How to Verify a MahaRERA Project Before Buying a Flat in Mumbai

Most Mumbai buyers who check a project on MahaRERA stop at the one word they came for: registered. They miss the part of the same page that tells them how much of the project's money has already been drawn down, how many units are actually sold, and whether a later phase was quietly launched without its own registration. That extra two minutes of reading is where a MahaRERA search stops being a tick box and starts being real due diligence that actually protects your money.

The short answer. Before you pay a booking amount, search the project by its MahaRERA registration number on the official portal at maharera.maharashtra.gov.in, and confirm the registered name, phase, promoter and status match the brochure. Under the RERA Act a qualifying project must be registered before it can be advertised, marketed or sold, and the number should appear on every piece of marketing. The trade-off: a valid registration proves the project is on record with declared timelines and finances, but it is not a legal title check, so you still review the agreement and the approvals.

Why search by the registration number, not the name?

Because marketing names and registered names often differ, and large developments split into phases and wings that each carry their own number. As L&T Realty's MahaRERA search guide advises, you paste the registration number directly into the search bar, since a name search may not match the exact project you are looking at. A builder may launch a later phase under a familiar brand name without registering that phase separately, so confirming that your specific phase has its own MahaRERA number is the check that catches the gap. Ask the developer for the exact number for your phase, and treat a vague or missing number as a reason to slow down. This is not a technicality. A phase that was never registered separately sits outside the protections the registration is supposed to give you, including the declared timeline and the project account disclosures, so a buyer in that phase is relying on the brand name rather than on anything filed. The number is also what makes the rest of the search possible: without it you are guessing which of several similarly named records belongs to your building, and a guess is exactly what you are trying to avoid when you are about to part with a booking amount.

How do I actually run the search?

You use the registered projects search on the official MahaRERA portal, and you do not need an account to do it. The portal is at maharera.maharashtra.gov.in, and the registered projects section has a search project details option. The steps below take you from the brochure to a verified record.

1. Ask the developer for the exact MahaRERA registration number for your specific project and phase.
2. Open maharera.maharashtra.gov.in and go to the registered projects section, then search project details.
3. Paste the registration number into the search; you can also narrow by promoter name, district or project status.
4. Open the record and confirm the registered project name, phase, promoter entity and location match your documents.
5. Check the project status, the commencement date and the expected completion date against the sales pitch.
6. Scan the advertisement's QR code, if there is one, and confirm it opens the same project record.
7. Save or print the record before you pay any booking amount, so you have a dated reference.

Doing this before you pay, rather than after, is the whole point. The record you save today is the version the promoter is accountable to, and if anything the sales team says later differs from it, you have the filing to point back to. Because the search needs no login and costs nothing, there is no reason to leave it until the paperwork stage; running it the moment you shortlist a project lets the filed facts shape the questions you ask at the sales office, instead of discovering a mismatch after you have already committed money that is awkward to recover.

What does the MahaRERA record actually show a buyer?

It shows far more than a yes or no on registration. The record carries the project status, marked as ongoing, completed or lapsed, along with the commencement date, the expected completion date and the actual completion date where available. It lists approvals such as the building permission and commencement certificate, and flags litigation related to the land, development rights or compliance. Crucially for a buyer, it also carries project finances: the estimated cost, the amounts received and withdrawn, the percentage of work completed and the units sold against those available. Reading the finances and the sales status tells you whether the project is tracking its own declared plan, which a brochure never will.

A status marked lapsed is a particularly important signal, because it means the registration is no longer current and you should ask the promoter directly what has happened before going further. The finance fields reward a slow read in particular. The amount a promoter has withdrawn against the amount received, set beside the percentage of work completed, is a rough but honest cross-check: money drawn well ahead of visible progress is the kind of pattern that a brochure will never surface and a filing sometimes does. Units sold against units available tells you how much of the project is already committed, which affects both the common amenities load and how much leverage you have on price. None of these figures is a verdict on its own, but together they let you walk into the sales office having already read the project's own numbers.

What does registration prove, and what does it not?

It proves the project is on the public record with declared plans, timelines, approvals and finances, and that the promoter is accountable for those disclosures. What it does not do is confirm a clean title or substitute for a legal review of the land and the agreement. A registered project can still have a title question or an unfavourable clause buried in the draft agreement. So treat a matching registration as the gate that lets you proceed to the real paperwork checks, not as a substitute for them. The order is register first, then read the agreement, cost sheet and title documents, ideally with legal help before any money moves.

Registration also comes before any sale by design. Under the RERA Act, a qualifying project must be registered before it is advertised, marketed, booked or sold, so a sale-ready project with no visible number is a reason to pause rather than proceed.

How should I read the record field by field?

The table below turns the main record fields into the question each one answers for you as a buyer. Use it to skim the page without missing the parts that matter.

What are the red flags a Mumbai buyer should watch?

The clearest is a sale-ready project asking for a booking with no registration number on its material. Next is a phase that cannot be found on the portal even though earlier phases are registered, which suggests a later phase launched without its own registration. A lapsed status, a mismatch between the registered promoter and the entity on your agreement, or a QR code that opens a different project all belong on the list. Once the project checks out, the money side is the next thing to plan; our guide to stamp duty and registration charges in Mumbai sets out the statutory costs, and our explainer on the clauses to read in a builder-buyer agreement covers the document you sign next.

A mismatch you can easily miss is a difference between the registered promoter entity and the company named on your allotment letter or agreement, since developments are sometimes marketed under a group brand while the actual promoter is a specific project company. If those names do not line up, ask for the connection in writing before you proceed. Treat the search as the first gate, not the last word. It is free, it needs no login, and it gives you a dated record you can hold the promoter to.

Frequently asked questions

How do I verify a MahaRERA project before buying?

Open the official MahaRERA portal at maharera.maharashtra.gov.in, go to the registered projects section and search project details using the registration number. Confirm the registered name, phase, promoter and location match your brochure, then check the status, timelines, approvals and finances. You do not need an account to run the search.

Should I search MahaRERA by registration number or project name?

Search by the registration number. Marketing names often differ from registered names, and large projects split into phases and wings that each carry their own number, so a name search may not land on the exact project. Ask the developer for the exact number for your specific phase and paste it into the search bar.

What details does a MahaRERA project record show?

It shows the project status marked ongoing, completed or lapsed, the commencement and expected completion dates, approvals such as building permission and commencement certificate, any litigation, and project finances including estimated cost, amounts received and withdrawn, percentage of work done and units sold against those available.

Does a MahaRERA registration confirm a clean title?

No. A MahaRERA registration proves the project is on record with declared plans, timelines and finances, but it is not a title check. A registered project can still carry a title question or an unfavourable agreement clause, so review the title documents and the draft agreement, ideally with legal help, before you pay.

The short version: paste the number, open the record, and read past the word registered to the dates, the finances and the phase. That is where a MahaRERA search earns its keep.

Last updated 2026-10-08. PropNewz Team.