The Maharashtra government has directed sub-registrars to stop registering sales agreements and other documents for unauthorised buildings and flats constructed in violation of approved plans. The measure is intended to curb illegal construction and protect home buyers from financial losses caused by irregular property transactions.

The decision follows complaints about buildings constructed without required permissions, breaches of zoning regulations, non-registration under the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) and the sale of flats larger than the areas approved in building plans. Officials said such violations had been reported across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Thane, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Haveli, Mulshi, Nagpur and other urban areas.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis instructed revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule to take action against the irregularities. The revenue department subsequently issued a government resolution on Monday directing all sub-registrars to implement the new requirements.

For first-sale flats in projects requiring MahaRERA registration, developers must submit the registration certificate or occupancy certificate along with the approved building plan. Projects exempt from MahaRERA registration will require a commencement certificate from the competent authority, the approved building plan, a zoning certificate and a measurement plan.

The rules prohibit registration when the area stated in a transaction exceeds the area approved in the building plan. Flats in buildings that breach the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations, Development Plan or Regional Plan cannot be sold directly and must first be regularised where legally permitted. Buildings that cannot be regularised will remain illegal and could face demolition, while sub-registrars who knowingly register documents for unauthorised construction may face departmental inquiries. Bawankule said the move was intended to prevent buyers from purchasing properties in good faith only to discover later that they were unauthorised and had caused substantial financial losses.