MahaRERA Abeyance Projects: What the Status Means & Agent Risks

Corrected on 6 November 2026. An earlier version said Section 65 applies to booking on an abeyance project. Section 65 covers Authority orders, and the wider penalty for agents is Section 62. Updated on 7 November 2026: MahaRERA's portal menu lists four abeyance lists, which are described below.

What 'Abeyance' Actually Means on MahaRERA

Abeyance is a hold status. MahaRERA places a project in abeyance when something has gone wrong with the developer's compliance, but the registration has not been cancelled. The project still exists in the records, the promoter still holds the registration number, yet the project is frozen for transactional purposes. This is the part many new consultants miss: an abeyance project is not the same as a registered, active project, even though both show a valid MahaRERA number.

Press reports of MahaRERA's action describe two main triggers: a lapsed project whose completion date has passed without an update, and missing quarterly progress reports (QPRs). Reports of the 2026 QPR notices said registrations could be cancelled or kept in abeyance, with a ₹50,000 penalty. MahaRERA's portal menu lists four: due to lapse of completion date, non-compliance of QPR, common bank account, and as per the Authority's order and other reasons. Read the order behind the listing.

The reported consequences are the same whatever the reason: bank accounts frozen and no marketing or sale deeds until compliance is restored.

Finding and Reading Abeyance Status on the Portal

Go to the MahaRERA website and open the Projects section. MahaRERA has published lists of projects in abeyance on its website. Portal screens change, so look for the current list, and check why the project was held where the listing says.

Search by project name, promoter name, or registration number. Open the project page and confirm the current status line. Do not rely on a brochure, a hoarding, or the developer's own website, which may still claim the project is fully RERA registered.

If you are unsure whether a registration is merely expired or capable of renewal, read our explainer on registration renewal and certificate expiry timelines before advising any buyer.

What an Abeyance Developer Cannot Do

Once a project is in abeyance, the developer loses key permissions under the Act. No advertising. No marketing of the project, in print, online, or through hoardings. No fresh bookings or new agreements for sale. Any sale facilitated during this period is a violation, not a technicality.

In cases triggered by the bank account or by a specific Authority order, the designated account may be frozen, which blocks the developer from withdrawing construction funds. This is the mechanism MahaRERA uses to force compliance. The developer must clear the default, file pending QPRs, regularise the account under Section 4(2)(l), or obtain an extension before the project comes off the abeyance list.

For a property advisor, the rule is simple. If a project sits in abeyance, you do not market it and you do not close a booking on it, regardless of what the developer promises about getting reinstated next week. The frozen account often relates to the 70% designated account under Section 4(2)(l), which is worth understanding in detail.

Consultant Liability Under Sections 10, 62 and 65

Section 10 sets an agent's duties, including not facilitating a sale in a project that is not registered and not making false or misleading statements. Breach brings Section 62: ₹10,000 for every day of default, up to 5% of the cost of the plot, apartment or building. If an Authority order is directed at you and you ignore it, Section 65 adds a daily penalty up to 5% of the estimated cost of the unit. Whether a booking on an abeyance project is a Section 10(a) breach depends on the order behind the listing, so treat it as a serious risk rather than a settled rule.

Ignorance is a weak defence when the status is on the portal. Section 10(c) bars unfair trade practices, and Section 10(d) requires you to help the allottee get the information they are entitled to. Calling a held project active would fall foul of both.

Keep Sections 62 and 65 apart before you sit the exam. You can model the numbers using the RERA penalty calculator covering Sections 59, 60, 62, 63 and 65 to see exactly how much a single mistaken booking can cost a broker.

Five Portal Checks Before You Recommend Any Project

Run these five checks every time, before you put your name behind a project. Treat them as a fixed routine, not an optional step.

One, confirm the registration number exists and matches the project and promoter shown on the marketing material. Two, check the project status line: registered, lapsed, abeyance, or revoked. If it reads anything other than active and valid, stop. Three, open the Abeyance Project List tab and search the promoter name directly, because a developer with one held project often has compliance problems across others.

Four, check the declared completion date and whether an extension has been approved. A passed date with no extension is a reported abeyance trigger. Five, verify the QPR filing history on the project page. Missing reports signal a developer heading toward abeyance even if the status has not flipped yet.

For agreements, also confirm the carpet area declared on the portal using a carpet area calculator aligned with Section 2(k).

Abeyance vs Lapsed vs Revoked: The Distinction That Trips People Up

These three are easy to confuse. They are not interchangeable. Each has a different cause, a different legal effect, and a different path back.

Abeyance is a temporary hold. The registration survives, transactions are frozen, and the project can be reinstated once the developer fixes the default. Lapsed means the registration period or the completion date has expired without renewal or extension; the project needs to apply for an extension or re-registration to continue lawfully. Revoked is the most serious. Under Section 7, the Authority can cancel the registration for default, unfair practice or fraud. Under Section 7(4), it then debars the promoter from accessing the website for that project, and Section 8 lets the remaining work go to a competent authority or the association of allottees, who have the first right of refusal.

Here is the quick comparison:

Status | Nature | Cause | Effect | Recovery Abeyance | Temporary hold | Reported: lapsed completion date or QPR default | No marketing or sale deeds, account frozen | Cure the default and update the portal Lapsed | Expired registration | Period or completion date over without extension | Cannot lawfully sell | Apply for extension or re-registration Revoked | Cancelled (Section 7) | Serious or repeated default | Registration cancelled, promoter barred from portal | Project may be handed to allottees or authority

Why This Sits on Your Exam and in Your Daily Work

Reading a project's status correctly is a daily skill for an agent, and it ties into the exam topics of agent penalties under Sections 62 and 65, revocation under Section 7, and the difference between held, lapsed and cancelled registrations.

Build this into your study order alongside promoter obligations under Section 4 and agent duties under Sections 9 and 10. Review the MahaRERA exam syllabus and topic list to see where project status sits, then test yourself under timed conditions with a full-length RERA mock test.

In practice, the five portal checks above protect your registration and your client. A developer's problem becomes your liability the moment you facilitate a booking on a frozen project.