account. The Act says that the entire amount collected by the builder under different heads other than the cost of the apartment needs to be kept in a separate account.
- If the construction is not as per the approved plan
- If application 4 formation of Housing Society is not put up within 4 months of giving possession
- If the conveyance of land & building is not done within 4 months of registration of the society
Almost always builders give over-optimistic project completion timelines to obtain faster sales. In all such cases, builders are not able to stick to their completion timelines. Owners have to suffer as they would have to keep paying EMIs and also maybe rent, which causes a lot of financial issues.
Many builders make extra floors or other construction which are not according to the approved plans. As a result of these, the residents do not get proper occupancy certificates which cause problems for them later. Many times apartment owners who had gone to report their complaints against builders has been mistreated by policemen who are in collusion with builders.
Many builders make extra floors or other construction which are not according to the approved plans. As a result of these, the residents do not get proper occupancy certificates which cause problems for them later. Many times apartment owners who had gone to report their complaints against builders has been mistreated by policemen who are in collusion with builders.
The recent circular is to provide more power to wronged homeowners for exercising their rights.
There is, however, a certain amount of confusion if MOFA is still under force, with Real Estate (Regulation & Development Act) 2016 (RERA) being enacted and implemented across the country and if errant builders can be booked under MOFA. However legal experts and housing-related citizen activists have maintained that MOFA is still in force as there has been no notification repealing The Maharashtra Ownership Flat Act-1963.
For more information on housing society laws in Maharashtra, visit our pages.