Mumbai's Real Estate Woes: Parking Lift Shortage Delays Home Handovers

Mumbai: If you are set to move into your newly purchased apartment in Mumbai, you might have to wait just a bit longer—not because of a legal issue, but because the city is facing a massive shortage of car parking lifts, which has led to delays in the handover of projects.

The problem has left both buyers and developers anxious: buyers because they can’t move into their apartments, and builders because the delays are affecting their profits.

Developers cannot yet provide full occupancy certificates (OC) to customers, delaying final payments from customers. A developer’s balance sheet is impacted further if a building is a redeveloped project, as the developer has to keep paying transit rents to existing homeowners, which adds to the financial strain.

“We have been seeing this problem for a year. This is an issue that concerns all stakeholders from developers to buyers. This is a new pattern where everything is built and ready, just that the parking lifts need to be installed,” real estate consultant Vishal Bhargava told ThePrint. “So if the building gets delayed by a year, the builder has to pay the rent for a year more, the buyer gets his or her home a year late, and so the EMI is paid for a longer period of time. So it is a lose-lose for all.”

Car parking lifts are hydraulic platforms that use vertical lifting mechanisms to maximize parking space. Instead of parking cars side by side, they are stacked one above the other. This solution is used when space is limited, and hence has been gaining popularity in Mumbai.

The lifts allow developers to maximize the use of space within the given Floor Space Index (FSI).

Builders told ThePrint that no building can be sold without parking. Even small projects must provide parking facilities. They said parking towers or mechanical towers are the only option in projects without any scope for podium parking.

“The ongoing shortage of parking lifts, owing to limited suppliers and disrupted supply chains, is a critical bottleneck hampering timely occupancy certificates across the real estate sector,” Dr Niranjan Hiranandani, Chairman of National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), told ThePrint.

“This delay forces developers to incur extended transit rents and delays homebuyers’ final payments, impacting project viability and pricing feasibility. Addressing this supply crunch is imperative to ensure smoother project completions and protect stakeholder interests.”

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) first issued guidelines for car parking lifts in 2012. “Looking into the growing numbers in car ownership, it is pertinent to note that there is hardly any vacant land available for the development of buildings, and most of the building development is redevelopment of existing old buildings,” it said.

To accommodate more parking in less space, “various types of mechanised parking systems like mechanical stack parking, robo parking, pit type parking, and rotary type parking” were proposed.

It further said that once the parking facility is built according to the guidelines, which have to be included in the blueprint of the building, the BMC’s development plan department will give its approval. In addition, approval from the Mumbai Fire Brigade also needs to be obtained. Fire officials must visit a site, inspect the car lift, and then provide a no-objection certificate (NOC).

Once the builder gets the final NOC, he can hand over the flat to the buyer.

Bhargava said that though mechanical parking has been common in Mumbai for a long time, the market has surged in the post-COVID period with many projects now nearing completion.

Builders say that a car parking tower costs Rs 7-10 lakh per car park. According to developers, it is impossible to make a car park without a tower in areas smaller than 900 square metres.

The market has about four to five big players with one of the biggest being RR Parkon.

ThePrint reached the company for a comment via email. This report will be updated if and when it responds.

Dominic Rowell, former president of industry body CREDAI-MCHI, told ThePrint that manufacturers have taken more orders than they can deliver.

“All of them have different mechanisms and ways of making the lifts. I would request the government to have standardisation so from the safety point of view, some points should not be left out. And every time they promise, they should deliver,” he said. “Though I understand they are SMEs, it is affecting the end customer who is buying the house and paying an EMI. So they should give a commitment which is firm and affirmative.”

Chintan Vasani, partner at WiseBiz Developers and joint treasurer of NAREDCO, told ThePrint that more than parking companies, the agencies that install the parking lifts operate in a monopoly due to their limited numbers. He said their numbers need to increase.

“We are at the mercy of the agencies to deliver on time. And this also impacts the developers’ name. This is not a very healthy sign,” said Vasani.

One developer told ThePrint he was finding it difficult to start any new project.

“The market is not very great at the moment. And hence I have to come up with new ways to attract buyers. I have a 10:30:60 formula, which means I get the 60 percent amount once I hand over possession. But in three of my ongoing projects, the car lift issue is pending due to which I am unable to hand over,” said the developer, who did not want to be identified.

The developer added that he was building stand-alone projects, but buyers were beginning to doubt whether he has the intent to finish the project or not. “It damages my reputation as well.”

Another developer, who also requested anonymity, told ThePrint that two of his commercial projects in the Borivali area were stuck because of this issue.

“Both projects were ready with everything three months in advance, but the car lift wasn’t. Hence, we weren’t able to apply for an OC. My funds got stuck for three-four months, and I couldn’t even pressurise the car lift vendor to speed up as I know it will hamper the quality over the long run,” the developer said. “All this was before the US-Iran war, so before the component shortage problem. Now, post the war, I foresee more issues.”

In an otherwise slow market, Mumbai’s redevelopment market is fast growing, which builders are looking at, given the dearth of space for newer projects.

According to the latest Knight Frank data, the market grew 16 percent in 2025 over 2024. This growth is continuing even in 2026, with over 70 redevelopment projects signed up in the first quarter.

The data further reveals that the micro-market of the western suburbs has seen massive growth in the past six years, with Borivali, Andheri, Malad and Bandra adding units and flooding the real estate market.

Rowell says there is no specific number of how many projects are stuck. “All projects need a car park, and ramp parking is not sufficient. Besides, you need visitor parking as well. So, every second or third project in Mumbai will be going under mechanical parking.”

Bhargava explains that out of 10 redevelopment projects, nine are on smaller projects, making ramp parking facilities a luxury.

“This is like in a T20 match. The builder has reached the 19th over, and here both builder and buyer are losing in the 19th over,” said Bhargava. “One of the dangers is that if the cost goes up, the builder might compromise on delivery or quality of delivery.”

Vasani said that with the floor index rising, the number of parking spaces allocated to buyers must increase accordingly. Therefore, parking towers are the only option.

“This is a ticking bomb. It is not in my hands. It is not that I am going for profit, but a good developer would rather not make those small projects at all,” he added.