Last reviewed: 13 August 2026. RERA proceedings have a personality: they move faster than civil courts, they are decided overwhelmingly on documents, and MahaRERA's enforcement is now data-driven — stale QPRs and unfiled Form 5s generate notices without any buyer complaining. When a complaint or notice lands, the promoter who wins is rarely the one with the sharpest advocate rhetoric; it is the one whose compliance file — registration, quarterly updates, Form 5s, withdrawal certificates, sanctioned-plan trail — tells a consistent story. Here is the map: what arrives, what each charge means, and the response playbook.
The charge sheet, decoded
| Provision | The allegation | Exposure |
|---|---|---|
| Section 12 | False/misleading advertisement or brochure promise | Refund with interest for affected allottees; penalties |
| Section 13 | Taking more than 10% without a registered agreement for sale | Direction to regularise; penalties |
| Section 14 | Deviation from sanctioned plans/specifications without consent | Rectification, compensation; structural-defect liability window |
| Section 18 | Delay in possession vs the agreement/registration date | Exit: refund + interest (SBI highest MCLR + 2%); Stay: interest for every month of delay |
| Sections 59–63 | Unregistered project · false information · order non-compliance | Up to 10% of project cost; daily penalties; imprisonment exposure for persistent default |
The response playbook — first 14 days
- Diarise everything: reply date, hearing date, the exact sections invoked. RERA timelines are short and ex-parte orders are real.
- Build the defence file before drafting a word: registration certificate and extensions, every QPR filed, Form 5s with the CA workings, Form 1/2/3 withdrawal certificates, sanctioned-plan and approval trail, the allottee's agreement, payment schedule and demand-notice history.
- Check the complainant's own ledger. Section 19 puts payment obligations on allottees too — a buyer in substantial default of demands tells a different Section 18 story. Documented payment defaults, credited interest and communication trails matter.
- Price the realistic outcomes. Where delay is real, interest liability under the Maharashtra formula compounds against sentiment-driven defence. MahaRERA's conciliation forum exists precisely for negotiated closure — often at a fraction of the litigated exposure, without a public adverse order.
- Cure what a notice says is broken. For data-driven compliance notices (stale QPRs, unfiled Form 5), the winning reply is the cured default plus the filing evidence — argue second, comply first.
- Appeal with eyes open: the Appellate Tribunal within 60 days — but a promoter's appeal against a refund/penalty order requires the pre-deposit under Section 43(5). Model the cash before the bravado.
Where the CA sits in a RERA defence
Most RERA matters are lost in the accounts, not the law: withdrawal certificates that do not reconcile, Form 5s never filed, cost claims the books cannot carry, interest computations nobody checked. Our desk reconstructs and certifies that financial record — designated-account trails, completion-proportion workings, interest mathematics under the Maharashtra formula — and prepares the compliance file that counsel argues from. Registration-side prevention lives in our project registration guide; channel-partner exposure in the agent registration guide.
Mistakes that convert defensible matters into orders
- Skipping the first hearing — ex-parte orders are routinely the worst version of the outcome.
- Replying with narrative instead of the QPR/Form 5/certificate record.
- Ignoring the conciliation window while interest runs.
- Announcing an appeal without the Section 43(5) pre-deposit maths.
- Continuing to market during a suspension-grade default.
Frequently asked questions
What can a homebuyer actually claim under Section 18?
Two tracks: exit — full refund with interest at the notified rate (SBI’s highest MCLR plus 2% under the Maharashtra rules) plus compensation where ordered; or stay — continued allotment with interest for every month of delay until possession. The agreement date and the registration timeline decide when delay legally began.
We received a MahaRERA notice without any buyer complaint. How?
Enforcement is data-driven: expired registrations, stale quarterly updates and unfiled Form 5s generate suo-motu notices from the portal’s own records. The cure — filing the pending compliance and evidencing it — is usually more persuasive than any argument, and it should precede the reply.
Is settlement possible once a RERA complaint is filed?
Yes — MahaRERA runs a conciliation forum where promoter and allottee can negotiate a recorded settlement. For genuine-delay matters it frequently closes disputes faster and cheaper than a contested hearing, without a public adverse order on the register.
Can we appeal a MahaRERA order?
To the Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal within 60 days — but a promoter’s appeal is entertained only with the Section 43(5) pre-deposit covering the ordered amounts. Budget that cash reality before choosing the appeal route over compliance or settlement.
Does the buyer’s own payment default help the promoter?
It can materially change the story — Section 19 places payment obligations on allottees, and a documented trail of unpaid demands, reminders and interest credited weighs in the promoter’s favour on both liability and equities. It works only if the ledger and correspondence were maintained contemporaneously.
What exactly does a CA firm do in RERA litigation?
The financial record that decides these matters is chartered-accountant terrain: reconstructing designated-account trails, reconciling Form 1/2/3 withdrawals with books, preparing or repairing Form 5s, computing Section 18 interest correctly, and assembling the compliance file counsel argues from. We work alongside your advocate, not instead of one.
We build the defence file — accounts, certificates, Form 5s, interest workings — cure the compliance gaps, and support conciliation or hearings alongside your counsel.
RERA Compliance Desk Bookkeeping & Accounting Talk to usThis article is general information as on 13 August 2026, based on the RERA Act, Maharashtra rules and MahaRERA practice. Interest rates follow the notified formula and change with SBI MCLR; outcomes depend entirely on facts and records. This is not legal advice — engage counsel for proceedings; we work alongside them on the financial record.