Developer Got OC After Years of Delay: Can They Still Deny Your Refund?

MahaRERA just told a Pune developer: a late OC won't save you from a refund

On August 24, 2026, MahaRERA directed Marvel Landmarks Pvt Ltd and its owner Vishwajeet Jhawar to refund ₹1.30 crore to three homebuyers in the Marvel Ganga Sangria project in Mohammadwadi, Pune. The order was passed by MahaRERA Member-I Mahesh Pathak, according to MyPunePulse.

The backstory matters. The flat was booked in August 2012 for ₹1.37 crore, and the buyers had already paid around ₹1.30 crore, roughly 95 percent of the price. When the project dragged on, they went to MahaRERA in February 2018 asking to cancel and get their money back. The buyers are named in the order as Vaishali Chandrakant Bhor, Neeta S. Solanki, and the legal heirs of Janakraj Ramjidas Katyal.

The developer's defence was simple: it had a Part Occupancy Certificate from May 2019, so the flat was ready and the buyers could no longer walk away. MahaRERA didn't accept that. This ruling settles three questions that come up again and again for delayed-possession buyers, so it's worth understanding what it actually means for your money.

Question 1: Can a developer escape a refund by getting the OC later?

An Occupancy Certificate, or OC, is the document the local authority issues to confirm a building is fit to live in. Developers often argue that once they have it, a buyer can no longer demand a refund for delay, because the flat is now ready.

MahaRERA rejected that argument here. The Part OC in this case came in May 2019, more than five years after the possession date promised in the 2012 agreement. And the buyers had already exercised their right to withdraw back in February 2018, before the OC existed.

The principle MahaRERA applied is straightforward: a right you have already used cannot be taken away by something that happens afterwards. This is Section 18 of the RERA Act, which lets a buyer withdraw and claim a full refund with interest when a developer fails to hand over possession on time. Our guide to Section 18 delay interest at SBI MCLR + 2% explains how that interest is calculated. The timing of your withdrawal is what protects you, so the date you put your claim in writing matters enormously.

Question 2: Can the developer blame your missed payments to kill the claim?

The other common defence is that the buyer defaulted on payments, so the developer shouldn't have to refund anything. In this case the developer alleged payment defaults too.

MahaRERA drew a clear line. To use non-payment as a defence, the developer had to show the agreement was actually terminated for payment default before the buyer exercised the right to withdraw. Merely alleging that the buyer missed instalments is not enough. If the contract was never formally cancelled on that ground, the buyer's Section 18 right stands.

MahaRERA also observed that the alleged defaults could not justify the developer's own failure to complete the project. The logic is fair: a buyer here had already paid about 95 percent of the price. You cannot leave a project unfinished for years and then point to a payment gap as your excuse. If a developer is genuinely relying on default, ask them one thing in writing: show me the termination notice and when it was served.

What 'refund in six instalments' means for you, and how you're protected

MahaRERA did not order the ₹1.30 crore paid in one shot. It directed a refund in six equal monthly instalments. The reason given was practical: a sudden lump-sum payout could hurt the project's finances and hit other buyers still waiting for their homes.

Staggered payment sounds like a disadvantage, but the order builds in protection. The buyers keep a charge on the flat until the full amount is paid. A charge means the flat is legally tied to your claim, so the developer cannot freely sell or transfer it out from under you before you're paid in full.

The cancellation deed comes after the money, not before. The buyers must execute the cancellation deed only once they have received the refund. That sequence protects you: you don't sign away your rights to the flat until the cash is actually in your account. If a developer asks you to cancel first and trust them for payment later, that is the wrong order.

What Section 18 does not cover: stamp duty, registration, and taxes

Here's the part that surprises people. A Section 18 refund does not return everything you spent buying the flat. In this order, MahaRERA held that stamp duty, registration charges, and government taxes will not form part of the refund quantum.

Those are payments made to the government, not to the developer, so the developer isn't the one who reimburses them. On a flat of this size that can be a meaningful sum. If you want to see roughly what those government costs look like on a Maharashtra purchase, our stamp duty calculator gives you the figure, and the wider breakdown of stamp duty, GST and registration fees explains what each charge is for.

So when you calculate what you actually get back, take the price you paid the builder plus interest, and set aside the stamp duty and registration you paid the sub-registrar. MahaRERA also did not award separate compensation in these proceedings. Know the number before you expect it, so the refund order doesn't feel like a shortfall.

If you're in the same situation: what to gather and where to file

Start with your paperwork. Pull together your agreement for sale, the allotment letter, every payment receipt and bank statement showing what you paid, the possession date promised in the contract, and any written communication where you asked to withdraw or the developer responded. The date you first demanded a refund in writing is your anchor, exactly as it was for the Marvel buyers in 2018.

Check the project on the MahaRERA portal at maharera.maharashtra.gov.in. Confirm the RERA registration number for your specific building, since large projects often have separate numbers for different blocks, something our phase-wise registration guide explains.

You file a complaint on the MahaRERA portal against the promoter, stating that you are exercising your Section 18 right to withdraw and seeking a refund with interest. If you already hold a refund order and the developer hasn't paid, the route is different: see our walkthrough on filing a non-compliance application when a refund order isn't paid. Consider a property lawyer for anything involving a prior order or a High Court appearance.