Maharashtra links flat registration to occupation certificates

Maharashtra's revenue department has issued instructions that place building-compliance papers at the centre of flat registration. The Times of India reported that a flat in a building without an occupation certificate will not be registered under the circular.

Documents the registration office may examine

For a construction that does not need MahaRERA registration, the report says the paperwork can include construction permission or a commencement certificate from the competent authority. The approved construction plan is also relevant because it records the sanctioned flat area.

The direction targets a mismatch that can matter to both parties to a sale. If the area written in the document is higher than the area shown in the sanctioned plan, the registration office is instructed not to register the flat.

What this changes for a transaction

Registration is the point at which the transfer document is presented to the sub-registrar. Under this direction, documents relating to the flat and the building may receive closer attention before that stage is completed. This can affect timelines where approvals or plan records are unavailable, incomplete or inconsistent with the proposed deed.

The report says departmental action may follow where an officer knowingly ignores the circular. It also records an industry legal view that an executive instruction may be open to challenge if it goes beyond the governing registration law. Buyers and sellers therefore have a reason to track how individual registration offices implement the direction.