In a significant relief for homebuyers, the Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal has held that a promoter’s liability to pay interest for delayed possession under RERA does not end with the receipt of Occupancy Certificate. The liability continues till the flat is actually handed over to the allottee.
The Tribunal, in its order dated 19 August 2026, partly allowed the appeal filed by Mumbai-based homebuyers Aditya Sachdeva and Vrishali Mahindroo Sachdeva against Acme Housing India Private Limited and others. It directed the promoters to pay interest from the agreed possession date of 1 January 2019 till the actual date of physical possession on 23 October 2023 — more than two-and-a-half years beyond the Occupancy Certificate date.
The Flat and the Agreement
The allottees had purchased Flat No. 3103 on the 31st floor of Oasis Tower-II. The flat measures 85.55 square metres carpet area and comes with two car parking spaces. The total consideration fixed under the Agreement for Sale dated 8 December 2017 was ₹1,98,25,757.
As per the Agreement, the promoters were required to hand over possession on or before June 2018, with a six-month grace period, making the final agreed date 31 December 2018 / 1 January 2019. The allottees paid ₹1,51,74,534 towards the sale consideration, besides stamp duty and registration charges.
What Happened on the Ground
The promoters obtained the Occupancy Certificate on 27 March 2021. However, physical possession was given to the allottees only on 23 October 2023 — more than two-and-a-half years later — and that too only after the Appellate Tribunal directed the homebuyers to deposit the balance amount of ₹37,04,497 (including one year’s advance maintenance).
MahaRERA’s Original Order and the Challenge
In its order dated 8 April 2022, Member-1 of MahaRERA had directed the promoters to hand over possession and pay interest only from 1 January 2019 till the date of Occupancy Certificate (27 March 2021). The Authority had also granted the promoters the benefit of the COVID-related moratorium.
The homebuyers challenged this limited period of interest before the Appellate Tribunal. They argued that under Section 18 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, the right to interest continues till actual possession is handed over.
What Section 18 Actually Says
Section 18 of the RERA Act provides that if the promoter fails to complete or is unable to give possession of an apartment in accordance with the terms of the agreement for sale, the allottee is entitled, without prejudice to any other remedy, to claim interest for every month of delay till the handing over of possession (if the allottee chooses not to withdraw from the project).
The Tribunal relied on the Supreme Court’s rulings in M/s Newtech Promoters and Developers Pvt. Ltd. vs. State of UP (2021) and M/s Imperia Structures Ltd. vs. Anil Patni (2020). Both judgments make it clear that the allottee’s right to interest under Section 18 is unqualified and is not extinguished merely because the promoter later obtains an Occupancy Certificate or gets the project registration period extended.
COVID Force Majeure Argument Rejected
The promoters tried to claim the benefit of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related MahaRERA circulars of 2020. The Tribunal rejected this outright. It noted that the contractual possession date had already expired in December 2018 / January 2019 — more than a year before the pandemic and the nationwide lockdown began in March 2020. Events that occurred after the agreed date cannot be used to erase the delay that had already taken place.
Other grounds raised by the promoters — delay in TDR approvals, sand shortage, demonetisation, GST implementation, and changes in Development Control Regulations — were also not accepted as valid excuses to escape liability under Section 18 when the delay was not attributable to the allottees.
New Claim Raised for the First Time Rejected
During the appeal, the promoters for the first time claimed ₹11.26 lakh towards alleged delayed payment interest from the allottees. The Tribunal refused to entertain this plea. Relying on the Supreme Court judgment in Ram Sarup Gupta, it held that a party cannot be allowed to travel beyond its pleadings and raise a new ground for the first time at the appellate stage. The Tribunal also recorded that the allottees had not defaulted in payments; in fact, the promoter’s own email of April 2019 had acknowledged excess payment by the homebuyers.
Final Directions of the Tribunal
The Appellate Tribunal ordered:
- The promoters shall pay interest at the rate of SBI MCLR + 2% on the actual amount paid by the allottees from 1 January 2019 till the actual date of possession, 23 October 2023.
- The amount must be paid within one month. If not paid, it will carry further interest at the same rate till realisation.
- The promoters shall also pay costs of ₹25,000 to the allottees.
Why This Ruling Matters
This judgment draws a clear line. Obtaining an Occupancy Certificate is a statutory requirement, but it does not by itself discharge the promoter’s contractual and statutory obligation to hand over physical possession. For the purpose of calculating delay interest under Section 18, the clock stops only when the keys are actually handed over to the homebuyer.
Homebuyers facing similar situations — where OC has been obtained but possession is still delayed — now have a strong precedent to claim interest for the entire period till actual handover.
Also Read: MahaRERA Orders Refund Paid for Seven Flats in Godrej RKS Project
