Possession date missed: refund with interest, or stay and collect delay interest? The Maharashtra rule

Rules as of 13 October 2026.

Your agreement said possession by a date. That date has gone. The RERA Act gives you two choices, and the Maharashtra interest rate decides what each is worth. This explainer sets out both, the rate, and the excuses builders use. It is general information, not legal advice.

Which sections matter

People bundle sections 12, 14 and 18 together, but they do different jobs. Section 12 covers false statements in an advertisement or prospectus; a buyer who pays on the strength of one and wants to withdraw is to get the "entire investment" back with interest. Section 14 requires the project to follow the sanctioned plans and makes the promoter fix structural and workmanship defects reported within five years of possession. Delay is section 18, read with section 19(4).

Your two choices under section 18(1)

	Withdraw	Stay in the project
What you get	Refund of the amount paid, with interest, and compensation as provided under the Act	Interest for every month of delay, until possession is handed over
Interest runs	From the date the promoter received each amount, until refund (section 2(za))	From the agreed possession date until handover
Rate	Prescribed rate: SBI's highest MCLR plus 2%	Same prescribed rate
Practical effect	You leave the flat and take the money	You keep the flat; one MahaRERA order let dues and interest be adjusted at possession

The Supreme Court has treated the refund right as unconditional. In Newtech Promoters (11 November 2021) it said the allottee holds an "unqualified right" to a refund where possession is not given as agreed. The Bombay High Court, in Rare Townships v Saji Mathews (15 April 2026), held the proviso to section 18(1), the monthly interest for those who stay, applies in both situations the section covers and called that interest "an absolute right".

The Maharashtra rate

RERA leaves the rate to the State rules. Orders I read describe it as the State Bank of India's highest Marginal Cost of Lending Rate plus two percent. A MahaRERA order of 6 October 2022 (Pataudi v Orbit Enterprises, paragraph 14) used it to reject an 18% claim. The Appellate Tribunal's table in Rajendra Kumar Shah v Sunteck Realty (23 September 2024) adds two points to the SBI figure for each period; for example 8.75% became 10.75%. The Bombay High Court recorded the same formula in CCI Projects v Rajesh Kumar Chaudhary (18 June 2026). The rate is symmetrical: a buyer who pays late owes the same rate (sections 2(za) and 19(7)).

I did not read the text of Rule 18 itself, so check the current rule and the MCLR figure for the period before you calculate.

A worked example

Illustrative figures: flat price Rs 1.2 crore; you have paid Rs 36 lakh (30%) by the agreed date of 31 December 2022; the builder hands over on 30 June 2024, 18 months late. Assume SBI's highest MCLR is 9.0%, so the rate is 11%.

• Stay: Rs 36,00,000 x 11% / 12 = Rs 33,000 a month. For 18 months that is Rs 5,94,000, which can be set against dues at possession.
• Withdraw three years after paying: interest = Rs 36,00,000 x 11% x 3 = Rs 11,88,000, so the refund would be Rs 47,88,000 before any compensation.

Interest is on the money you paid, not the full price. Real orders compute it period by period and on each instalment's own date, so the actual figure will differ.

Excuses and how courts treated them

• Covid moratorium. MahaRERA allowed a promoter the benefit of its 2020 notifications in the October 2022 order above. The Appellate Tribunal in September 2024 held the circulars extended registration but did not change the agreed possession date, and the High Court in Rare Townships refused the moratorium where the agreed date fell before the pandemic. The later, higher rulings are less favourable to builders.
• "You accepted the late possession." The High Court in CCI Projects held that accepting delayed performance does not forfeit interest for each month of delay.
• "No notice was given." The same judgment held that interest runs from the agreed date even without notice, because RERA as a special law prevails over section 55 of the Contract Act.
• Wrong forum. It also said the interest claim goes to the Authority, not the adjudicating officer.

Where to claim, and what to expect

Refund and interest are decided by the Authority; compensation is a separate claim before the adjudicating officer, as the Supreme Court explained in Newtech (paragraphs 81 and 86). Do not expect more than the prescribed rate: the October 2022 MahaRERA order turned down an 18% demand. Ask for the interest you are owed first, and keep the compensation claim for losses you can document, such as rent paid while waiting.

Your own clock

Section 19(10) requires you to take possession within two months of the occupancy certificate. In the Sunteck case the Tribunal charged the builder only until 28 December 2020, since the delay after that was attributed to the buyers. In Linker Shelter v Ramdas Gadiyar (Bombay High Court, 18 July 2025) the court said an allottee cannot postpone indefinitely the decision to withdraw; once possession is offered with an OC and no injunction, the decision cannot go beyond that two-month period.

Checklist

• Find the possession date and any grace period in your agreement.
• Get the OC date and the date possession was offered.
• List each payment with its date and receipt.
• Decide, with an advocate, whether to withdraw or stay before the two-month window closes.
• Do not sign a possession or no-claims document without having it read.