Before you recommend any project to a client, you need to check its status on the MahaRERA portal. The regulator assigns one of five statuses to every registered project: Registered, Lapsed, Suspended, Non-Compliant, and Cancelled. Each status tells you something different about the project's legal standing and your liability if you proceed.
Registered means the project passed initial scrutiny and is actively selling. Lapsed projects stopped construction or sales and didn't renew their registration within 60 days of the deadline. Suspended projects violated RERA rules and the regulator temporarily halted all sales activity. Non-Compliant projects failed to file mandatory quarterly progress reports or financial statements. Cancelled projects were denied registration outright or the developer formally withdrew.
You cannot legally recommend a Suspended, Lapsed, or Cancelled project to your client. Doing so exposes you to a Section 31 complaint before the MahaRERA Adjudicating Officer. The agent who sold units in a suspended project can face a penalty of up to 10 lakh rupees and loss of registration. The client has grounds to demand a refund plus interest at MCLR plus 2 percent.
Open the MahaRERA portal at maharera.in. Click on 'Search Project' in the navigation menu. You will see a search box with filters: Project Name, City, Registration Number, and Status. Use the Status dropdown to filter by 'Registered' only. This removes all risky projects from your search results immediately.
When you find a project, click on its name to open the project card. The top section shows: Project Name, Registration Number, Status (displayed as a coloured badge), Registration Date, and Validity Expiry Date. Check that the expiry date is in the future. If it says 'Validity Expired,' the project has lapsed and is not taking new bookings.
Scroll down to the 'Project Details' tab. Here you will see Developer Name, Project Address, Project Area, and Total Number of Units. Cross-check the developer name against the project's Approvals and Permissions section. If the approvals are under a different entity name, flag it immediately. This mismatch signals potential legal complexity or fund diversion risk.
Every MahaRERA project has a 'Litigation Details' tab that lists all complaints filed against the developer, recovery warrants issued, and penalties imposed. This tab is your second line of defence against recommending problem projects.
The Litigation Details section shows: Date of Complaint, Complaint Number, Status (Pending, Disposed, Withdrawn), Penalty Amount (if any), and Reason. A project with 50+ pending complaints signals systemic issues with fund management or construction. A project with recovery warrants means the developer owes refunds to aggrieved buyers and MahaRERA has issued a formal demand notice. If you recommend a project under recovery warrant status, you are advising your client to enter a legal dispute they did not create.
Look specifically for penalty trends. If the same violation (e.g., 'Delayed Quarterly Report Filing') appears three or more times with increasing penalty amounts, the developer is not learning from enforcement action. This pattern suggests the project will face more suspensions in future. Take a screenshot of this tab and add it to your client file. If a complaint arises later, you can show your documentation that you conducted due diligence.
The 'Project Progress' tab on MahaRERA displays two critical measures: Financial Progress and Physical Progress. Financial Progress tells you what percentage of client funds have been collected. Physical Progress tells you what percentage of construction is complete. These two numbers should move together. If they diverge sharply, the developer may be diverting funds.
Example: A project shows 85 percent financial progress but only 30 percent physical progress. This means the developer has collected 85 percent of all money owed by buyers but has built only 30 percent of the promised structure. Where is the remaining 55 percent of funds? MahaRERA will investigate, but your client is already at risk. Many suspended projects show this exact pattern.
Check the quarterly progress reports (QPR) filed by the developer. These reports are submitted every three months and must include certified physical and financial data. If a developer skips QPR filing or submits blank/false data, MahaRERA will suspend the project. Before you pitch any project, verify that the last two quarterly reports show consistent, documented progress. If the most recent QPR is more than four months old, the project is likely in violation and a suspension notice may be imminent.
Every registered MahaRERA project is assigned a unique QR code displayed on the project card in the portal. This QR code is your verification tool. Scan it with any smartphone camera or QR code reader app. The decoded information should show: Project Registration Number, Developer Name, Total Project Area, and Registration Status.
If the QR code does not scan, or if the decoded information does not match the project details on the portal, do not proceed. Fake QR codes are sometimes used in marketing materials by unauthorised agents or fraudulent developers. A legitimate developer will have the exact same QR code on all official documents: approvals, sales brochures, and advertisements.
Ask the developer or their authorised channel partner to provide a certified copy of the project's registration certificate from MahaRERA. This certificate includes the QR code and a Government of Maharashtra seal. Verify the seal visually if possible. If the certificate looks digital-only or undated, request an official letter on the developer's letterhead confirming their MahaRERA registration number. This simple step eliminates 80 percent of fraud cases.
In 2024, MahaRERA suspended a 2,000-unit residential project in Pune for filing false quarterly reports for 18 consecutive months. The developer claimed 60 percent physical progress while actual on-site inspection revealed only 20 percent completion. The regulator found that client funds of 400 crore rupees were diverted to acquire additional land instead of funding the promised project.
Agents who had recommended this project before the suspension faced Section 31 complaints from their clients. The complaint alleged that the agent failed to verify financial and physical progress and thus failed to conduct adequate due diligence. Five agents lost their registration, and three paid penalties of 5 lakh rupees each. The clients recovered 85 percent of their money from the developer's bank account freeze ordered by MahaRERA, but the project remains incomplete.
This case teaches one rule: always cross-check the MahaRERA portal data with the developer's most recent QPR before recommending a project. If the developer cannot provide a QPR dated within the last 90 days, do not recommend the project. If the QPR shows financial progress significantly ahead of physical progress, escalate the project for your principal broker's review before you pitch it to any client.
Use this decision tree every time you evaluate a project. Start at the top.
1. Is the project status 'Registered' on the MahaRERA portal? If NO, stop. Do not recommend.
2. Is the registration validity date in the future (not expired)? If NO, stop.
3. Are there any active recovery warrants or pending litigation with more than 20 complaints? If YES, stop.
4. Is the most recent quarterly progress report dated within 90 days? If NO, stop.
5. Is the financial progress within 10 percentage points of physical progress? If NO (e.g., 75% financial, 40% physical), flag for escalation.
6. Can you scan and verify the project QR code against portal data? If NO, stop.
7. Is the developer's name consistent across all MahaRERA approvals and project documents? If NO, escalate.
If the project passes all seven checks, it is safe to recommend. If it fails any check, document your findings in your client file and either escalate to your broker or decline to represent the project. Your registration is worth more than any single deal.
MahaRERA exam questions test your knowledge of project verification, complaints procedures, and agent liability under Section 31. The practical skills covered in this guide form the foundation of exam topics on Sections 30, 31, and 32 of the RERA Act. When you prepare for your exam, use practice tests that include scenario-based questions about suspended projects, false QPR data, and fund diversion cases.
Your exam pattern includes 2 to 3 questions on project status verification and agent liability. These are high-weightage questions because they test your practical judgment, not just your knowledge of definitions. When you sit for the exam, you will encounter case studies identical to the Pune suspension case mentioned above. Your ability to identify the red flag (financial progress outpacing physical progress) determines whether you answer the question correctly.
After you pass the exam and begin practising as an agent, this guide becomes your operational manual. Keep a copy in your office and reference it before every project pitch. Your liability exists not just during exam conditions but throughout your career as an agent. The agents who survived the Pune case without penalties were the ones who had documented their due diligence process.
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