India, July 10 -- Can a real estate developer skip the number 13 because it is considered unlucky? Not after the building plans have been sanctioned, observes Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA).

The regulator recently addressed a complaint from a housing society near Mumbai, alleging that the developer had renumbered the apartments on the 13th floor as 1401, 1402, and so on, effectively erasing the number 13 from the building. According to the society, the change created a mismatch between the sanctioned plans and the on-site numbering, leading to discrepancies in official records and property tax documents.

MahaRERA observed that if the developer believed the number 13 was inauspicious, it should have factored that...