Authorities & RERA
What is a RERA-Registered Agent?
The broker showing you flats is required by law to be registered. Ask for the number. Watch what happens.
The short answer
Every real estate agent must be registered with RERA. Section 9. It is not optional.
An unregistered agent is breaking the law — and can be fined ₹10,000 for every day the breach continues.
More to the point: an unregistered agent is outside the system. When they mislead you, you have no complaint to make and no register to complain to.
The rule
No real estate agent shall facilitate the sale or purchase of any plot, apartment or building in a registered project, without obtaining registration from the state Real Estate Regulatory Authority.
Registration is per state. An agent registered in Karnataka is not thereby registered in Maharashtra.
Penalty for operating unregistered: ₹10,000 per day the breach continues, up to 5% of the cost of the units they dealt in (Section 62).
Ask for the number. Watch what happens.
“What's your RERA agent registration number?”
Ask it early, casually, as a matter of course.
A registered agent will give it to you without hesitation. They will probably have it on their card. Many are proud of it.
An unregistered one will do one of these: change the subject, say it's 'in process', say it isn't necessary, or explain that they aren't really an agent but a 'consultant' or a 'channel partner'.
Every one of those answers is a no.
Then verify the number on the state RERA portal. Numbers get made up.
What a registered agent must do
- Maintain records of the transactions they facilitate.
- Not facilitate the sale of an unregistered project. If the project has no RERA number, a registered agent may not sell it to you.
- Not make false or misleading statements about a project.
- Provide all the information and documents the allottee is entitled to at the time of booking.
- Display their registration number on their documents and advertising.
- Facilitate the possession of the documents the allottee is entitled to.
What they cannot do
- Sell an unregistered project. If they are offering you a "pre-launch", they are either unregistered themselves or breaching their own obligations — and either way you have learned something.
- Make claims they cannot substantiate — about returns, about appreciation, about amenities that aren't in the filing.
- Take money in their own name for a purchase. Payments go to the promoter.
“This area will double in five years.”
Nobody knows that. It is not a fact; it is a sales technique. And a registered agent making unsubstantiated claims about future returns is exposing themselves — and telling you exactly how much of what else they said you should believe.
Ask instead: “What's the RERA number, and what does the filing say about the possession date?” Facts have registration numbers. Predictions don't.
If an agent misleads you
- Keep everything in writing. Ask them to confirm claims by email. The ones who won't are telling you why.
- Check whether they are registered. If not, that is itself a breach you can report.
- File a complaint with the state RERA authority — against the agent, and against the promoter if applicable.
- The Authority can penalise them — ₹10,000 a day, up to 5% of the cost of the units concerned — and can revoke their registration.
A registered agent has something to lose. Their registration is a licence to earn a living, and the Authority can take it away.
An unregistered one has nothing to lose. They can tell you anything, take a commission, and disappear — and there is no register they can be struck off, because they were never on one.
That asymmetry is the whole reason Section 9 exists. Use it.
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 is a central law. But it is administered by a separate authority in each state, each with its own portal, its own rules, its own forms, and its own fee schedule.
Which means: the principles below apply everywhere. The procedure does not.
Always check YOUR state's RERA portal for the current rules, forms and fees. Search for it by name — MahaRERA, K-RERA, TS-RERA, TNRERA, UP RERA, HARERA — rather than following a link a builder or a broker sends you.
Frequently asked questions
Do real estate agents have to register with RERA?
Yes. Section 9 requires every agent facilitating the sale or purchase of a unit in a registered project to be registered with the state RERA authority. Registration is per state — an agent registered in Karnataka is not thereby registered in Maharashtra.
What is the penalty for an unregistered agent?
Rs 10,000 for every day the breach continues, up to 5% of the cost of the units they dealt in. But the practical point matters more: an unregistered agent is outside the system, with no registration to lose — so when they mislead you, there is nothing to strike them off.
How do I check if an agent is RERA registered?
Ask for their registration number, then verify it on the state RERA portal — numbers get made up. A registered agent will give it without hesitation and often has it on their card. An unregistered one will change the subject, say it's 'in process', or explain that they're not really an agent but a 'consultant'. Every one of those is a no.
Can a RERA agent sell an unregistered project?
No. A registered agent may not facilitate the sale of a project that is not itself registered. So if someone is offering you a 'pre-launch', they are either unregistered themselves or breaching their own obligations — and either way, you have learned something.
What if an agent lied to me about a project?
Keep everything in writing — ask them to confirm claims by email, and note who won't. Then file a complaint with the state RERA authority, against the agent and the promoter. The Authority can penalise them Rs 10,000 a day, up to 5% of the cost of the units concerned, and can revoke their registration entirely.