The Maharashtra cooperation department is set to introduce an online housing society registration system this year, reducing mandatory documents from 29 to 19 and shifting the entire process to the Aaple Sarkar portal. The reform aims to simplify the paperwork-heavy registration process, reduce repeated visits to deputy registrar offices, limit the role of middlemen, and speed up approvals. Under the revised norms, societies will submit only essential documents related to land ownership, construction permissions, promoter details, and registered agreements, while several affidavits and reports will be removed from the online workflow.
Officials said the new digital system will allow societies to upload documents, track application status, amend bye-laws, and receive approvals online, improving transparency and efficiency. The move is expected to significantly increase housing society registrations, especially in cities like Pune and Mumbai, where many buildings remain unregistered. Housing federations have welcomed the change, noting that excessive documentation and lack of builder cooperation had stalled registrations for years. The department clarified that while documentation has been reduced, all legal safeguards to establish a society’s legitimacy remain in place.