Standard Amenities a Developer Should Provide in Your Redevelopment
Lifts, parking, water, power backup, security, CCTV, fire safety and more — the amenities your society should insist on, and how to lock each one into the registered agreement.
The standard amenities a developer should provide in a Mumbai redevelopment are the everyday essentials that make a building safe, secure and comfortable to live in: working lift(s), enough parking, reliable water storage and supply, power backup for common services, security with CCTV, a proper fire-fighting system with a refuge area, a society office, and well-finished common and recreation spaces. Just as important as the list itself is the quality of each item and the fact that every one of them is written, with exact specifications, into your registered development agreement. A promise made only in a glossy brochure, a WhatsApp message or a site-office conversation is very hard to enforce later; a clear clause in the agreement is not.
This guide explains the amenities members should insist on, how to describe them so they are actually enforceable, and the law that protects the sanctioned plans and specifications once construction begins. Wherever DCPR 2034 fixes an actual figure, this guide gives you the figure — so you can check the developer's drawing against the regulation instead of arguing about adjectives.
The five numbers to check first
These are the amenity figures DCPR 2034 actually prescribes for Greater Mumbai. Every one of them is checkable against your approved plan.
Source: DCPR 2034 (sanctioned) — Reg 37(17)(i) lifts, Reg 44 Table 21 parking, Reg 48(8) refuge area, Reg 37(9) office room, Reg 33(7) rehabilitation carpet.
Why amenities belong in the agreement, not the brochure
In redevelopment, the developer builds a brand-new building in place of your old one and hands each member a new flat. Everything you are promised in return — the extra carpet area, the corpus (a one-time lump sum paid to members), the rent during construction, and the amenities — is only as good as the document that records it. Under the Section 79A redevelopment directive dated 4 July 2019, the development agreement (DA) and the individual permanent alternate accommodation agreements (PAAAs) signed with each member must be registered. Registration matters because the Registration Act, 1908 (Section 17) makes documents that create rights in immovable property compulsorily registrable; an unregistered side-promise carries very little weight in a dispute.
The practical rule is simple: if an amenity is not in the registered agreement, with a specification, treat it as if it does not exist. Brochures almost always carry a disclaimer that images are "artist's impressions" and are not binding — which is exactly why builders are happy to show lavish lobbies and landscaping that never make it into the contract.
The core amenities checklist, with the DCPR number attached
Use the table below as a starting checklist. The middle column is the minimum DCPR 2034 actually prescribes — that is the floor, not the target. Anything above it is negotiable, and anything below it should not have been sanctioned in the first place. Make sure each row ends up in the agreement as a numbered specification rather than a vague word.
| Amenity | DCPR 2034 minimum (Greater Mumbai) | Write this into the agreement |
|---|---|---|
| Lift(s) | 1 lift in every building more than 16 m high. At least 2 lifts once the building is more than 24 m high, serving every dwelling unit, and one of the two must be a fire lift. At least one lift must reach the lowest basement level. — Reg 37(17)(i) | Number of lifts, brand/make, passenger capacity, which lift is the fire lift, and whether a stretcher or service lift is included. |
| Car lifts (podium or stack parking reached without a ramp) | Minimum 2 car lifts for up to 200 parking spaces, plus one more for every 100 parking spaces beyond 200, or part thereof. — Reg 37(16)(ii) | Number of car lifts, make and capacity — or, if a ramp is used instead, the ramp's clear width in metres. |
| Car parking | Set by Table 21 and depends on which regulation your scheme runs under — see the parking section below. Each car space at least 2.5 m × 5.5 m; up to 50% of the spaces may be the smaller 2.3 m × 4.5 m. — Reg 44 | Exact number of spaces per member, the stall size in metres, type (open, stack, podium or mechanical) and their marked location on the layout plan. |
| Refuge area | Above 32 m height: first refuge area at 24 m or the 1st habitable floor, whichever is higher, then at every 7th habitable floor, each sized at 4% of the habitable floor area it serves and free of FSI (the Commissioner may allow up to 4.25%; beyond that the excess counts in FSI). Up to 32 m height, the terrace is treated as the refuge area. — Reg 48(8) | The refuge floors marked on the plan with their area in sq m, and a clause barring any later conversion or enclosure. |
| Fire-fighting water storage | Residential building below 15 m: terrace tank 5,000 litres (10,000 litres if the basement exceeds 200 sq m), no underground static tank. Residential 15 m to 32 m: terrace tank 15,000 litres. Taller buildings need a wet riser-cum-down comer and a much larger underground static tank. — DCPR 2034 fire-fighting installation table | Underground static and terrace tank capacities in litres, pump capacity, and the fire NOC reference. |
| Common staircase / corridor | 1.50 m minimum clear width for a residential building up to 70 m high; 2.00 m above 70 m. — Reg 37(15), Table 16 | Staircase and corridor width in metres, matched to the approved plan. |
| Society office | One office room per society, allowed on any floor including the stilt or parking floor; area limited to 20 sq m including the toilet. — Reg 37(9) | The office's exact carpet area in sq m and its location fixed on the approved plan. |
| Domestic water, power backup, security and CCTV | DCPR sets no fixed figure for these. Domestic water storage follows MCGM's Hydraulic Engineer requirement; the rest are purely negotiated. | Tank capacities in litres, DG set capacity in kVA and exactly which common services it feeds, camera count and coverage, recording retention in days, intercom and a security cabin. |
| Common and recreation areas | No DCPR figure for an ordinary society redevelopment. Recreational open space is governed by Reg 41 and is plot-specific. | Each space named, its area in sq m stated, and the finish level described. |
| Finishes and fittings | No DCPR figure — this is entirely what you negotiate. | Flooring, sanitaryware and CP fittings, doors, windows, kitchen platform and electrical points — by brand and model, or an agreed equivalent. |
Source: DCPR 2034 (sanctioned), Regulations 37, 41, 44 and 48, and Table 16 and Table 21. DCPR 2034 applies to Greater Mumbai only; the rest of Maharashtra follows UDCPR.
Parking: DCPR fixes the count, and a redevelopment scheme gets half
Parking is the amenity societies argue about most, and it is also the one where the regulation gives you a hard number. Regulation 44, Table 21 of DCPR 2034 sets the parking a residential building must provide, banded by each flat's carpet area. The important part is that a redevelopment carried out under a special scheme regulation gets exactly half the parking of an ordinary residential building. Most Mumbai society redevelopments run under one of those regulations.
| Carpet area of each flat | Ordinary residential building | Redevelopment under a scheme regulation |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 45 sq m | 1 space per 4 flats | 1 space per 8 flats |
| Above 45 up to 60 sq m | 1 space per 2 flats | 1 space per 4 flats |
| Above 60 up to 90 sq m | 1 space per 1 flat | 1 space per 2 flats |
| Above 90 sq m | 2 spaces per flat (the table reads "1/2 tenement") | 1 space per 1 flat |
| Visitor parking (both columns) | 25% of the number arrived at above, subject to a minimum of one | |
Source: DCPR 2034 (sanctioned), Regulation 44, Table No. 21, Sr. No. 1(i) Residential — Island City, Suburbs and Extended Suburbs. The halved scale applies to redevelopment under Regulations 33(5), 33(6), 33(7), 33(7)(A), 33(9), 33(9)(B), 33(10), 33(10)(A), 33(11)(A), 33(15) and 33(20)(A).
Two rules go with the table. First, any fractional space of more than half is rounded up to the next whole space. Second, for the two smallest bands the regulation expressly permits the developer, at its own option, to provide one parking space for each flat — so a builder who tells you "the rules do not allow more parking" is wrong. More parking is always allowed; it simply has to be negotiated and written in.
Worked example
A 40-member cessed society in the Island City redeveloping under Regulation 33(7). The new flats: 24 of 42 sq m carpet, 12 of 55 sq m, 4 of 72 sq m.
24 flats up to 45 sq m ÷ 8 = 3 spaces
12 flats of 45–60 sq m ÷ 4 = 3 spaces
4 flats of 60–90 sq m ÷ 2 = 2 spaces
Sub-total = 8 spaces
Visitor parking, 25% of 8 = 2 spaces
Sanctionable minimum = 10 car spaces for 40 flats
The same building as an ordinary residential development would need 6 + 6 + 4 = 16, plus 4 visitor spaces = 20 spaces. So the scheme regulation costs this society ten car spaces.
What to do with this number. Ten spaces for 40 flats is one space for every four families. If your members expect a car space each, that is 30 additional spaces the developer is under no obligation to build. Count them on the drawing, then put the exact figure — spaces per member, stall size and marked location — into the development agreement before you sign.
Check the count yourself: take the flat schedule from the offer, sort the flats into the four carpet bands above, divide, add 25% for visitors, and compare the answer with the number of stalls marked on the developer's parking layout. If the drawing shows fewer, it is not sanctionable. If it shows exactly the minimum, you now know precisely how much you are asking for when you negotiate upward.
Carpet floors and corpus: the other two numbers with a statutory answer
Amenities are worth little if the flat itself is undersized or the society is left with no maintenance money. Both have regulation-fixed floors, and both depend on which regulation your redevelopment runs under. Identify your scheme first, then read the row.
| Scheme | Minimum rehabilitation carpet per eligible member | Minimum corpus per tenement |
|---|---|---|
| Cessed building, Island City — Reg 33(7) | The carpet actually occupied, with a floor of 27.88 sq m (300 sq ft) and a ceiling of 120 sq m (1,292 sq ft) | No figure fixed by DCPR — negotiated, so state it in rupees in the agreement |
| MHADA housing scheme — Reg 33(5) | Existing carpet + 35%, subject to a minimum of 35 sq m, plus a further 15% / 25% / 35% / 45% by plot size under Table-A | No figure fixed by DCPR — negotiated |
| Cluster / urban renewal — Reg 33(9) | Set by the scheme | Rs 50,000 per tenement, created by the promoter to fund 10 years of maintenance of the rehabilitation buildings |
| BDD chawl cluster — Reg 33(9)(B) | 25 sq m (269 sq ft) per eligible dweller | Set by the scheme |
| Slum rehabilitation — Reg 33(10) | 27.88 sq m (300 sq ft) per eligible dweller | Rs 40,000 per tenement, or as decided by SRA |
Source: DCPR 2034 (sanctioned), Regulations 33(5), 33(7), 33(9), 33(9)(B) and 33(10). The Rs 50,000 corpus is specific to Regulation 33(9); it is not a universal minimum for every redevelopment.
The practical warning: the Rs 50,000 figure is quoted far more often than it applies. It is a cluster-scheme floor. If your society is an ordinary non-cessed building doing a straightforward redevelopment, no regulation guarantees you any corpus at all — the whole amount comes from negotiation, which is exactly why the rupee figure, the payment milestone and who holds the money must be spelled out in the registered agreement.
Quality specifications matter as much as the list
Two buildings can carry "the same" amenities on paper and yet feel completely different, because a single word hides the quality. "Vitrified flooring" could mean a budget tile or a premium one; "branded lift" could mean any brand at all. The fix is to insist on a specifications annexure — often called a schedule of amenities and specifications — attached to the agreement, listing brand names and models with the phrase "or approved equivalent" so the developer keeps only limited, reasonable flexibility. Wherever a number can be stated — camera count, tank litres, generator kVA, parking spaces per flat, refuge area in square feet — state it. You can then line up competing developer offers side by side using our offer comparison tool, so a longer amenities list built on cheaper materials does not fool anyone.
RERA protects the sanctioned plans and specifications
Most redevelopment projects must be registered with MahaRERA (the Real Estate Regulatory Authority for Maharashtra). Two provisions of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 are especially useful for amenities:
- Section 14 — once the plans and specifications are sanctioned and disclosed, the developer cannot change the sanctioned plans, layout or the specifications of your flat without your written consent, and cannot make other alterations to the building or common areas without the consent of at least two-thirds of the allottees (the members who have been allotted flats). This is what stops a builder from quietly downgrading materials or shrinking a common amenity after you have signed.
- Section 14(3) — if any structural defect, or a defect in workmanship, quality or provision of services, is noticed within five years of possession, the developer must set it right at no extra charge, generally within 30 days of being told. This five-year defect-liability period is your safety net for amenities that fail or were never finished properly.
Because these protections attach to what was sanctioned and disclosed, the disclosed specifications must genuinely reflect what you were promised. If the amenities in the RERA disclosures and the registered agreement are thinner than the brochure, the brochure loses — one more reason to get everything in writing before signing.
Parking, refuge areas and open spaces are not the builder's to sell
Some amenities are protected by their very nature. Parking spaces, refuge areas, staircases, lift lobbies, terraces and mandatory open spaces are common areas or mandatory reservations — as a general principle, a builder cannot carve them out and sell them separately to outsiders, nor take them away from the society. A refuge area in particular is a life-safety reservation required on the approved plan; it must stay open and accessible and cannot be converted into a saleable flat. Note also that the refuge area is free of FSI up to 4% of the habitable floor area it serves — so shrinking it buys the developer nothing in saleable area, and there is no commercial excuse for a thin one. Count the refuge floors on the plan: above 32 m height there must be one at 24 m or the first habitable floor, whichever is higher, and then one at every 7th habitable floor. Our guide on the refuge area and fire safety explains how to check this on your sanctioned plan.
How much parking and common area your plot can actually support also depends on the permissible FSI (Floor Space Index — the ratio that decides how much can be built on the plot). Unlike the parking ratio, this one really does vary, and what it varies with is your access-road width. Under DCPR 2034 Table 12, a plot in the Suburbs gets permissible FSI 1.00 on a road less than 9 m wide, 2.00 from 9 m up to under 12 m, 2.20 from 12 m up to under 18 m, 2.40 from 18 m up to under 27 m and 2.50 at 27 m and above. In the Island City the same road bands give 1.33 / 2.00 / 2.40 / 2.70 / 3.00. A road of exactly 9.00 m falls in the higher band, so it is worth measuring the road rather than accepting a description of it. Work out realistic numbers for your building with our FSI calculator and additional area calculator, and confirm them in a feasibility report.
Source: DCPR 2034 (sanctioned), Table 12. FSI is computed on the plot area excluding land under DP roads, a sanctioned Regular Line, Regulation 16, Regulation 14 amenity plots and Regulation 17 reservations — not on the gross plot.
Why vague amenity promises are a red flag
Vague wording is rarely an accident; it is the gap through which a project is quietly downgraded. Watch for these warning signs before you sign:
- Words like "premium", "imported" or "state-of-the-art" with no brand, model or number attached.
- Amenities shown in the brochure or a presentation but missing from the agreement's schedule.
- A clause letting the developer change amenities "at its sole discretion" — this tries to sidestep the Section 14 consent requirement.
- No stated area for the society office, community hall or recreation space. The society office should be written in at a figure in sq m — DCPR allows up to 20 sq m including the toilet, so anything materially smaller is a concession you are making.
- No mention of the refuge area, the fire system, or the number of parking spaces per flat.
- A parking layout that shows only the Table 21 minimum. Do the sum yourself from the flat schedule: if the drawing matches the minimum exactly, no extra parking has been offered, whatever the sales pitch said.
- A building over 24 m high showing only one lift, or no lift identified as the fire lift — both fall short of Regulation 37(17)(i).
- A corpus quoted as "as per rules" or "Rs 50,000 as per government norms" when your society is not a Regulation 33(9) cluster scheme. Outside 33(9) and 33(10) there is no statutory corpus at all, so the number must come from negotiation and be written in rupees.
Before you sign, run the draft against our red flags in a development agreement guide, and lift enforceable wording from the agreement clause library so that every amenity above becomes a firm, checkable commitment.
Related guides & tools
Common questions
Do the amenities have to be listed in the development agreement, or is the brochure enough?
The brochure is not enough. Brochures usually state that images are only artist's impressions and are not binding. Insist on a schedule of amenities and specifications, with brands and numbers, annexed to the registered development agreement — anything left out is very hard to enforce later.
Can the developer change the promised amenities after we sign?
Not freely. Under Section 14 of RERA, 2016 the developer cannot alter the sanctioned plans or your flat's specifications without your written consent, and cannot change other building or common-area works without the consent of at least two-thirds of the allottees. Any clause letting the builder change amenities at its sole discretion is a red flag.
How long is the developer responsible for fixing defects in the new building?
Under Section 14(3) of RERA, if a structural defect or a defect in workmanship, quality or services shows up within five years of possession, the developer must repair it free of charge, generally within 30 days of being notified. Keep this five-year defect-liability period in mind for amenities that fail early.
Can the builder sell our parking or the refuge area separately?
As a general principle, no. Parking, refuge areas, staircases, lobbies and mandatory open spaces are common areas or mandatory reservations and cannot be carved out and sold separately. A refuge area is a life-safety reservation on the approved plan and must stay open and accessible. Under Regulation 48(8) of DCPR 2034, a building over 32 m high must have a refuge area at 24 m or the first habitable floor, whichever is higher, and then at every 7th habitable floor, each equal to 4% of the habitable floor area it serves. That 4% is free of FSI, so there is no commercial reason for the builder to reduce it.
How many car parking spaces must the developer provide?
Regulation 44, Table 21 of DCPR 2034 fixes it by carpet area, and a redevelopment under a scheme regulation such as 33(5), 33(7), 33(9) or 33(10) gets half the ordinary scale. Under those schemes it is one space for every 8 flats up to 45 sq m carpet, one per 4 flats of 45–60 sq m, one per 2 flats of 60–90 sq m and one per flat above 90 sq m — plus visitor parking equal to 25% of that total, minimum one. An ordinary residential building gets double: one per 4, one per 2, one per flat, and two per flat above 90 sq m. Fractions above half round up. So a 40-flat society redeveloping under 33(7) with mostly small flats may be entitled to only about 10 car spaces. Anything more is negotiated, not automatic.
How many lifts must the new building have?
Regulation 37(17)(i) of DCPR 2034 requires at least one lift in any building more than 16 m high, and at least two lifts once the building is more than 24 m high, serving every dwelling unit. One of those two must be a fire lift conforming to the fire safety regulations, and at least one lift must serve the lowest basement level. If your new building will be over 24 m and the drawing shows a single lift, or none marked as the fire lift, raise it before you sign.
Is there a minimum corpus fund we can insist on?
Only in specific schemes. DCPR 2034 fixes a minimum corpus of Rs 50,000 per tenement in a Regulation 33(9) cluster or urban renewal scheme, meant to fund 10 years of maintenance of the rehabilitation buildings, and Rs 40,000 per tenement in a Regulation 33(10) slum rehabilitation scheme. For an ordinary society redevelopment there is no statutory corpus at all. The widely repeated Rs 50,000 figure is a cluster-scheme number, so do not assume it applies to you — agree a rupee amount, a payment milestone and who holds the money, and put all three in the registered agreement.
What does quality specification mean and why does it matter?
It means naming the exact brand, model, size or number for each amenity instead of a vague word. Vitrified flooring or a branded lift can mean cheap or premium. A specifications annexure listing brands (with or approved equivalent) and numbers is what makes an amenity enforceable.
Are a society office and power backup compulsory?
DCPR 2034 provides for the society office. Regulation 37(9) permits one office room per co-operative society, on any floor including the stilt or parking floor, with the area limited to 20 sq m including the toilet — so 20 sq m is the ceiling you should be asking for, stated in sq m in the agreement. Power backup has no DCPR figure: it is a negotiated amenity, so write in the DG set capacity in kVA and exactly which common services it feeds rather than relying on custom.
What if the amenities delivered are worse than promised?
If the delivered work is below the registered specifications, you can rely on the RERA Section 14 protection and the Section 14(3) defect-liability window, and you may also have a deficiency-of-service remedy under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. Your strongest evidence is the signed specifications annexure, so keep it safe.
How do we compare amenities across different developer offers?
List each offer's amenities with their exact specifications side by side, so a longer list built on cheaper materials does not look better than a shorter list of higher quality. Our offer comparison tool is built for this; back it with an FSI calculation and a feasibility report to confirm what your plot can actually support.
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