How to Compare Two Developer Offers With Different Corpus and Rent
When one developer offers more corpus and another offers more rent, the two figures only become comparable once you total them over the project duration.
Why can't I simply compare corpus with corpus and rent with rent?
Because they are paid on different clocks. Corpus is a one-time lump sum, usually handed over around possession. Rent is a monthly payment that runs only while you are out of the building. An offer with a smaller monthly rent but a much longer project period can still cost the developer more, and pay you more, than one with a headline-grabbing corpus.
To make them comparable, convert rent into a total. Take the monthly rent, multiply it by the number of months you realistically expect to be in transit, add any rent escalation the offer promises, then add the one-time corpus. Do this for both offers. Our offer comparison tool does this arithmetic for you, and the rent comparison tool helps you sense-check whether the monthly figure will actually cover a similar flat in your area.
Which number should the society care about more?
They fund different things, so neither wins outright. Rent funds your housing today — if it falls short of the local market, every member pays the gap from their own pocket for years. Corpus funds tomorrow — the maintenance of a taller building with lifts, pumps and firefighting systems, which usually costs more than your old outgoings.
- If members are stretched for cash each month, weight rent more heavily.
- If the new building will be much larger, weight corpus more heavily.
What do members forget while chasing the bigger figure?
Two things. First, the timeline. The Government of Maharashtra directive dated 4 July 2019 under Section 79A of the MCS Act 1960 contemplates completion in about two years. If an offer's numbers only look good over a long assumed period, ask what happens if the project overruns — is rent paid until actual possession?
Second, the security behind the promise. The same directive contemplates a bank guarantee of around 20%, a MahaRERA-registered developer, and a registered Development Agreement and PAAA. A generous corpus from a developer with a weak guarantee is worth less than a modest one that is properly secured. Read our guide to possession and corpus, and have your society's chartered accountant and solicitor review the draft agreement before any vote.
Work it out for your own society
Enter each developer's corpus, monthly rent and project duration to see both offers converted into a single comparable total.
Open the Offer Comparison CalculatorCommon questions
How many months of rent should I assume when totalling an offer?
Use the period the developer has committed to in writing, not an optimistic verbal estimate. The Section 79A directive of 4 July 2019 contemplates completion in about two years, so anything materially longer deserves an explanation. Then ask whether rent continues beyond that date until actual possession, because that clause often matters more than the monthly figure itself.
Is corpus taxable in the member's hands?
This is genuinely unsettled and depends on how the corpus is characterised in your agreement and on your own facts. Some receipts have been treated as capital in nature, others not. Please do not rely on what a neighbouring society was told. Ask a chartered accountant to review your Development Agreement and PAAA before you plan around the money.
Should we simply pick the offer with the higher combined total?
Not automatically. A higher total from a developer with a weak bank guarantee, no MahaRERA registration or a vague completion date carries more risk than a slightly smaller, properly secured offer. Compare the totals first to understand the money, then compare the protections. Both should satisfy the committee before the society votes.
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