Till now the transfer provision was applicable only to residential premises built by MHADA. It has been extended to cover both leased plots and commercial premises after it was found that largescale illegal ownership transfers were routinely taking place. The proposal was passed at the board's monthly executive body meeting which was presided over by president Vilas Avachat. However, the decision has to ratified by the state housing department before it is implemented.

MHADA charges various rates for occupancy transfer of its residential premises. For High Income Group tenements the housing authority charges Rs 25,000 as transfer fees, for Middle Income Group tenements Rs 12,500 and Rs 10,000 for Low Income Groups premises. However, transfers were not permissible in case of shops andplots.

MHADA has thousands of plots and shops which have been given on lease. Though illegal transfers were on the rise, no revenue ever accrued to MHADA. There have been many cases where the lease deed was sold off even before the plot was actually handed over to the buyer. But there has been a lot of demand to allow transfers, informed MHADA sources.