Mumbai: MREAT upholds MahaRERA order on usable parking at Chembur housing project

The Veena Serenity project in Chembur. Pic/By Special Arrangement

The Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (MREAT) has refused to stay a MahaRERA order directing developer Veena Realcon Pvt Ltd to ensure flat buyers at its Veena Serenity project in Chembur can actually use the parking spaces allotted to them. The tribunal ruled that merely allotting a parking space on paper is not enough if homebuyers are prevented from using it.

Why the case matters

The tribunal made it clear that a builder's responsibility does not end with allotting a parking space.

Key observation

A parking space has value only if the allottee can actually use it.

Developer's stand

>> Parking spaces had already been allotted on November 7, 2019.
>> Residents of Wings D and E, being a separate society in the same layout, were allegedly being prevented from parking by the society of Wings A, B and C.
>> The promoter had fulfilled its contractual obligations.
>> MahaRERA allegedly passed the order without giving the developer an opportunity to be heard.
>> The developer sought a stay until the appeals were decided.

The dispute

Project
Veena Serenity in Chembur

Homebuyers
Dilip Chaturbhuj Thakkar and family Ashok and Priya Ashok Vasudha Amit Dhanve and Amit P Dhanve
The buyers approached MahaRERA seeking possession and use of their allotted parking spaces in Wings D and E

What MahaRERA had ordered

On July 10, 2025, MahaRERA directed the developer to hand over the parking spaces allotted to the complainants.
The developer challenged that order before MREAT.

Homebuyers' stand

The flat purchasers argued that:
>> MahaRERA procedures had been followed.
>> The developer had participated in earlier proceedings.
>> The stay plea was only delaying implementation of the order.

Advocate speaks

Godfrey Pimenta, Counsel for the flat owners
‘The persistent non-compliance by developers with orders passed by MahaRERA is a matter of serious concern. When a statutory authority directs a developer to hand over a parking space for which the purchaser has already paid, compliance should be immediate and unconditional. Orders of MahaRERA must be respected in both letter and spirit.'

What the tribunal said

>> The developer failed to establish a prima facie case.
>> Records showed the promoter had participated in earlier proceedings.
>> No evidence was produced to show MahaRERA violated due process.
>> The promoter's repeated absence weighed against granting relief.