Mumbai and Maharashtra homebuyers struggle to enforce MahaRERA refund orders

Hundreds of homebuyers across Maharashtra remain caught in stalled housing projects paying home loan EMIs for homes they cannot occupy while also shouldering monthly rent Even those who have secured refund orders from the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority MahaRERA say recovering their money remains a struggleFor many winning a refund order has only opened another battle navigating sluggish recovery proceedings repeated administrative changes and insolvency cases involving developers The result is prolonged financial distress with buyers waiting years to recover their savingsPaying EMIs for unfinished homesProject delays have left buyers juggling loan repayments and rent draining household savings and adding to emotional distressDouble burden Buyers continue paying EMIs for unfinished homes while renting accommodation elsewhereSavings depleted Years of waiting and legal expenses have eaten into the savings of middleincome families and senior citizensEmotional toll Some buyers say the prolonged uncertainty has affected their mental wellbeing and led them to seek counsellingOther sideA MahaRERA official said homebuyers can file a noncompliance plea if a developer fails to honour a refund order After hearing all parties an adjudicating officer can issue a recovery warrant and forward it to the concerned collectorrsquos officeRefund orders remain on paperEven after obtaining favourable orders with interest buyers say the actual recovery process can be painfully slow Once MahaRERA issues recovery warrants execution depends on district collectorates and tehsildars Buyers cite frequent transfers of officials and inadequate followup as reasons for delays Property auctions intended to recover dues from defaulting developers have also failed to translate into actual payments Buyers say absence of clear timelines and followup mechanism leaves them uncertain about when or whether they will receive their moneyInsolvency proceedings add another hurdleBuyers say recovery becomes even more difficult when developers enter insolvency proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal NCLT Such proceedings can trigger a moratorium that restricts individual recovery action depending on the applicable insolvency processFor affected homebuyers this can leave existing MahaRERA orders difficult to enforce and push repayment further out of reachVictimSpeakJohn Dantis senior citizenDantis invested R6 lakh from his savings in 2016 to buy a 225sqft flat in a township at Vangani in Badlapur booked in his daughterrsquos name Possession was promised within three yearsHe has since obtained a favourable MahaRERA refund order but says he has received neither the money nor the flat With no personal income he depends on his daughters and pays Rs 35000 a month in rent in Andheri He says legal expenses and the developerrsquos move to the NCLT have added to his distress and he is undergoing counsellingVishal Raut homebuyerRaut booked a bungalow plot in Shahapur in 2012 for Rs 475 lakh After the developer stalled the demarcation and cancelled the project in 2016 he sought a full refund with interestHe secured a MahaRERA order in October 2022 However despite three changes of tehsildar and an auction scheduled for August 9 2024 he says no money has been recovered He said his case registered with the Thane Collector under number 260286 has made no concrete progressBhushan Mule 50 BEST employeeMule booked a 1RK flat in the Vangani project in February 2017 for R731 lakh paying R3 lakh upfrontAlthough the structure has been built he says essential facilities including electricity water pipelines and sanitary fittings remain incompleteHe pays an EMI of Rs 6000 a month on a 25year loan alongside R17000 in monthly rent in the MIDC area Supporting a child in Std X on his monthly salary of R40000 Mule says the burden continues despite a welfare association being formed and a group order obtained from MahaRERA in January 2026 More than 750 buyers in the project remain without relief he saidExpertviewlsquoActual recovery could be far lowerrsquoAbhay Upadhyay president of the Forum for Peoplersquos Collective Effort and a member of the Central Advisory Council for RERA under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs called for greater transparency in MahaRERArsquos recovery figuresldquoRERA was enacted with transparency as a primary objective MahaRERA should disclose the exact number and total value of refund and compensation orders passed since inception before claiming a 45 per cent recovery raterdquo he said