Real Estate Agents Under RERA: What the Law Says

That agent walking you through your dream flat is not operating in a legal grey zone. Real estate agents under RERA are bound by clear rules, and most buyers never realise it. The answer sits in the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, which places firm obligations on anyone dealing in property linked to registered projects.

Who the law counts as an agent

The definition is deliberately wide. An agent is any person who negotiates or acts on behalf of someone in the transfer of a plot, apartment or building by way of sale, and receives remuneration, fees or charges for it, whether as commission or otherwise. If money changes hands for helping a deal along, the law is interested.

State authorities have stretched the net even further. The MahaRERA definition makes clear it "includes property dealers, brokers, middlemen by whatever name called," which leaves little room to dodge the label. Whatever the job title on the business card, the obligations are the same.

What Section 9 actually requires

This is the heart of it. Section 9 of the Act states that no real estate agent can facilitate the sale or purchase of any plot, apartment or building in a registered project without first obtaining registration from the relevant state's RERA authority. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs frames it plainly: agents selling registered projects have to register with the Authority.

The duties do not stop at signing up. Section 10 lays out detailed functions and responsibilities for agents, setting compliance requirements for everyone working in the sector. Registration is the entry ticket, not the finish line.

How RERA registration works for real estate agents

The process is structured, with safeguards on both sides. In broad terms, it runs like this:

• The authority processes applications within a prescribed time, after verifying that all conditions are met, and can grant a single registration covering an entire state or union territory
• An application can be rejected for non-compliance, but only with reasons recorded in writing, and never without giving the applicant a hearing
• If the authority does not respond within the specified period, the agent is deemed registered by default
• Once registered, the agent gets a registration number that must be quoted in every transaction under the Act

Registration is not permanent or untouchable. It is valid for a set period and renewable on payment of fees, while the authority can suspend or revoke it for violating conditions or for fraud, again only after the agent has been heard.

Why the rules exist

The point of all this is trust. Authorities say the framework is built to bring transparency and accountability to property deals by making sure the middlemen are formally registered and regulated, rather than operating unchecked. For a buyer, that registration number is a quiet but useful signal.

It means the person handling one of the biggest purchases of your life is on the record and answerable to a regulator. The next time an agent pitches the perfect flat, the smart first question is simple: Are you RERA registered, and what is your number?

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