Development Agreement (DA) Drafting & Review

How are member decisions translated into enforceable terms?

The development agreement should carry the actual bargain approved by the society, not a standard set of clauses disconnected from the bid. Prepare a comparison between the selected offer, general-body resolutions and the proposed agreement. Differences in additional carpet area, corpus, transit rent, parking, amenities or delivery conditions should be visible before execution. An oral assurance from a representative should not be treated as a substitute for a written obligation.

The agreement should identify the land, existing structures, member entitlements and development rights with schedules that can be checked. Ask whether the promised member benefits depend on obtaining extra FSI, purchasing TDR or selling a particular volume of free-sale units. Those dependencies affect risk allocation. The architect and CA should test technical and financial assumptions while the advocate explains which party bears the consequence if an assumption fails.

• Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 and applicable directions: official Co-operation Department resources
• Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966: official planning-law resources

Which security and default provisions need close attention?

Bank security instruments need clear beneficiary details, validity, renewal requirements, invocation conditions and a mechanism if renewal is not delivered. A headline security amount is less useful if the society cannot invoke it when required. The agreement should distinguish security for performance from payments already due to members and explain whether either can be reduced before the society has received the corresponding benefit.

Review milestones from approvals and vacation through demolition, construction, occupancy and handover. Define what starts each period and what evidence establishes completion. Extension provisions should not allow an indefinite postponement based only on the developer’s assertion. Default clauses should address notices, cure periods, continuing rent, access to records, site safety and the practical effect of termination on existing buyers and finance arrangements.

What must be reconciled before signing?

Read the DA with the PAAA, power of attorney, tender conditions and any lender or tripartite documents. A narrow DA can be undermined by a broad attorney authority elsewhere, while a favourable PAAA may conflict with a society-level variation clause. Maintain one document-version register and mark the final schedules, plans and entitlement tables to avoid execution of mismatched drafts.

Where sale components bring the scheme within Section 3, examine the registration and disclosure structure instead of assuming every redevelopment is exempt. Section 3(2)(c) specifically concerns redevelopment without marketing, advertising, selling or new allotment. Execution, stamping and registration advice should be obtained for the actual instrument. The final review note should distinguish agreed terms, unresolved commercial decisions and legal conditions still awaiting evidence; it should not imply that professional review has already been signed off.

• RERA Act, 2016, Section 3 (prior registration of real estate project)
• Registration Act, 1908, Sections 17 and 49 (registration and effect of non-registration)
• Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958