Things To Know About Mhada Lottery Housing Scheme

Media reports say that the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) has received over 1.35 lakh applications for the 972 housing units it is offering through a computerised lottery draw system. This “overwhelming” response to the scheme, reports say, indicates towards the dire need of affordable housing in India's financial capital.

PropGuide looks at some key features of the scheme:

The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Board under the Mhada had invited the application till July 25. Applicants could apply for the scheme in person as well as online. However, online applicant had to pay Rs 300 extra. The proposed date of the lottery draw is August 10. According to the official advertisement, these housing units are being provided under the provisions of the MHADA (Disposal of Land) Rule, 1981.

To be eligible to apply for this affordable housing, an applicant has to be at least 18 years of age, must have a domicile certificate showing he has stayed in the limits of the state for at least 15 years and should not own a property under any schemes of the Mhada. Based on the category, applicants also had to produce income certificates.

To property seekers in Mumbai, the starting price of units may look like a loose change. While the most affordable unit will cost you Rs 8 lakh, the most expensive ones will come for Rs 85 lakh. The lucky ones will have to pay stamp duty, service tax and VAT (value-added tax) applicable in Maharashtra on top of the original cost. The possession of the unit will be subject to the applicant paying all these dues.

Despite the fact that the scheme is offering “affordable” housing, the Mhada has categorised the units under HIG (high-income group) , MIG (mid-income group) , LIG (low-income group) and EWS (economically weaker sections) .

Mumbai is a city that faces major space crunch. Keeping that in mind, the built-up area of the housing units vary from 21 square metres to 119 sq mts, while the carpet area ranges between 15 sq mts and 68 sq mts. The application clearly states the details on carpet area, sale price and the number of tenements are tentative and might change in future.

The localities where the Mhada if offering these “tenement” include Andheri, Borivali, Chandivali, Chembur, Dahisar, Ghatkopar, Goregaon, Jogeshwari, Kandiwali, Kurla, Korekalyan Santacruz, Malad, Mankhurd, Mulund, Powai, Sion and Wadala. It is to be noted that property in localities like Andheri and Kurla are highly expensive. Those who get a tenement allotted in these localities would certainly be quite lucky.

While some of the units of offer in the scheme are completed, other are under construction.

The Mhada has partnered Axis Bank for handling the financial bit of the scheme.

The Mhada has set up a help centre named Mitra at its Bandra East Office where applicant seek information regarding the scheme.

This is the third time this year that the Mhada is offering housing through a lottery draw system.