Cancelled Pune Flat Booking: MahaRERA Allows 2% Deduction, Orders Rs 2.82 Lakh Refund to Buyer
Pune, 12th August 2026: The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has directed R Retail Ventures Pvt. Ltd. to refund ₹2,82,197 to a homebuyer after ruling that the developer could not forfeit the entire booking amount merely because the buyer voluntarily cancelled the booking.
In its final order dated August 10, 2026, MahaRERA Member Ravindra Deshpande partly allowed a complaint filed by Ashish Nar concerning Unit B4-3705 in The Central Park, a registered real estate project in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune.
According to the order, the complainant had agreed to purchase the unit for a total consideration of ₹1.52 crore and paid ₹5,86,197 as a booking amount. However, no allotment letter was issued and no agreement for sale was executed or registered between the parties.
The buyer cancelled the booking by email on January 6, 2024, citing personal and financial difficulties, and subsequently sent several reminders seeking a refund. The developer refused, maintaining that the booking amount was non-refundable under its cancellation policy.
The respondent argued that the cancellation was voluntary and that the terms of the booking form permitted it to forfeit the entire amount. It also said the unit had subsequently been sold to a third party through a registered agreement for sale dated February 16, 2025.
MahaRERA rejected the contention that the entire booking amount could be forfeited. The authority observed that a promoter could not impose “one-sided contractual conditions” to unjustly enrich itself at the expense of a prospective allottee.
The order stated that forfeiting the entire amount before the execution of an agreement for sale would be “arbitrary, unconscionable” and contrary to the principles of fairness under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016.
At the same time, MahaRERA declined to grant the buyer a full refund. It applied MahaRERA Orders No. 60/2024 and 35/2022, under which a promoter may deduct 2% of the unit’s total consideration when a buyer voluntarily cancels a booking before executing an agreement for sale.
Accordingly, the authority permitted the developer to deduct ₹3.04 lakh—equivalent to 2% of the ₹1.52-crore consideration—from the booking amount of ₹5,86,197. It ordered the balance of ₹2,82,197 to be refunded within 45 days.
The authority said the policy “strikes a balance” between the promoter’s legitimate business interests and the consumer-protection objectives of the RERA Act.
If the developer fails to make the payment within the stipulated period, the refundable amount will carry interest at the rate prescribed under Rule 18 of the Maharashtra Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2017, calculated from the expiry of the 45-day period until payment.
The complaint was consequently disposed of as partly allowed.
