Extension Won't Block Your Interest Claim

The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has clarified that homebuyers are eligible for interest on delayed possession from developers once the date committed in their sale agreement lapses, regardless of any subsequent extension granted to the project deadline. In an important ruling dated December 26, 2025, MahaRERA confirmed that homebuyers have the right to claim interest from builders if possession is not given by the date mentioned in the registered agreement for sale.

This stands true irrespective of any blanket extension granted by the regulator due to external circumstances or general reliefs granted to developers. The landmark order, led by Chairperson Manoj Saunik, upheld compensation rights for a group of complainants, setting a precedent that project-wide deadline extensions do not erase individual buyer protections.

MahaRERA rejected arguments that project registration extensions are substantive in nature, ruling that they do not alter the possession date committed in a registered Agreement for Sale. Chairperson Manoj Saunik observed that developers who launch projects and accept bookings before obtaining necessary approvals cannot subsequently claim regulatory delays as force majeure. This clarification arrives after years of confusion in Maharashtra's real estate market, where developers successfully lobbied for bulk extensions, leaving homebuyers uncertain whether their rights survived alongside them.

The date in your individual registered Agreement for Sale governs, not the often later project completion date on the RERA portal, and long 12–18-month grace periods have been struck down as arbitrary by recent MahaRERA orders in December 2025. The ruling applies a clean separation of law: the regulator's administrative timeline has no bearing on contractual obligations between buyer and developer.

For homebuyers already waiting beyond the promised date, under Section 18(1), you can either withdraw from the project and receive a full refund with 10% annual interest, or continue with the project and receive monthly interest compensation (typically MCLR + 2%) until possession is delivered. Under the Maharashtra Real Estate Rules, 2017, the prescribed rate is State Bank of India's highest Marginal Cost of Lending Rate (MCLR) + 2%. As of 2026, this translates to approximately 10.95% per annum on the total amount paid.

Before RERA 2.0 rolled out in March 2026, buyers had rights on paper but slow enforcement on the ground. MahaRERA's hearing turnaround has tightened, and many delay-of-possession matters now move to first hearing in 60–90 days, not a year. The faster resolution timeline, combined with this clarification, shifts power back toward homebuyers—those who file complaints now face reduced risk of indefinite waiting.