RERA registration in Mumbai is the mandatory registration of eligible real estate projects and real estate agents with the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) before a project is advertised, marketed, booked or sold, or before an agent facilitates any such transaction. The applicability threshold is not city-specific — the same 500 square metre/8-apartment test applies whether a project sits in Powai or Panvel — but Mumbai’s redevelopment-heavy market, its FSI/TDR mechanics, and the mix of MCGM, MHADA and SRA approvals behind a typical project make title and approval documentation the most common source of registration delay in this city. The office commonly searched for as the “RERA Registrar in Mumbai” is MahaRERA itself, headquartered at Bandra Kurla Complex — full address, contact details and the complaint route are covered in Sections 2 and 9 of this guide.
1. Why RERA Registration Matters for Mumbai’s Real Estate Market
This guide has been prepared by Marcken Consulting LLP, a Chartered Accountancy and valuation firm, and is written from source rather than from secondary commentary: the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016; the Maharashtra Real Estate (Regulation and Development) (Registration of Real Estate Projects, Registration of Real Estate Agents, Rates of Interest and Disclosures on Website) Rules, 2017 as amended in 2019; the Maharashtra Real Estate (Regulation and Development) (Recovery of Interest, Penalty, Compensation, Fine payable, Forms of Complaints and Appeal, etc.) Rules, 2017; and MahaRERA’s own orders and circulars. Every requirement below is pinned to the section, rule, form or order number it comes from, so that a promoter, agent or advisor can verify it against the instrument itself rather than take it on trust. Mumbai’s real estate market carries a level of technical complexity that few Indian cities match. A large share of activity is redevelopment rather than greenfield construction — cessed and dilapidated buildings under the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), slum rehabilitation schemes under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), and cluster and mill-land redevelopment across the city’s older industrial belts. Each route brings its own approval chain before a project is even ready for a MahaRERA application, layered on top of the Floor Space Index (FSI) and Transferable Development Rights (TDR) mechanics that determine how much can actually be built on a given plot.
Two authorities matter most for approvals within the city. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC, also known as MCGM) governs building permissions and occupancy certificates within Mumbai’s municipal limits, while the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) plans and develops specific zones, including the Bandra Kurla Complex itself. Which authority — and which redevelopment framework — a project falls under affects the sanctioned-plan and title documentation a promoter must produce at the MahaRERA registration stage, and mismatches between a project’s disclosed FSI/TDR consumption and its sanctioned plan are a recurring source of registration queries. For buyers, investors and lenders, MahaRERA registration is the fastest check against exactly that risk — a project search on the portal confirms whether the promoter’s claimed approvals, land title and disclosures have actually been filed with the regulator, rather than taken on trust from a brochure.
2. The RERA Registrar in Mumbai: MahaRERA Office, Address and Contact Details
2.1 Who the RERA Registrar Actually Is
“RERA Registrar in Mumbai” is the phrase most people reach for when they need the office that registers real estate projects and agents, but it is worth being precise about what sits behind it. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 does not create a separate post of “Registrar” — registration, regulation and enforcement functions all vest in the state authority itself. For Mumbai, that is the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA), established by the Government of Maharashtra under Section 20 of the Act in March 2017 and operational since May 2017, one of the earliest and most active state authorities to be constituted under RERA. A promoter, agent or homebuyer looking for the RERA Registrar in Mumbai is therefore, in practice, dealing with MahaRERA — through its online portal for most filings, and through its Bandra Kurla Complex head office for hearings and offline matters.
2.2 Office Address and Contact Details
MahaRERA’s head office sits within Mumbai itself, with a second divisional office in South Mumbai and further divisional offices covering the rest of the state:
| Contact point | Details |
|---|---|
| Head office (MahaRERA) | 3rd to 9th Floor, Housefin Bhavan, Plot No. C-21, E-Block, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra (East), Mumbai – 400051 |
| Phone | 022 68111600 · Toll-free 1800-2103770 |
| Mumbai Division Office | 501, Express Building, 14 – E Road, Churchgate, Mumbai – 400020 |
| Official portal | maharera.maharashtra.gov.in |
| Appeals forum | Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (MahaREAT), 1st Floor, One Forbes, Dr. V.B. Gandhi Road, Kalaghoda, Fort, Mumbai – 400001. Tel. 022-22710200 |
MahaRERA also maintains divisional offices for Pune and Nagpur outside the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Timings and helpline availability change from time to time, so it is worth confirming on the portal’s contact page before making the trip. Most filings today move through the portal, with the physical offices handling hearings, offline submissions and hard-copy records.
2.3 Roles and Responsibilities of the RERA Registrar (MahaRERA)
In its registrar role, MahaRERA grants, rejects, extends and revokes project registrations under Sections 4 to 8 of the Act and Rules 3, 6, 7 and 8 of the Maharashtra Rules, and registers, renews, suspends and revokes real estate agents under Section 9 read with Rules 11 to 13 and Rule 15. Around that core function sit the Authority’s wider responsibilities: maintaining the public database of registered projects and agents that Section 34 of the Act directs it to publish (which the portal search covered in Section 8 of this guide draws on), monitoring the quarterly disclosures promoters must keep current, receiving complaints under Section 31 and deciding contraventions, referring compensation claims to the Adjudicating Officer, and imposing the penalties covered in Section 10 of this guide. Day to day, most interactions with the office are electronic, with the physical office coming into play for hearings, offline filings and hard-copy submissions.
3. RERA Applicability: Who Must Register
3.1 The 500 Square Metre / 8-Apartment Threshold
Under Section 3(2)(a) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, registration of a real estate project is not required where the land proposed for development does not exceed 500 square metres, or where the number of apartments proposed does not exceed 8, inclusive of all phases. The two limbs of that test generated genuine dispute in Maharashtra in the years after the Act came into force — an early Appellate Tribunal ruling was read by some as requiring both conditions to be exceeded before exemption fell away — but MahaRERA has since settled the point through its own clarificatory orders, most recently reaffirmed in October 2024: a project is exempt if either the land area is 500 square metres or less, or the number of units is 8 or fewer, regardless of the other figure. Registration becomes mandatory only once a project exceeds both limbs at once. Given the earlier ambiguity, a project sitting close to the threshold on only one limb is still worth a specific check before assuming exemption applies.
Where a project is developed in phases, each phase is treated as a standalone real estate project requiring its own registration. Projects that already held a completion certificate before 1 May 2017, and projects undertaken purely for renovation, repair or redevelopment that do not involve marketing, advertising, selling or new allotment, are also outside the registration requirement — relevant given how much of Mumbai’s activity falls on the redevelopment side of that line.
3.2 Real Estate Agents: Registration Under Section 9
Section 9 of the Act separately requires every real estate agent to register with MahaRERA before facilitating the sale or purchase of any plot, apartment or building forming part of a project that is itself registered under Section 3. This applies equally to individual brokers, partnership firms and companies operating as channel partners, and to property consultants marketing units on a registered project’s behalf. Registration is agent-specific, not project-specific — once granted, it allows the agent to act across any registered project, not only the one named in the original application. MahaRERA has separately made a Certificate of Competency — obtained after completing a mandatory training programme and passing an examination, covered in Section 5 below — a precondition for agent registration and renewal. The requirement was introduced by Order No. 41 of 2023 dated 10 January 2023, with detailed guidelines issued on 15 February 2023; under Order No. 41B of 2023 dated 13 December 2023, only agents holding a valid Certificate of Competency may apply for registration or renewal, and existing registered agents were required to obtain the certificate and upload it to their web page by 1 January 2024.
3.3 Projects That Are Exempt
Beyond the size threshold, the Act and the Maharashtra rules carve out a narrow set of exemptions: completed projects holding a valid completion certificate issued before 1 May 2017, and projects limited to repair, renovation or redevelopment without fresh marketing, sale or allotment of any apartment, plot or building. Structural repairs carried out by or through a public authority, or as required under any law or direction of a competent authority, are separately excluded under the Maharashtra Rules. None of this amounts to a blanket exemption for redevelopment as a category — a redevelopment scheme that does involve fresh sale or allotment of additional units, which describes a large share of Mumbai’s cluster and mill-land redevelopment activity, is brought within the registration requirement in the ordinary way once the size threshold is crossed.
4. Project Registration: Process and Documents
4.1 Application and Form A
A promoter applies for project registration in Form A under Rule 3 of the Maharashtra Real Estate (Regulation and Development) (Registration of Real Estate Projects, Registration of Real Estate Agents, Rates of Interest and Disclosures on Website) Rules, 2017. The Rules originally required submission in triplicate hard copy; that requirement falls away once the Authority has made web-based applications available, which is how the large majority of applications are filed today through MahaRERA’s online system.
4.2 Documents and Disclosures Required
Rule 3(2) sets out the supporting documents in detail: an authenticated copy of the promoter’s PAN card; identity, photograph and contact details of the promoter or, for other entities, the chairman, partners or directors and the authorised representative; a legal title report authenticated by a practising advocate; where the promoter is not the landowner, the collaboration, development or joint development agreement reflecting the owner’s consent; details of encumbrances and any sub-judice proceedings affecting the land; the sanctioned plan together with the FSI and TDR entitlements proposed to be utilised, and the proposed layout, floor and building-wing details reconciled against what has actually been sanctioned; and particulars of the architecture, design standards, construction technology and earthquake-resistant measures proposed. The declaration required under Section 4(2)(l) is filed separately in Form B. For a redevelopment scheme specifically, reconciling the proposed and sanctioned FSI/TDR figures — and disclosing any gap, since Rule 3 requires the promoter to update the website once additional FSI or floors are later sanctioned — is typically where documentation gaps first surface in Mumbai.
4.3 Timeline: The 30-Day Rule
Under Section 5 of the Act, the Authority must grant or reject a registration application within 30 days of receipt. If it does neither within that window, the project is treated as registered by default, and Section 5(2) then requires the Authority to provide the registration number, login ID and password within 7 days of the expiry of that 30-day period. Where registration is granted in the ordinary course, the project registration number is carried on the registration certificate issued in Form C under Rule 6(a). A comparable 7-day timeline applies on the agent side under Rule 12(3)(a), covered in Section 5 below.
4.4 Registration Certificate, Validity and Extension
Once granted under Rule 6 (Form C), the registration certificate states a validity period tied to the promoter’s declared completion timeline; the period excludes any time lost to a court or tribunal stay or injunction affecting the project. An extension can be sought under Rule 7 (Form E), accompanied by an explanatory note on the grounds for delay, at the same fee structure as original registration (Rs 10 per square metre, subject to the minimum and maximum covered in Section 6 of this guide, or Rs 5 per square metre for plotted development) — waivable at the Authority’s discretion where the delay is due to force majeure. The grant or rejection of an extension is communicated in Form F or Form D respectively, and the Authority can revoke a registration under Rule 8, but only after giving the promoter at least 30 days’ written notice of the grounds and an opportunity to respond.
5. Real Estate Agent Registration in Maharashtra
5.1 Training, Examination and Application
Before applying, an individual must complete a mandatory 20-hour training programme delivered by a MahaRERA-empanelled training partner — NAREDCO, NAR-India, Rustomjee Academy for Global Careers and SIMACES Learning LLP among them — covering the Act, the Maharashtra Rules, agent obligations, disclosure requirements and dispute resolution, and then pass the MahaRERA competency examination to obtain a Certificate of Competency. Only after clearing the exam can an applicant proceed to register under Rule 11, which implements Section 9(2) of the Act. The application is made in Form G and, alongside the applicant’s business and identity details, PAN and photographs, requires income-tax returns for the preceding 3 financial years (or a declaration of exemption), details of every project the applicant has acted for as agent in the preceding 5 years, and particulars of any pending civil or criminal cases against the applicant or, for firms and companies, its partners, directors or trustees.
5.2 Fees, Validity and Renewal
Under Rule 11(3), the registration fee is Rs 10,000 for an individual applicant and Rs 1,00,000 for an applicant other than an individual — MahaRERA has clarified that a sole proprietary concern is treated as an individual for this purpose. Registration is granted in Form H and is valid for 5 years from the date of grant under Rule 12(4). Renewal is governed by Rule 13 and must be applied for at least 60 days before the existing registration expires, in Form J, accompanied by the same fee as a new registration — Maharashtra does not offer a reduced renewal rate the way some other states do — and by updated versions of the documents originally submitted. A renewal, once granted (Form K), is itself valid for a further 5 years. Rule 15 allows the Authority to revoke an agent’s registration for cause, notified in Form I, after which a fresh application cannot be made for 6 months.
6. MahaRERA Registration Fees
Fees are prescribed under Rule 3(5) for projects and Rule 11(3) for agents, and revised by amendment from time to time — the figures below reflect the 2019 amendment to the 2017 Rules, currently in force:
| Category | Fee |
|---|---|
| Project registration (general) | Rs 10 per sq m of land proposed for development, subject to a minimum of Rs 10,000 and a maximum of Rs 10 lakh |
| Project registration — plotted development | Rs 5 per sq m of land proposed for development |
| Extension of project registration | Same rate structure as original registration; waivable at the Authority’s discretion for force majeure delay |
| Real estate agent registration — individual | Rs 10,000 |
| Real estate agent registration — other than individual | Rs 1,00,000 |
| Agent renewal (individual / other than individual) | Same as original registration — Rs 10,000 / Rs 1,00,000 |
| Complaint before the Authority (Form A) or Adjudicating Officer (Form B) | Rs 5,000 per complaint |
| Appeal to the Appellate Tribunal (Form C) | Rs 5,000 |
All fees are payable through NEFT, RTGS or another digital transaction mode. Fee notifications are revised from time to time, so the current schedule on the MahaRERA portal is worth a final check before filing.
7. Escrow, Certification and Advertising Compliance
7.1 The Separate Account Requirement
Section 4(2)(l)(D) of the Act requires a promoter to deposit 70% of the amounts realised from allottees for a project into a separate bank account, used only for the construction and land costs of that project. The Maharashtra Rules add an important refinement worth knowing: where the project’s estimated receivables from allottees are actually less than the estimated cost of completing it, Rule 5(ii) requires 100% of the amount realised to be deposited into the separate account, not 70%. This is not a rule of general application. Rule 5(ii) is expressly confined to ongoing projects within the meaning of the first proviso to Section 3(1) — projects in which no building or wing had received an occupancy or completion certificate when the Act came into force. For a Mumbai redevelopment or rehabilitation scheme that falls within that category, free-sale receivables can run well below total project cost once rehabilitation-component obligations are factored in, so whether the 100% test is triggered warrants a specific check rather than an assumption that 70% applies.
7.2 Withdrawal Certificates: Where a CA’s Practice Comes In
Withdrawals from the separate account are not unrestricted. Under Rule 5(i)(b), every withdrawal requires three certificates submitted to the bank operating the account: first, from the project architect, certifying the percentage of construction completed; second, from the project engineer, certifying the actual cost incurred; and third, from a practising chartered accountant, certifying the cost incurred on construction and land and the proportion that cost bears to the total estimated project cost — it is that certified proportion, applied to the total estimated cost, that fixes the maximum amount the promoter can withdraw at that stage. This is one of the more direct points of contact between RERA compliance and a chartered accountant’s practice: every withdrawal, for the life of the project until an occupancy certificate is obtained, needs a fresh CA certificate, and the certified proportion has to be rebuilt from the project’s cost records at each stage rather than carried forward from the certificate issued for the previous stage.
7.3 Interest and Refund Timelines
Where a promoter is liable to pay interest to an allottee under Sections 12, 14, 18 or 19 of the Act — covering false disclosure, structural defects, delayed possession and other allottee claims — Rule 18 sets the rate at the State Bank of India’s highest Marginal Cost of Lending Rate (MCLR) plus 2%, applying equally in reverse where the allottee defaults. Any refund due to an allottee, together with applicable interest and compensation, must be paid within 30 days of the date it falls due under Rule 19, and the promoter is separately required to report each such instance to the Authority within the same 30 days.
7.4 Annual Audit and Certification of Project Accounts
The withdrawal certificate is not the only recurring chartered accountant obligation in a registered project. The declaration a promoter files in Form B under Rule 3(6) includes an undertaking to have the project accounts audited within 6 months after the end of every financial year by a practising chartered accountant, and to produce a statement of accounts duly certified and signed by that chartered accountant. The audit has to verify two things specifically: that the amounts collected for the particular project have been utilised for that project, and that withdrawals from the separate account have been in proportion to the percentage of completion of the project. In effect, the annual certificate audits the arithmetic that each of the withdrawal certificates in Section 7.2 relied on through the year.
For an ongoing project, Rule 4(2) adds a further set of certificates at the registration stage: an architect’s certificate on the percentage of completion of each building or wing, an engineer’s certificate on the estimated balance cost to complete the construction work, a chartered accountant’s certificate on the estimated balance cost to complete the project, and a separate chartered accountant’s certificate on the balance receivables from apartments already sold together with the estimated receivables on unsold apartments, computed at the prevailing ASR rate as on the date of the certificate.
7.5 Advertising Compliance: QR Code, Registration Number and Font Size
Section 11(2) of the Act requires a promoter to quote the project registration number and the Authority’s website address in every advertisement or prospectus, and Rule 14 of the Maharashtra Rules imposes the parallel obligation on registered agents: the registration certificate number must be displayed prominently at the principal place of business and at every branch office, and quoted on all documentation relating to advertisement, marketing, selling or purchase, alongside the registration number of the project itself.
MahaRERA has since prescribed how that display must actually look. Order No. 46C of 2025, dated 8 April 2025, was issued after the Authority found registration numbers set in a font too small to read against the rest of the creative, and QR codes reproduced at distorted aspect ratios or positioned so that they could not be scanned. The order requires the registration number, website address and QR code to appear in the top-right corner of every advertisement and item of promotional material; the font size used for the registration number and website address to be at least as large as the largest font used for the project’s contact details and address, in a colour that ensures high visibility; and the QR code to be reproduced at a correct aspect ratio so that it remains legible and scannable. Non-compliance attracts a penalty of between Rs 10,000 and Rs 50,000 per violation, and failure to correct the violation within 10 days is treated as a continuing offence.
This binds promoters and registered agents alike, and it applies across formats — print, hoardings, digital creatives, brochures and social posts. For a Mumbai launch running through several agencies and channel partners, the practical exposure usually sits in the creatives an agent circulates rather than in the promoter’s own campaign, which makes it worth writing the requirement into the channel-partner brief rather than auditing it after publication.
Registering a project or need help with MahaRERA escrow certification?
A 30-minute conversation is usually enough to scope the work. There is no charge and no obligation.
8. Verifying a Registration on the MahaRERA Portal
Before booking a unit, engaging an agent, or relying on a promoter’s representations, the MahaRERA portal lets anyone search registered projects by name, promoter or registration number, and registered agents by name or registration number. A project listing shows its registration number, promoter details, sanctioned layout, declared completion timeline and the quarterly disclosures filed since registration; an agent listing confirms whether a registration is current or has lapsed or been revoked. For a market where redevelopment schemes and phase-wise launches are common, cross-checking the registration number quoted in a brochure against the portal — rather than the reverse — is the more reliable way to catch a mismatch.
9. Filing a Complaint with MahaRERA and Appeals to the Tribunal
9.1 Complaints Before the Authority and the Adjudicating Officer
Under Section 31 of the Act, any aggrieved person with an interest in a project can file a complaint against a promoter, agent or allottee for a violation of the Act, the rules or the regulations. The route splits by the relief sought. A complaint in Form A, accompanied by a fee of Rs 5,000, goes before the Authority itself under Rule 6 for contraventions of the Act generally — unregistered marketing, disclosure failures, breaches of registration conditions. A claim for compensation under Sections 12, 14, 18 or 19 — false disclosure, structural defects, delayed possession and other allottee claims — is filed in Form B, also at a fee of Rs 5,000, before the Adjudicating Officer under Rule 7. Both routes are paid online through NEFT, RTGS or another digital transaction mode.
9.2 Appeals: The Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal and the High Court
An order of the Authority or the Adjudicating Officer is not the end of the road. Under Section 44(1) read with Section 44(2) of the Act, and Rule 9 of the Maharashtra recovery and appeal rules, any aggrieved person may appeal to the Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (MahaREAT) within 60 days of receiving the order, on payment of a Rs 5,000 fee in Form C. One asymmetry deserves every promoter’s attention: under the proviso to Section 43(5) of the Act, a promoter’s appeal is not entertained unless the promoter first deposits at least 30% of the penalty imposed — or such higher percentage as the Tribunal determines — or the total amount payable to the allottee including interest and compensation, whichever is higher. MahaREAT sits at Fort in South Mumbai (Section 2.2 of this guide) and, as of mid-2026, is chaired by Justice Sambhaji Shiwaji Shinde, a former Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court and former judge of the Bombay High Court. A further appeal from the Tribunal lies to the Bombay High Court under Section 58, within 60 days, on grounds involving a substantial question of law.
10. Penalties for Non-Compliance
10.1 Penalties for Promoters
Marketing, booking or selling units in a project that should be registered but isn’t exposes a promoter to a penalty of up to 10% of the estimated project cost under Section 59, and continued non-compliance with the Authority’s subsequent order can escalate to imprisonment of up to 3 years, a further fine, or both. Providing false information at the application stage, or contravening Section 4 — which includes the escrow requirement covered in Section 7 of this guide — carries a separate penalty of up to 5% of project cost under Section 60, and general contraventions of the Act, rules or regulations are covered under Section 61 on similar terms. Separately, a promoter’s failure to comply with an order of the Authority itself attracts a penalty for every day the default continues under Section 63, cumulatively capped at 5% of the estimated project cost — the promoter-side counterpart of Section 65 in the following sub-section. Where a promoter specifically fails to comply with an order of MahaREAT, Section 64 provides for imprisonment of up to 3 years, a fine, or both — a materially different provision, and a materially different forum, from the Authority-level penalties above.
10.2 Penalties for Real Estate Agents
Facilitating a sale or purchase without the registration Section 9 requires, or contravening an agent’s duties under Section 10, is penalised under Section 62. Failure to comply with an order of the Authority attracts a daily penalty under Section 65, cumulatively capped by reference to the cost of the property involved. Failure to comply specifically with an order of MahaREAT is the agent-side equivalent of Section 64 for promoters — but the maximum term under Section 66 is imprisonment of up to 1 year, not 3, alongside a fine.
10.3 Compounding of Offences
Rule 5 of the Maharashtra recovery and appeal rules allows offences under Sections 59(2), 64, 66 and 68 of the Act to be compounded, at the court’s discretion and with the Authority Chairperson’s approval, on payment of 5% of the estimated project cost (or, for an agent offence under Section 66, 5% of the estimated cost of the specific plot, apartment or building involved) — extendable up to 10% of that estimated cost. This is a route that exists for exactly the kind of technical or first-instance default that a promoter or agent would want resolved without a criminal proceeding running its full course.
11. RERA Compliance Across Mumbai’s Redevelopment and Growth Corridors
The practical registration issues differ meaningfully by where in the city, and under which framework, a project sits:
- South Mumbai’s cessed and dilapidated buildings (MHADA redevelopment) — schemes here typically bring together an existing cooperative society, a developer and MHADA approvals, with title and consent-of-society documentation (rather than the size threshold itself) the most common source of delay in reaching a registration-ready application.
- Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) schemes across the city — free-sale and rehabilitation components of the same scheme need to be reconciled carefully against the escrow requirement covered in Section 7.1, and where the scheme qualifies as an ongoing project, the 100%-deposit test in Rule 5(ii) is more likely to be triggered than the standard 70%.
- Lower Parel, Worli and the mill-land belt — large-scale redevelopment of former textile-mill land, where phase-wise registration (Section 3.1 of this guide) and FSI/TDR reconciliation against the sanctioned plan are the recurring technical points.
- Bandra Kurla Complex and the western suburbs (Bandra, Khar, Andheri, Powai) — a mix of commercial development and premium residential redevelopment, where MahaRERA’s own head office being local to the corridor makes portal verification and in-person filing equally practical.
- Eastern and extended suburbs, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Panvel — greenfield and layout development is more common here than in the island city, bringing the plotted-development fee rate (Section 6 of this guide) into play more often than the general per-project rate.
Across all of these, the FSI and TDR entitlements disclosed at registration need to reconcile cleanly with what has actually been sanctioned by BMC or the relevant planning authority; a mismatch here, updated late or not at all on the MahaRERA website as Rule 3 requires, is one of the more common reasons a Mumbai application comes back with a query.
12. Common Compliance Mistakes to Avoid
- Marketing before registration. Advertising, listing, or accepting even a token booking amount before the registration number is granted is itself the Section 59 default — not a preparatory step that becomes compliant once registration follows.
- Assuming a redevelopment project is automatically exempt. Renovation and repair work without fresh sale or allotment is outside the registration requirement; a redevelopment scheme that markets and allots additional free-sale units is not, regardless of how the project is described to residents.
- Treating agent registration as project-linked. An agent’s registration is personal to them and covers any registered project, not just the one they first mention on the application — but it still needs to be current, not merely applied for, before facilitating a transaction.
- Escrow withdrawals without the full three-certificate set. Withdrawing from the separate account without architect, engineer and chartered accountant certification proportionate to construction progress is a Section 4 compliance gap, not a paperwork formality — and for an ongoing project with heavy rehabilitation obligations, applying the standard 70% test instead of checking whether the 100% deposit requirement in Rule 5(ii) is triggered is an easy one to miss.
- Letting agent renewal lapse near the deadline. Renewal must be filed at least 60 days before expiry, at the full original fee, not a discounted rate — leaving it late risks a gap in valid registration.
13. How Marcken Consulting Supports RERA-Adjacent Compliance in Mumbai
13.1 Where a CA Firm Fits in the RERA Process
MahaRERA is the statutory authority for registration and regulation under the Act, and Marcken Consulting is not the registering authority and does not act as one. Where our practice intersects with RERA compliance is in the areas that sit naturally with a CA firm’s work: preparing the financial and documentation package that supports a registration application, the Rule 5(i)(b) chartered accountant certificate that fixes the maximum permissible withdrawal from the separate account at each stage, the annual audit and certified statement of accounts the promoter undertakes in the Form B declaration, the Rule 4(2) certificates on estimated balance cost and on receivables computed at ASR rates where the project is an ongoing one, and coordinating with the architects, engineers and legal advisors a developer is already working with so that registration, disbursement certification and ongoing compliance move on a consistent timeline. For promoters and agents whose search for the RERA Registrar in Mumbai begins with a filing already in motion — a registration application, an extension, a withdrawal certificate or a complaint response — that coordination work is aimed at producing a complete, query-proof submission the first time.
13.2 Why Promoters and Agents in Mumbai Work With Marcken
A few structural facts about the firm are relevant to a promoter or agent choosing support for MahaRERA work:
- An active, established Mumbai practice. Marcken Consulting LLP is headquartered in Ahmedabad and serves an active, established client base in Mumbai’s real estate and financial services sectors, coordinated remotely from the head office rather than through a Mumbai branch office.
- CA certification and valuation under one roof. Rule 5 chartered accountant certification for escrow withdrawals and the firm’s IBBI-Registered Valuer practice, signed by CA Murli Chandak, sit together, so the certification, valuation and financial-documentation strands of a project can move through a single engagement.
- Coordinated Merchant Banker certification where a transaction needs it. Where a transaction also requires a Merchant Banker’s certificate, that certificate is issued by a SEBI-registered Category-I Merchant Banker within the same coordinated engagement.
13.3 Related Services for Mumbai Developers and Businesses
Businesses that need broader financial oversight through a project’s development cycle — monthly MIS, cash flow monitoring against the escrow account, compliance tracking across multiple registered phases — may also find our Virtual CFO services in Mumbai relevant, and developers or investors who need an independent valuation of land, a project, or development rights ahead of a transaction can find that covered on our Registered Valuer in Mumbai page. Businesses managing GST across a real estate project — works contract classification, input credit restrictions, and the affordable-versus-standard rate distinction on residential projects — may also find our GST Consultant in Mumbai page relevant. A broader view of how the firm supports Mumbai businesses across audit, tax, GST, valuation and fundraising is available in our Choosing a CA in Mumbai guide.
This guide is part of our city-wise RERA series — companion guides cover RERA registration in Ahmedabad, RERA registration in Jaipur and RERA registration in Kolkata.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is RERA registration mandatory for every real estate project in Mumbai?
Only where the land proposed for development exceeds 500 square metres and the number of apartments exceeds 8, inclusive of all phases, under Section 3(2)(a) of the Act as clarified by MahaRERA’s orders. A project within either limit alone is exempt. Completed projects with a pre-1 May 2017 completion certificate, and pure renovation or redevelopment work without new sale or allotment, also fall outside the requirement.
Where is the MahaRERA office for Mumbai?
MahaRERA’s head office is at 3rd to 9th Floor, Housefin Bhavan, Plot No. C-21, E-Block, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra (East), Mumbai – 400051 (phone 022 68111600), with a Mumbai Division Office at 501, Express Building, 14-E Road, Churchgate, Mumbai – 400020. Most filings happen online through the MahaRERA portal, with the offices handling hearings, hard-copy sets and offline submissions.
Do real estate agents in Mumbai need separate RERA registration?
Yes. Under Section 9, any agent facilitating the sale or purchase of a unit in a registered project needs their own registration with MahaRERA, which since the 2023 orders also requires a valid Certificate of Competency, obtained through the mandatory 20-hour training and the competency examination.
How long does MahaRERA take to process a registration application?
The Authority is required to grant or reject an application within 30 days under Section 5. If it does neither within that period, the project is treated as registered by default, subject to the promoter accepting the standard conditions; a registration number is then issued within a further 7 days.
How much does RERA registration cost in Mumbai?
Project registration is Rs 10 per square metre of land, subject to a minimum of Rs 10,000 and a maximum of Rs 10 lakh (Rs 5 per square metre for plotted development). Agent registration is Rs 10,000 for an individual and Rs 1,00,000 for any other applicant, valid for 5 years.
What happens if a promoter sells units before registering the project?
It is a default under Section 59, carrying a penalty of up to 10% of the estimated project cost, with imprisonment of up to 3 years or a further fine possible if the promoter continues to disregard the Authority’s order to register.
Can I verify a project’s RERA registration before booking a unit?
Yes, through the project search function on the official MahaRERA portal, which shows the registration number, promoter details, sanctioned layout, and disclosures filed since registration.
Does a MahaRERA registration number have to appear in property advertisements?
Yes. Section 11(2) of the Act and Rule 14 of the Maharashtra Rules require the registration number and the Authority’s website address to be quoted in advertisements, and MahaRERA Order No. 46C of 2025 dated 8 April 2025 requires the number, website address and QR code to sit in the top-right corner, in a font at least as large as the largest font used for the contact details, with the QR code at a correct aspect ratio so that it can be scanned. Penalties run from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 per violation, and failure to correct within 10 days is treated as a continuing offence.
How do I file a complaint with MahaRERA against a builder or agent?
Form A before the Authority for contraventions of the Act generally, or Form B before the Adjudicating Officer for compensation claims under Sections 12, 14, 18 and 19 — each with a Rs 5,000 filing fee. Orders can be appealed to the Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal within 60 days, on payment of a further Rs 5,000.
Is a chartered accountant required anywhere in the RERA process?
Yes, specifically for certifying withdrawals from a project’s separate escrow account. Rule 5 of the Maharashtra Rules requires withdrawal certification, proportionate to construction progress, from a project architect, project engineer and a practising chartered accountant before funds can be released for that stage of the project.
Does Marcken Consulting have an office in Mumbai?
Marcken Consulting is headquartered in Ahmedabad and serves an active, established client base in Mumbai remotely, coordinated from the head office. The firm does not operate a walk-in branch office in the city.
Speak to Us
If you need support with MahaRERA project registration, agent registration, escrow account certification, or broader compliance planning for a real estate development in Mumbai, we offer a no-charge 30-minute consultation with no obligation.
Marcken Consulting LLP | CA Murli Chandak — IBBI-Registered Valuer (Securities or Financial Assets)
Website: marckenconsulting.com
Phone: +91 99980 59923 / +91 99985 39902
Email: crm@marckenconsulting.com
