The Maharashtra government has directed Sub-Registrars not to register documents related to unauthorised constructions and flats, officials said.
The Revenue Department has issued a circular directing all Sub-Registrars to strictly implement the guidelines aimed at curbing illegal construction and unauthorised property sales, said Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule.
The government took the decision following complaints about buildings constructed in non-residential zones, developers failing to register projects under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) and selling flats with areas exceeding those in approved plans.
Under the new guidelines, developers selling flats for the first time in projects that require registration under the MahaRERA Act must submit the registration certificate, occupancy certificate and sanctioned building plan.
For projects exempt from RERA registration, developers must submit the commencement certificate, sanctioned plan, zone certificate and measurement map.
The guidelines prohibit Sub-Registrars from registering property documents if the flat's area mentioned in the sale document exceeds the area specified in the sanctioned plan.
The government has also stipulated that flats in unauthorised buildings that violate the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR), development plans or regional plans cannot be sold directly. Such buildings must first be regularised.
Buildings that cannot be regularised will not be considered legal, and the authorities will initiate demolition proceedings against them, the guidelines state.
The Revenue Department has warned that it will initiate departmental inquiries against Sub-Registrars who deliberately register documents pertaining to unauthorised constructions.
Bawankule said the move aimed to protect homebuyers from financial losses arising from investments in unauthorised properties. Stopping such transactions where common citizens lose their life savings was the government's responsibility, he added.
