A Mulund couple who booked a two bedroom flat in 2023 spent most of last year trading unanswered emails with their builder over a possession date that kept slipping. When they finally looked up their options, they assumed a RERA complaint meant a long, adversarial legal fight. What they did not know was that Maharashtra offers two doors, not one. Alongside the formal complaint route, MahaRERA runs a conciliation forum built to settle disputes quickly and by agreement. If you are a Mumbai buyer weighing how to press a grievance, understanding both doors is the difference between a smart move and a slow one.

The short answer. A Mumbai buyer files a complaint against a registered project online on the official MahaRERA portal by creating an account, completing the complaint form, and paying the prescribed fee. You can also choose the MahaRERA Conciliation Forum, where neutral mediators help both sides reach a mutually agreeable settlement. The trade off is control versus speed. The formal route ends in a binding, enforceable order but takes longer, while conciliation is faster and consensual but needs the builder to agree to settle.

How does a Mumbai buyer file a MahaRERA complaint?

You file online through the official MahaRERA portal, on the complaint filing under registered project page. Any aggrieved person may file a complaint against a registered project by creating an account on the MahaRERA application portal, filling out the complaint form, and paying the requisite fee set on the website. Because the fee is prescribed by the authority and can be revised, confirm the current amount on the portal at the time you file rather than relying on a figure someone quotes you.

The legal footing is the same one that underpins RERA across the country. Section 31 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 lets any aggrieved person file a complaint for a violation of the Act. You do not need a lawyer to begin, and a single buyer can file on the strength of their own agreement and payments. What you do need is your documentation in order, because a MahaRERA complaint is decided on what you can show, not on what you can say.

What is the MahaRERA Conciliation Forum?

The Conciliation Forum is a settlement track that sits alongside the formal complaint process. When you register your complaint, you are given the option to approach the forum, where neutral mediators help you and the builder try to reach a mutually agreeable resolution rather than a contested order. It is voluntary on both sides. The idea is to resolve straightforward disputes, such as a delayed refund or a fixable defect, without the time and friction of a full adjudication.

Conciliation is designed to move quickly. Under MahaRERA's conciliation framework, once a matter reaches the bench, notice is issued to the parties within about a week and the first hearing is set within roughly a fortnight. If the matter is not heading towards a settlement, it is closed and referred back to MahaRERA within about sixty days, so the track does not become a place where complaints quietly stall. That built in time limit is what keeps conciliation an option worth trying rather than a detour.

It helps to understand what conciliation is not. It is not a court, and the mediators do not impose a verdict on you. Nothing is forced. If you and the builder cannot agree, you lose nothing except a few weeks, and your complaint returns to the formal MahaRERA process where it started. That low downside is the reason many buyers try conciliation first for disputes that look settleable, and reserve the full adjudication route for builders who show no intention of playing fair.

Should you pick adjudication or conciliation?

Choose based on what you want and how the builder is behaving. If the developer is engaging in good faith and the dispute is about a number both sides can live with, conciliation can get you a recorded settlement far faster than a contested hearing. If the builder is stonewalling, or you need a binding order you can enforce, the formal route is the stronger tool because it ends in an enforceable direction rather than a voluntary agreement. The table below lays out the practical differences.

What happens after you file?

After you file, MahaRERA takes complaints up for hearing in order and sends hearing notices to your registered email. On the first date of hearing, if both parties agree to settle, the complaint can be moved to the conciliation forum, which means the two tracks are not walled off from each other. A matter can start as a formal complaint and shift to conciliation if both sides suddenly see room to agree. Watch your registered email closely, because notices and hearing dates arrive there, and missing one helps no one but the other side.

If the matter proceeds to a decision, the authority issues an order that is binding on the parties. Should either side be dissatisfied, an appeal lies to the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal, and under Section 43(5) of the Act that appeal must be filed within sixty days of receiving the order. The same provision requires a promoter who appeals to first deposit a substantial part of any amount ordered, which discourages a builder from appealing simply to delay paying a buyer.

One practical point buyers often miss is that MahaRERA publishes complaint data project by project and promoter by promoter. That means the grievances filed against a developer are part of the public record. Before you even file, it is worth checking how many complaints a promoter has attracted and how they were disposed of, because a long tail of unresolved complaints against the same builder tells you something the brochure never will. It can also shape your own strategy, since a builder with a pattern of losing at the authority may be quicker to settle at conciliation.

What documents should you keep ready?

Assemble your paper trail before you file, because it is the spine of the case. At a minimum you want the project's MahaRERA registration number, your booking form and agreement for sale, every payment receipt and matching bank statement, and the specific promise you say was broken, whether that is a possession date, an amenity, or an area figure. Screenshots of the project's own MahaRERA registration and its disclosures matter, because those are the statements the promoter is legally bound to.

Add a short dated timeline of what was promised and when it failed. If you are claiming a money loss, gather the proof of that loss too, such as rent you paid while possession was delayed or extra loan interest you carried. A complaint that arrives with a clean bundle of documents is easier for the authority to act on and harder for the builder to wave away.

Organise the bundle the way a reader would want to follow it. Put the agreement and registration first, then the payment record in date order, then the specific broken promise set against what was delivered, and finally your losses with proof attached. A complaint that a stranger can understand in five minutes is a complaint that gets decided on its merits rather than lost in confusion. This same bundle serves you whether you head into a formal hearing or sit down at the conciliation table, so preparing it well is never wasted effort regardless of which door you choose.

Your seven step MahaRERA complaint checklist

1. Confirm the project's MahaRERA registration number and save its disclosures.
2. Gather your agreement, receipts, and bank statements in one folder.
3. Write a short dated timeline of the promise and the breach.
4. Decide your goal, a binding order or a quicker negotiated settlement.
5. Create your account on the MahaRERA portal and complete the complaint form.
6. Pay the prescribed fee and note whether to opt for the conciliation forum.
7. Track your registered email for hearing notices and respond on time.

Frequently asked questions

How do I file a MahaRERA complaint as a Mumbai buyer?

Create an account on the official MahaRERA portal, open the complaint filing section for a registered project, complete the form, and pay the prescribed fee. Section 31 of the RERA Act lets any aggrieved person file. You can represent yourself, and a single buyer can complain on the strength of their own agreement and payment records.

What is the MahaRERA Conciliation Forum and is it mandatory?

The Conciliation Forum is a voluntary settlement track where neutral mediators help you and the builder reach a mutually agreeable resolution. It is not mandatory. You opt for it when registering your complaint, or a matter can move to it if both sides agree at the first hearing. It suits disputes both parties genuinely want to settle.

Is conciliation faster than a formal complaint?

Generally yes, because MahaRERA's conciliation framework runs on tight timelines, with notice issued within about a week and a first hearing within roughly a fortnight. If a settlement is not emerging, the matter is referred back to MahaRERA within about sixty days. It works best when the builder is willing to negotiate rather than stonewall.

Can I appeal a MahaRERA order I disagree with?

Yes. An appeal lies to the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal and must be filed within sixty days of receiving the order under Section 43(5) of the Act. If a promoter appeals, the promoter must first deposit a substantial part of the amount ordered, which is meant to stop builders from appealing merely to delay paying buyers.

For related Mumbai reading, see our guide on plan changes and defect liability under RERA Section 14, and our explainer on the seventy percent separate bank account rule that protects buyer funds. Complaint steps here reflect the official MahaRERA portal and the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016.

Last updated 26 July 2026. PropNewz Team.