Citing West Asia conflict, MahaRERA grants blanket 4-month extension to builders

This is the second time in MahaRERA’s history that it is providing extensions to housing projects due to force majeure

MUMBAI: A week after the Union minister of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) directed all housing regulators to extend deadlines for real estate projects due to force majeure, the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) issued an order on Friday. A force majeure clause is a contract provision that relieves a party from liability when unforeseeable and unavoidable events—such as natural disasters, wars, or pandemics—make it impossible to fulfil contractual obligations.

Mumbai, India - April 13, 2020: Tulsi Pipe road wears a deserted look and weather stays clear with far visibility during nationwide lockdown due to Corona virus, Parel, Mumbai, India, on Monday, April 13 2020. (Photo by Aalok Soni/Hindustan Times) (Aalok Soni/HT PHOTO)

This is the second time in MahaRERA’s history that it is providing extensions to housing projects due to force majeure. This first was during the Covid-19 pandemic. Back then, MahaRERA invoked force majeure provisions to grant blanket project registration extensions. This included an initial six-month extension in 2020, from March 15 to September 14, and a subsequent six-month extension in August 2021 for projects expiring on or after April 15 of that year.

The latest order issued by MahaRERA secretary Prakash Sable has announced an automatic four-month extension for the registration of real estate projects affected by the ongoing West Asia conflict.

On April 29, the union ministry of finance had classified the conflict as a state of “war”. Following this, and considering representations from the real estate lobby, MoHUA issued a directive on July 31 to automatically extend completion deadlines by four months. Promoters will now not have to submit an application seeking an extension or relief.

Reacting to the move, Kamlesh Thakur, President, NAREDCO Maharashtra, said, “We welcome MahaRERA’s timely and pragmatic decision to grant an automatic four-month extension to eligible real estate projects under the Force Majeure provisions of the RERA Act. This is a balanced and industry sensitive step that acknowledges the genuine disruptions caused by the prevailing geopolitical situation and its cascading impact on global supply chains, construction material availability, logistics and project execution.”

Thakur added that by extending project registration timelines without requiring individual applications from developers, MahaRERA had significantly reduced procedural delays and provided much-needed regulatory certainty to the sector. “This proactive approach will enable developers to focus on maintaining construction momentum while ensuring compliance with RERA norms,” he said.

Kaushal Agarwal, chairman of The Guardians Real Estate Advisory, said, “From a homebuyer’s perspective, the order brings greater clarity and consistency by applying a uniform extension across all eligible projects instead of requiring individual applications. This reduces uncertainty around revised completion timelines and reinforces transparency in the regulatory process.”