A recent MahaRERA order has reaffirmed a principle that carries weight for every home buyer in Maharashtra: once you sign a registered Agreement for Sale after reading it, that document controls your rights, not the brochure or advertisement that first caught your eye. Unless fraud or misrepresentation can be clearly shown, the signed contract wins.
The Authority passed this order while dismissing most of the reliefs sought by a complainant in a case involving alleged discrepancy in carpet area, though it did direct the developer to hand over the possession letter once outstanding dues are cleared.
What The Dispute Was About
Abhijeet Gopal Chormale, the complainant, purchased a flat in the “5P Aria” project developed by Naynesh Niranjan Pandya. The project carries MahaRERA Registration No. P52000013706.
Chormale’s case rested on a gap between what was promised and what was signed. He said the flat had been advertised with a carpet area of 387 sq. ft., but the registered Agreement for Sale, executed on January 22, 2018, recorded only 271 sq. ft. He calculated the shortfall at a financial loss of ₹4,97,872 and asked MahaRERA for a refund with interest.
His complaint did not stop at carpet area. He also flagged incomplete amenities, construction defects, leakage, drainage and water supply problems, non-issuance of the possession letter, deficiencies in overall project completion, and even sought cancellation of the project’s Occupation Certificate.
The Developer’s Response
Pandya rejected the allegations outright, pointing out that Chormale had voluntarily signed the registered agreement, which clearly stated the carpet area as 271 sq. ft. The developer explained that the project had flats of varying sizes, and the buyer had chosen this specific unit after going through the agreement terms.
On the possession letter, the developer’s position was straightforward: it had not been issued because Chormale still owed GST and other contractual dues.
MahaRERA’s Reasoning
The Authority went through the Agreement for Sale and the registered Index-II, both of which consistently showed the carpet area as 271 sq. ft. Crucially, Chormale could not produce any evidence that he had signed the agreement under fraud, coercion or misrepresentation.
Because the agreement was executed voluntarily, MahaRERA held that it, and not any prior advertisement, would govern the rights and obligations of both parties. The Authority explicitly rejected the argument that a developer can be held liable simply because an advertisement showed different specifications than the final contract.
Construction Defect Claims Did Not Hold Up
On the quality complaints, MahaRERA noted two important facts: the project already had an Occupation Certificate, and Chormale had taken physical possession of the flat back in June 2022. With no independent technical report or expert evidence placed on record to prove ongoing structural defects or statutory violations, the Authority found no basis to grant relief on these grounds.
No Power To Cancel The Occupation Certificate
Chormale had also asked MahaRERA to cancel the project’s Occupation Certificate. The Authority made clear this was outside its jurisdiction, since an Occupation Certificate is granted by the competent planning authority under separate planning laws. MahaRERA can only act on it if the certificate itself has been withdrawn or set aside by that competent authority, not otherwise.
The One Relief The Complainant Did Get
Despite rejecting the bulk of the complaint, MahaRERA did not leave Chormale empty handed. It directed the developer to issue the possession letter and all related possession documents once Chormale clears his outstanding dues under the Agreement for Sale. He has been given 60 days to pay, after which the developer must hand over the possession documents within 15 days.
The Bigger Lesson For Home Buyers
This order is a reminder of something buyers often overlook in the excitement of booking a flat: brochures and online listings are marketing tools, not binding contracts. The moment a registered Agreement for Sale is signed, its terms take over. Proving fraud, coercion or actionable misrepresentation is a high bar, and without it, regulators and courts will almost always stand by what was actually signed rather than what was advertised earlier.
The takeaway is simple. Read the Agreement for Sale carefully before signing it, especially the carpet area, specifications and other contractual details, because that document, not the advertisement, will decide your rights later.
Case Details
Complaint No.: CC006000000364758 Complainant: Abhijeet Gopal Chormale Respondent: Naynesh Niranjan Pandya Project: 5P Aria MahaRERA Registration No.: P52000013706 Authority: Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) Coram: Ravindra Deshpande, Member II Date of Order: August 4, 2026
Also Read: 🏗 MahaRERA Asks Builder to Submit Completion Milestones to Homebuyers While Granting Extension
