Maharashtra Property Checks: What to Verify Before You Buy

Few Indian states have a regulatory environment for property as involved as Maharashtra's. Deals range from Mumbai's expensive market to the growing tech corridors of Pune, and each needs checking across government portals, compliance rules and several kinds of land record.

Here is the whole due diligence process for Maharashtra: the documents peculiar to the state, the portals, the legal problems you are likely to meet and ways to protect yourself when you buy.

The legal framework for property in Maharashtra

Property law in Maharashtra rests on a set of detailed statutes.

The main laws:

• MOFA, the Maharashtra Ownership of Flats Act, 1963
• The Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act, 1971
• MRTP, the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966
• The Registration Act, 1908, as amended by the state
• Transfer of Property Act, 1882
• Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958

Maharashtra also implements the RERA Act with great energy, and MahaRERA is widely seen as India's most progressive real estate regulator.

What sets the state apart is that three kinds of record coexist: CTS (City Survey) records from the colonial period in Mumbai, village revenue records in rural areas, and newer digital systems for land records across the state.

Government portals you need for Maharashtra

1. IGR Maharashtra, the Inspector General of Registration

Website: igrmaharashtra.gov.in

Use the IGR Maharashtra portal mainly for:

• Status of property registration
• Encumbrance certificates (EC)
• Index II searches (to verify ownership)
• Copies of registered documents
• Calculation of stamp duty

Features worth knowing:

• Apply online for an EC (₹100 for 30 years)
• Booking a slot for document registration
• A market value calculator for stamp duty
• A locator for registration offices

2. MahaBhulekh (7/12 extracts and property cards)

Website: mahabhulekh.maharashtra.gov.in

The state's land record portal offers:

• 7/12 Extracts (Satbara Utara): show land ownership, cultivation details and crop information
• 8A Extracts: registers of property records
• Property Cards: records of urban property ownership

They matter most where you verify ownership in rural and semi-urban places. Property in a municipal area needs municipal property records in their place.

3. The MahaRERA portal

Website: maharera.mahaonline.gov.in

This is the most active RERA portal in India, and it is where you verify:

• Registration of the builder or developer
• Registration status of the project
• Completion certificates
• Quarterly progress reports
• Complaints and orders involving buyers

Projects larger than 500 sq.m, or with over 8 apartments, must be registered with RERA. Buying into an unregistered project is illegal and leaves you with no safeguards.

4. Portals of municipal corporations

BMC, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation:

• Portal: portal.mcgm.gov.in
• Property tax records
• Building permissions and IOD/CC/OC
• Details of property assessment
• Notices on illegal construction

Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC):

• Website: pmc.gov.in
• Services for Pune properties that resemble these

Nagpur, Thane, Nashik and Aurangabad, among other large cities, run municipal portals of their own for records of property tax and approvals.

5. e-Courts of Maharashtra

Website: ecourts.gov.in/ecourts_home/

Here you can find pending court cases on a property in District Courts and the Maharashtra High Court: disputes over the property, partition suits, injunction orders and mortgage enforcement.

Step-by-step due diligence for Maharashtra

Step 1: Verify the title chain and ownership

Start with the title chain, to establish a clear history of ownership.

For urban properties (Mumbai, Pune, municipal areas):

• Pull the Index II extract from IGR Maharashtra, going back 30 years at least
• Ask the municipal corporation for the Property Card
• Verify property tax receipts (the current one and those of the past 5 years)
• Check building permissions, IOD, CC and OC

For rural and revenue land:

• Get the 7/12 Extract from MahaBhulekh
• Obtain the 8A Extract
• Check the status of land conversion (agricultural to non-agricultural)
• Verify Ferfar (mutation) records

It is critical to understand the difference between 13-year and 30-year title chains. Lawyers in Maharashtra generally recommend a 30-year search when the property is of high value.

Step 2: Search the Encumbrance Certificate

Apply on the IGR Maharashtra portal for an Encumbrance Certificate covering the past 30 years. It will show:

• Mortgages, loans and hypothecations
• Sale deeds and earlier transactions
• Gift deeds and registered wills
• Court orders and attachments

Our detailed guide explains encumbrance certificates and how to read them.

Step 3: Search for litigation and court cases

Maharashtra has a very high rate of property litigation, particularly in Mumbai. Search for pending cases in:

District Courts:

• Run the search on the e-Courts portal
• Enter the property address, survey number or CTS number
• Watch for partition suits, specific performance cases and injunction orders

High Court:

• Maharashtra High Court, sitting at Mumbai and Nagpur
• Search for appeals on matters related to property

Step 4: Verify RERA and compliance

For properties under construction:

• Verify the builder's MahaRERA registration
• Check the project registration number
• Download the project details and the completion timeline
• Review the quarterly progress reports
• Look at complaints by buyers and any regulatory action

MahaRERA has been quick to penalise developers that do not comply, so verify this carefully.

Step 5: Verify the physical condition and revenue records

Urban properties:

• The municipal corporation's approval of the building plan
• Commencement Certificate
• Occupation Certificate (OC), or the Completion Certificate (CC)
• No-Objection Certificates (Fire, Environmental and others)

Agricultural and NA land:

• Orders converting the land (NA permission)
• Layout approval
• Compliance with the ZTDP (Zoning and Town Development Plan)

Our guide on OC and CC certificates explains how they differ.

Step 6: Verify tax and money matters

Make sure all dues are cleared:

• Municipal corporation property tax
• Water charges
• Electricity bills
• Society maintenance (if applicable)
• Stamp duty and registration fees paid

Documents required in Maharashtra

A checklist of the essentials

Title documents:

• Sale deed, or the conveyance deed
• Every earlier sale deed in the chain, going back 30 years
• Gift deed, will or settlement deed (if applicable)
• Development agreement (for redevelopment properties)

Revenue records:

• 7/12 Extract and 8A (for land outside cities)
• Property Card (urban areas)
• Mutation or Ferfar records

Approvals required by law:

• A sanctioned plan for the building
• Commencement Certificate
• Occupation Certificate or Completion Certificate
• IOD (Intimation of Disapproval), if construction was before 1967
• MahaRERA registration certificate

Financial and tax documents:

• Property tax receipts (5 years)
• Receipts of stamp duty paid
• Encumbrance Certificate (30 years)

Documents from the society or builder (for flats):

• Registration certificate of the society
• Share certificate
• No Objection Certificate from the society
• Documents showing compliance with MOFA

Other verification:

• Power of Attorney (if a representative acts for the seller); learn about GPA against SPA
• Legal heir certificate (if the property was inherited)
• Court orders (if the property was involved in litigation)

Understanding how a sale deed differs from a conveyance deed and an agreement to sell is crucial when you review title documents.

Stamp duty and registration in Maharashtra

Maharashtra levies stamp duty according to where the property is and the buyer's gender:

Stamp duty by category (valid in 2026)

MMR, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region:

• Men pay 6% of the value of the property
• Women pay 5% of the value of the property
• Where a man and a woman own jointly: 5% of the value

Pune and the other urban areas:

• Men: 6%
• Women: 5%

Rural areas:

• Generally 5-6%, depending on the district

Registration fee: 1% of the value of the property, with a cap of ₹30,000

Additional charges:

• Metro cess of 1% (in MMR)
• Local body tax: varies with the municipal corporation

The IGR Maharashtra stamp duty calculator works out accurate figures from Ready Reckoner rates.

Problems unique to Maharashtra

1. Properties under the SRA (Slum Rehabilitation Authority)

Under Mumbai's SRA schemes, slum dwellers get free or subsidised housing. These properties carry restrictions:

• Lock-in period: sale is barred for 10 years from possession
• Resale restrictions: after the lock-in, resale still needs SRA approval
• Loan problems: many banks do not finance SRA properties during the lock-in

Due diligence for SRA:

• Verify the allotment letter from the SRA
• Check that the lock-in period has ended
• Confirm there are no encumbrances from the developer's loans

2. Confusion over old CTS and survey numbers

Mumbai properties often have intricate title histories involving:

• CTS numbers (City Survey): a survey system from the colonial period
• Revenue Survey numbers: used before the cities expanded
• Merged CTS numbers: several old CTS plots consolidated into one

Risk: Property boundaries may not agree with modern maps. Cross-verify with the latest municipal records every time.

3. Redevelopment properties in Mumbai

Mumbai's redevelopment schemes (DCR 33(7), 33(9) and 33(10)) bring their own difficulties:

• Notice against possession: did every earlier owner consent?
• The developer's finances: will construction be completed?
• TDR (Transferable Development Rights): confirm that the TDR loading is genuine
• Corpus fund: has the developer paid the required corpus to the society?

4. Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) problems

Property within 500m of the high-tide line comes under CRZ restrictions:

• CRZ-I: ecologically sensitive areas, where building is not allowed
• CRZ-II: built-up areas, where construction is regulated
• CRZ-III: coastal areas in the countryside, under strict limits

In Mumbai, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, check CRZ clearance.

5. Flats under PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana)

Maharashtra has a large stock of affordable PMAY housing. These properties have:

• A 5-year lock-in: no sale before 5 years have passed
• Recovery of subsidy: if sold within the lock-in, the subsidy must be returned
• Income criteria: the buyer must meet eligibility (if the lock-in applies)

6. Limits on buying agricultural land

Maharashtra restricts who may buy agricultural land:

• Only farmers may buy: NA conversion is needed for any non-agricultural use
• Holding limits: the maximum land holding varies by district
• Limits on transfer in revenue records: restrictions apply to transfers to non-agriculturists

Our detailed guide on converting land from agricultural to non-agricultural explains the NA permission process.

7. Deemed conveyance

Many buildings constructed before 2007 never received a conveyance deed from the builder. Maharashtra brought in deemed conveyance provisions to deal with this, but problems remain:

• Court cases: builders challenge deemed conveyance
• Clarity of title: until a final order, the title may be unclear
• Bank finance: some banks hesitate to lend on flats caught in deemed conveyance litigation

What LegiScore does for due diligence in Maharashtra

Because Maharashtra's property system is so complex, doing due diligence by hand takes time and invites mistakes. LegiScore uses AI-powered automation to streamline the whole process:

Automatic search across portals

LegiScore connects to Maharashtra's main government portals:

• IGR Maharashtra: automatic extraction of the EC and Index II
• MahaBhulekh: fetching of 7/12 and 8A records
• MahaRERA: verification of the project and the builder
• e-Courts: a full litigation search across District Courts and the High Court
• Municipal Corporations: verification of property tax and approvals for BMC, PMC and other cities

Detecting risks specific to Maharashtra

Our AI picks out red flags peculiar to the state:

• SRA property lock-in violations
• CRZ compliance problems
• Deemed conveyance litigation
• Risks in redevelopment projects
• Gaps in the conversion of agricultural land

A full LPS rating

The LPS (Legal Property Score) rating from LegiScore runs from AAA to C and rests on five dimensions:

• Title chain clarity: 13-30 years of ownership checked
• Encumbrance status: any mortgages, loans and liens that are found
• Litigation risk: flags on cases still pending in court
• Compliance: RERA, permissions for building, and whether OC/CC exists
• Revenue records: checks on 7/12, property tax and mutation

Faster than doing it by hand

LegiScore delivers in minutes what takes lawyers 2-4 weeks:

• Instant access to portals and extraction of data
• Automatic analysis of documents
• Red flag detection powered by AI
• Detailed reports you can download

Review by Maharashtra experts

Local legal experts review every Maharashtra property report, and they know:

• Mumbai's unusual CTS system
• The complexities of SRA and redevelopment
• The formats of revenue records in each district
• The finer points of MahaRERA compliance

Find out your property's legal health and get your free LPS rating today.