The MahaRERA (Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority) authority issued a new circular on April 8, 2025, which essentially brought changes to the priority of RERA case hearing process. It is hoped that these changes will help solve the issue of delay in hearing of RERA cases which homebuyers or builders usually file against each other in case of disputes. Under the new rules, MahaRERA case hearing process priority will be given for 7 specified cases only. These cases can be where the complainant is suffering from any life-threatening illness, or where the disputes have been settled between the parties before the conciliation bench, or where the issue of maintainability of the complaint arises, etc.
Seher Ali, Partner, Antares Legal, says: “The circular is a corrective step to address the growing volume of exception requests under the previous framework, which had created a parallel track of subjective decisions and weakened the first-come-first-served structure.”
There are a total of 7 cases where the authority will hear the RERA cases on priority and faster than already filed other cases. Read below to know more about this and how as a homebuyer this impacts you if you are not on the priority list.
What did MahaRERA say?
According to the MahaRERA circular dated April 8, 2025, the authority said, “Complaints filed under Section 31 shall be heard and decided on merits by the respective benches of MahaRERA or the adjudicating officer, as the case may be, as per the seniority of the complainant which shall be decided as per the date of filing/registration of the complaint before MahaRERA except in the following cases:
Tvisha Desai, Principal Associate, The Fort Circle says that this circular (34A of 2025) lays down three additional exceptions to listing of a complaint by seniority being:
cases where a party has filed for review or rectification of an order, or for non-compliance with an order passed by MahaRERA or the Adjudicating Officer, as applicable, instances where the complainant seeks withdrawal of the complaint, or where the issue of maintainability of the complaint arises. Desai says that these exceptions pertain to questions that are either to be determined preliminarily such as the issue of maintainability or are simply procedural in nature, such as withdrawal of a complaint.
“Allowing such matters to be addressed early provides timely relief to complainants - homebuyers, who would otherwise wait in queue as per seniority. It also helps reduce the overall caseload of MahaRERA,” says Desai.
While experts praise MahaRERA for taking a step in reducing congestion of RERA complaints but highlights more work in this area has to be done.
Sana Khan, Associate Partner, SNG & Partners, Advocates & Solicitors, says: “Although this new system as mentioned in this circular is made for genuinely addressing the need of allottees/ complainants to streamline and help them get speedy justice, but there is dearth of Adjudicating Officers and Members in MahaRERA. There are more than 100 matters listed on the causelist of MahaRERA and due to paucity of time, not all are heard adequately. The entire jurisdiction of Maharashtra is under MahaRERA and Mumbai real estate occupies the largest chunk of the same. Steps must also be taken to appoint more Adjudicating Officers and Members in MahaRERA.”
What might be the impact of this circular on homebuyers in Maharashtra state?
We have asked various lawyers about the possible impact of this new process for priority hearing of RERA cases, here’s what they said:
There might be some who can misuse the priority hearing process by getting a fake doctor certificate
Ali says: There is a real possibility of misuse. While the new circular continues to allow expedited hearings for urgent medical situations, it still relies significantly on self-declared or externally obtained medical certificates. This opens the door to submission of fraudulent or exaggerated medical claims, unverified documentation from medical practitioners and queue-jumping by homebuyers misrepresenting urgency.
Dr. Richa Mehta, Partner, Gandhi Law Associates, says: “Stringent verification processes shall need to be adopted to avoid misuse of exceptions carved out for the benefit of people who are terminally ill or suffering from serious life-threatening illness. There should be a panel of doctors appointed by RERA only for this purpose, to verify submitted documents to avoid any misuse of this new system.”
Desai says while the possibility of misuse can’t be ruled out, but, mere filing of such a certificate does not automatically entitle a party to an early listing of their complaint.
Desai says: “A party seeking early listing, must file an application, detailing the serious and life- threatening medical condition, supported by a certificate issued by a doctor confirming the said medical condition. This application is subject to judicial scrutiny and will be heard by the MahaRERA, which will verify the authenticity of the medical certificate and assess the urgency of the matter.”
“Only if MahaRERA is satisfied that the circumstances warrant immediate attention, the complaint will be listed for early hearing. As a quasi-judicial authority, MahaRERA exercises due diligence and prudence in examining such claims. While the chances of misuse do exist, there are strong checks in place to prevent abuse of and uphold the integrity of the process,” says Desai.
Systematic fairness may be promoted by implementation of this circular
Ali says: The intent of the circular is to limit discretion and promote systemic fairness—and in that regard, it is largely beneficial to homebuyers, particularly in the long term. “That said, in the short term, some homebuyers facing genuine distress may find it harder to seek expedited relief unless the new exceptions are applied clearly and compassionately.”
Mehta agrees with Ali and says: “Complaints will be scheduled for hearing strictly based on the date of their filing or registration to ensure fairness and avoid arbitrariness to ensure efficiency, transparency, and predictability in the grievance redressal process under MahaRERA.”
How did MahaRERA hearings used to happen prior to this 2025 circular?
Khan says before this Circular, all complaints filed under section 31 of the Maharashtra Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act 2016 were heard on the basis of seniority of filing date.
“As per the latest Circular No. 34A/2025, Complaints filed for review, rectification, time bound matters, withdrawal of complaints, complaints with issues of maintainability, non compliance of orders, medical condition of the complainant or any other unavoidable condition shall be given priority above the other complaints in the list of seniority,” says Khan.
Seher Ali, Partner, Antares Legal, says: “The circular is a corrective step to address the growing volume of exception requests under the previous framework, which had created a parallel track of subjective decisions and weakened the first-come-first-served structure.”
There are a total of 7 cases where the authority will hear the RERA cases on priority and faster than already filed other cases. Read below to know more about this and how as a homebuyer this impacts you if you are not on the priority list.
What did MahaRERA say?
According to the MahaRERA circular dated April 8, 2025, the authority said, “Complaints filed under Section 31 shall be heard and decided on merits by the respective benches of MahaRERA or the adjudicating officer, as the case may be, as per the seniority of the complainant which shall be decided as per the date of filing/registration of the complaint before MahaRERA except in the following cases:
- Where the complainant is suffering with serious life-threatening illness and an application in that regard submitted along with a doctor's certificate.
- Where the complainant/respondent has filed a complaint for review/rectification of the orders passed or a complaint is filed for non-compliance of the order passed by Authority or the Adjudicating officer, as the case may be.
- Where the Appellate Tribunal/Court directs that the complaint is to be disposed of in a fixed time or remands back the complaint for de-novo hearing and disposal.
- Where the disputes have been settled between the parties before the Conciliation Bench or where the disputes between the contesting parties are settled after the complaint is filed.
- Where the complainant seeks withdrawal of the complaint.
- Where the issue of maintainability of the complaint arises.
- Where complaints in respect of the same project are clubbed together for hearing, then in that event seniority of the clubbed complaints shall be the date of filing/ registration of the complaint filed first in point of time from amongst the clubbed complaints.
Tvisha Desai, Principal Associate, The Fort Circle says that this circular (34A of 2025) lays down three additional exceptions to listing of a complaint by seniority being:
“Allowing such matters to be addressed early provides timely relief to complainants - homebuyers, who would otherwise wait in queue as per seniority. It also helps reduce the overall caseload of MahaRERA,” says Desai.
While experts praise MahaRERA for taking a step in reducing congestion of RERA complaints but highlights more work in this area has to be done.
Sana Khan, Associate Partner, SNG & Partners, Advocates & Solicitors, says: “Although this new system as mentioned in this circular is made for genuinely addressing the need of allottees/ complainants to streamline and help them get speedy justice, but there is dearth of Adjudicating Officers and Members in MahaRERA. There are more than 100 matters listed on the causelist of MahaRERA and due to paucity of time, not all are heard adequately. The entire jurisdiction of Maharashtra is under MahaRERA and Mumbai real estate occupies the largest chunk of the same. Steps must also be taken to appoint more Adjudicating Officers and Members in MahaRERA.”
What might be the impact of this circular on homebuyers in Maharashtra state?
We have asked various lawyers about the possible impact of this new process for priority hearing of RERA cases, here’s what they said:
There might be some who can misuse the priority hearing process by getting a fake doctor certificate
Ali says: There is a real possibility of misuse. While the new circular continues to allow expedited hearings for urgent medical situations, it still relies significantly on self-declared or externally obtained medical certificates. This opens the door to submission of fraudulent or exaggerated medical claims, unverified documentation from medical practitioners and queue-jumping by homebuyers misrepresenting urgency.
Dr. Richa Mehta, Partner, Gandhi Law Associates, says: “Stringent verification processes shall need to be adopted to avoid misuse of exceptions carved out for the benefit of people who are terminally ill or suffering from serious life-threatening illness. There should be a panel of doctors appointed by RERA only for this purpose, to verify submitted documents to avoid any misuse of this new system.”
Desai says while the possibility of misuse can’t be ruled out, but, mere filing of such a certificate does not automatically entitle a party to an early listing of their complaint.
Desai says: “A party seeking early listing, must file an application, detailing the serious and life- threatening medical condition, supported by a certificate issued by a doctor confirming the said medical condition. This application is subject to judicial scrutiny and will be heard by the MahaRERA, which will verify the authenticity of the medical certificate and assess the urgency of the matter.”
“Only if MahaRERA is satisfied that the circumstances warrant immediate attention, the complaint will be listed for early hearing. As a quasi-judicial authority, MahaRERA exercises due diligence and prudence in examining such claims. While the chances of misuse do exist, there are strong checks in place to prevent abuse of and uphold the integrity of the process,” says Desai.
Systematic fairness may be promoted by implementation of this circular
Ali says: The intent of the circular is to limit discretion and promote systemic fairness—and in that regard, it is largely beneficial to homebuyers, particularly in the long term. “That said, in the short term, some homebuyers facing genuine distress may find it harder to seek expedited relief unless the new exceptions are applied clearly and compassionately.”
Mehta agrees with Ali and says: “Complaints will be scheduled for hearing strictly based on the date of their filing or registration to ensure fairness and avoid arbitrariness to ensure efficiency, transparency, and predictability in the grievance redressal process under MahaRERA.”
How did MahaRERA hearings used to happen prior to this 2025 circular?
Khan says before this Circular, all complaints filed under section 31 of the Maharashtra Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act 2016 were heard on the basis of seniority of filing date.
“As per the latest Circular No. 34A/2025, Complaints filed for review, rectification, time bound matters, withdrawal of complaints, complaints with issues of maintainability, non compliance of orders, medical condition of the complainant or any other unavoidable condition shall be given priority above the other complaints in the list of seniority,” says Khan.
You may also like
Pegasus row: SC says findings linked to national security will not be disclosed
Govt suspends Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif's X account after crackdown on YouTube channels
Khloe Kardashian shows off jaw-dropping new figure in bikini snaps - but fans hit out
Kneecap break silence with apology to families of Jo Cox and Sir David Amess
Restaurant associations take service charge ruling to division bench
