Mumbai, April 7 -- In a landmark judgment with far-reaching implications, the Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (MREAT) has directed Wadhwa Constructions to register its Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) commercial project with MahaRERA, citing the absence of a full Occupation Certificate (OC). The ruling could potentially impact hundreds of similar buildings across Mumbai holding only partial OCs.
The project, known as Trade Centre, received a partial OC in 2008 for most of its floors, excluding parts of the first and second floors. Despite this, office units were sold, and the building has been occupied. The tribunal has now classified the project as ongoing and imposed a ?5 lakh penalty, ordering registration within 60 days.
A society formed in 2017 had filed a complaint with MahaRERA seeking full OC, but the authority dismissed the case in 2020, stating the building was completed before the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. The society then appealed to MREAT, which upheld that projects lacking full OC must be registered under Section 3 of the Act.
Legal experts suggest this decision could trigger a wave of similar cases, potentially bringing numerous partially certified buildings under MahaRERA's purview.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.