Booking Through a Portal or Broker in Bengaluru? What RERA Requires of Real Estate Agents
A Bengaluru buyer's guide to RERA rules for real estate agents and property portals: who must register and where, how agent penalties are sized to the flat's cost, how agent duties sit alongside the promoter's, and the checks to run before booking through a broker or portal.
Picture a buyer in Bengaluru who finds a resale listing and a new launch on the same property portal on the same evening. A broker calls within minutes about the launch, offers a site visit and mentions a "portal discount" if the booking is made through them. The buyer has checked the project's RERA registration. What they have not checked is whether the portal or the broker is registered too. Under the RERA Act, that is a separate question with its own rules.
The short answer. Under Section 9 of the RERA Act, as explained in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs' FAQs, a real estate agent who sells in a project registered under the Act must register with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority. The FAQs say the definition of real estate agent is broad enough to cover web portals engaged in selling plots or apartments, and that agents and web based brokerage firms working in several states must register in each one. Under Section 62, an agent who fails to register when obliged to faces a penalty of up to Rs 10,000 a day, up to 5 percent of the cost of the flat whose sale it facilitated. The trade-off: a registered agent or portal can save you time, but a registration number is the minimum you should see before letting anyone handle your booking.
Does RERA cover property portals as well as brokers?
Yes, when they sell. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs' FAQs on the RERA Act, dated July 2025, say Section 2(zm) defines real estate agents in a very broad and inclusive way, covering all forms of agencies involved in sale and purchase of projects registered under the Act. Consequently, the FAQs say, web portals engaged in selling plots or apartments are also covered and are required to comply with the duties and responsibilities in the Act and its rules and regulations.
The key word is selling. A portal that only displays listings is in a different position from one that facilitates the sale of a unit in a registered project. If a portal or its representative is arranging your booking, negotiating a price or collecting payments, ask whether it holds an agent registration with the Authority.
We covered how to look up an agent's registration in Karnataka in our earlier guide to verifying a real estate agent's RERA registration.
Who has to register, and where?
Agents selling in registered projects, in each state they work in. The FAQs say Section 9 provides that a real estate agent engaged in selling a project registered under the Act has to register with the Authority, and that the mechanism for registration, the fees, the period of registration and renewal are detailed in the rules.
For agents and web based brokerage firms that operate across several states, the FAQs say they are required to register with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority in each individual state or union territory. The Authority grants a single registration to a real estate agent for the entire state or union territory.
So a national portal or brokerage that is registered in Maharashtra or Telangana is not, on that basis alone, registered in Karnataka. When a broker in Bengaluru shows you a registration number, check that it is a Karnataka registration.
What duties does an agent owe under the Act?
The FAQs say Section 10 of the Act sets out detailed functions and duties of real estate agents, and that agents, including web portals, must comply with the duties and responsibilities in the Act, rules and regulations. The FAQs do not list those duties in full, so read Section 10 itself or ask the agent to show you the obligations it accepts.
The agent's role sits alongside the promoter's, not in place of it. The FAQs say Section 12 makes the promoter responsible for the veracity of all information in the advertisement and prospectus, and liable to make good any loss suffered due to false information in them. A broker's pitch does not change what the promoter has published and is answerable for.
That is why it helps to separate the two sources of information. Treat the project's registration details and the promoter's prospectus as the record, and the broker's description as a summary to be checked against it.
What are the penalties for agents who do not comply?
They are tied to the cost of the flat. The table below sets out the agent penalties described in the MoHUA FAQs, with an illustration on an Rs 1 crore flat:
| Default by agent | Penalty under the Act | Illustration on an Rs 1 crore flat |
|---|---|---|
| Not registering when obliged to, Section 62 | Up to Rs 10,000 a day, cumulatively up to 5% of the flat's cost | Up to Rs 5 lakh |
| Not complying with the Authority's orders, Section 65 | Daily penalty, cumulatively up to 5% of the flat's cost | Up to Rs 5 lakh |
| Not complying with the Appellate Tribunal's orders, Section 66 | Daily penalty up to 10% of the flat's cost, or up to one year's imprisonment, or both | Up to Rs 10 lakh |
| Daily rate under Section 62 | Rs 10,000 per day of default | On an Rs 1 crore flat, the 5% cap is reached after 50 days |
| Basis of calculation | Cost of the plot or apartment whose sale the agent facilitated | The flat you bought through the agent |
The illustration column is arithmetic on an assumed price, not a figure from any case. The point it makes is that the Act sizes agent penalties to the transaction the agent handled, which gives an agent a direct stake in registering and following the Authority's orders.
How does this fit with checking the project itself?
It comes second. The FAQs say Section 3(1) requires the promoter to register a project before any advertising, marketing, booking, selling or offering for sale, and that a promoter can advertise only after registration. An agent's registration does not make up for a project that is not registered.
The FAQs also say the term advertisement includes any medium used in soliciting for sale, including SMS and emails. So a broker's messages inviting you to book in a project are part of the solicitation that the registration requirement covers. We explained the separate rules on the 10 percent advance limit in our guide to RERA's cap on token payments, which applies whoever collects the money on the promoter's behalf.
Whether a broker is pitching a large launch or a project such as Aparna Wonder Woods in Mallasandra, the order of checks is the same: the project's registration, then the agent's, then the documents.
Where can you see an agent's record, and what if something goes wrong?
On the Authority's website. The MoHUA FAQs say that under Section 34 each Real Estate Regulatory Authority must keep a website of records for public viewing, including details of agents registered under the Act with their photographs, and of agents whose registration has been revoked. The FAQs also list registering agents, and renewing or revoking their registration, among the Authority's immediate responsibilities.
So an agent's registration can be revoked. When you look up a broker, check that the name and photograph match the person you are dealing with and that the registration is current, not just that a number exists.
If a dispute arises, the FAQs say Section 31 allows an aggrieved person to file a complaint with the Regulatory Authority or the Adjudicating Officer, with the form, manner and fees set by the state's rules. Under Section 29, the FAQs say, the Authority should try to dispose of complaints within sixty days of filing, and must record its reasons if it cannot. The FAQs also say that if a real estate agent fails to pay interest, penalty or compensation imposed under the Act, the amount is recoverable as an arrear of land revenue.
None of this replaces care at the start. A complaint takes time, and a well documented booking is easier to explain to the Authority than a verbal promise made over the phone.
What should you check before booking through a broker or portal?
Use this list before any payment:
- Check the project's RERA registration number before discussing a booking.
- Ask the broker or portal for its own agent registration number with the Karnataka authority.
- Confirm the registration is for Karnataka, not only another state.
- Ask whether the agent is acting for the promoter, for you, or for both, and what it is paid.
- Make payments to the promoter's account named in the documents, not to an agent's account.
- Compare anything the broker tells you with the promoter's prospectus and registration details.
- Keep the agent's registration number and messages with your booking papers.
Most of these checks take minutes. Together, they make sure that everyone handling your purchase is someone the Act can reach.
Frequently asked questions
Do property portals have to register under RERA?
If they are engaged in selling. MoHUA's FAQs say the definition of real estate agent in Section 2(zm) is broad and inclusive, so web portals engaged in selling plots or apartments in registered projects are covered and must comply with the Act's duties and responsibilities, including its rules and regulations.
Is a broker registered in another state valid in Karnataka?
Not on that basis alone. MoHUA's FAQs say real estate agents and web based brokerage firms operating across multiple states must register with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority in each individual state or union territory, which grants a single registration for that whole state or territory.
What is the penalty for an unregistered real estate agent?
Under Section 62, as MoHUA's FAQs explain, an agent who fails to register when obliged to is liable to a penalty of up to Rs 10,000 for every day of default, cumulatively up to 5 percent of the cost of the plot or apartment whose sale it facilitated.
Who is responsible for false claims in a project brochure?
The promoter. MoHUA's FAQs say Section 12 makes the promoter responsible for the veracity of all information in the advertisement and prospectus, and liable to make good any loss sustained by any person due to false information in them. A broker repeating those claims does not shift that responsibility.
Last updated 2026-10-20. PropNewz Team.
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