News: MahaRERA: Vastu Objection No Ground to Withhold Dues-01-06-2026

A homebuyer cannot withhold the balance payment under a registered agreement for sale because a lavatory sits in the north-east corner of the flat, allegedly against Vastu Shastra principles, the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has ruled. It gave the buyer 60 days to clear the dues, failing which the developer may terminate the agreement and deduct liquidated damages as per the contract.

The developer’s case

The buyer purchased the apartment from a Mumbai-based developer in June 2022 for a total consideration of Rs 1.34 crore. She paid over Rs 71 lakh, and the remaining Rs 62 lakh was to be paid on a schedule.

The developer said she did not pay as required by various demand letters. After receiving the part occupation certificate, it issued a demand notice in November 2022, informing the buyer of the OC and asking her to take possession on payment of the balance. Citing persistent defaults, it sent a pre-termination notice dated March 11, 2023. After repeated demands, it told the authority, it terminated the agreement and forfeited Rs 20.88 lakh as liquidated damages, while expressing willingness to refund over Rs 50 lakh.

The buyer’s defence

The buyer described herself as a widowed, retired government officer who lives alone and has no children, and said she bought the flat with her lifetime savings, executing the agreement on June 24, 2022.

She submitted that she was not shown her own flat at the time of purchase but an identical one. On inspecting it, she found a lavatory in the north-east bathroom and objected, being a religious person who follows Vastu Shastra, which she said prohibits a lavatory in that corner. According to her, a salesperson for the developer told her an earlier prospective purchaser had declined the flat over similar concerns.

She further stated that when she visited the flat in the first week of June 2024, she found it occupied by the developer’s project manager, in a miserable condition, with its structure, including the lavatory, altered. Poor health had kept her from monitoring the work. On inquiry, she said, she learnt that the developer had unilaterally cancelled the agreement without serving notice, in violation of RERA Regulations.

She also alleged that the developer breached the agreement by allowing third-party use and occupation of the flat while a termination application was pending before the RERA Tribunal, and was liable to pay her damages. In a counterclaim, she sought directions to the developer to accept the balance payment, change the layout and location of the lavatory, and hand over peaceful and vacant possession.

What the authority held

In its order dated May 25, 2026, MahaRERA said it was set up primarily to ensure transparency in the sector and provide speedy redressal of grievances arising from the sale and purchase of flats. It observed that the buyer was trying to advance her case through a counterclaim as if before a civil court, and stressed that it does not have a civil court’s jurisdiction to decide substantial, comprehensive or incidental contractual disputes.

The authority said its scope is limited to disputes directly connected with sale, purchase, resale or workmanship and layout issues relating to a unit. Matters involving contractual modifications, alterations in layout or ancillary facilities fall outside its purview when raised as a counterclaim. If genuinely aggrieved by the layout or attached facilities, the buyer is free to file a separate complaint under the RERA Act 2016, it said.

MahaRERA held that the buyer deserved one opportunity to pay, particularly in view of her advanced age and health. It clarified that the developer’s contractual and statutory rights remain unaffected.

Expert view

Trupti Daphtary, a Mumbai-based solicitor, said the order makes clear that grievances about layout or facilities cannot be pursued through a counterclaim in the developer’s complaint but may be raised in a separate complaint. She added that timely payment of the agreed consideration is a buyer’s statutory duty, with no exemption on account of age or other personal circumstances.