Who must register as a RERA agent
By Jayesh G, Founder. Rules checked 23 October 2026.
In short
- Section 9 of the RERA Act: no real estate agent may facilitate a sale in a registered project without registration.
- The Act defines agents widely: brokers, dealers, middlemen, and anyone who introduces buyers and sellers for a fee.
- MahaRERA registration lasts 5 years and has needed a Certificate of Competency since 1 January 2024.
On this page
If you negotiate or introduce buyers for a fee in a real estate project, the RERA Act treats you as a real estate agent. Section 9 says you must be registered before you facilitate any sale.
The Act defines “agent” widely
Section 2(zm) of the Act covers any person who negotiates or acts for one party in a transfer of a plot, apartment or building in a real estate project, and who receives a commission, fee or other charge. It also includes a person who introduces buyers and sellers to each other “through any medium”. It names property dealers, brokers and middlemen “by whatever name called”.
So a channel partner (CP) firm that brings buyers to a developer’s project is covered. The title on your visiting card does not matter. The work you do does.
What Section 9 requires
Section 9(1) says no agent may facilitate the sale or purchase of a plot, apartment or building in a project registered under Section 3, sold by the promoter in a planning area, without registering under Section 9.
The rest of Section 9 works like this:
- You apply to the state Authority in the prescribed form, with the prescribed fee and documents (Section 9(2)).
- The Authority grants one registration for the whole State or Union territory (Section 9(3)(a)).
- It must give you a hearing before rejecting an application (Section 9(3)(b)).
- You get a registration number, and you must quote it in every sale you facilitate (Section 9(5)).
- The Authority can suspend or revoke registration for breach of conditions, or if it was obtained by misrepresentation or fraud, after hearing you (Section 9(7)).
Validity and renewal
Section 9(6) leaves the validity period and renewal terms to the rules. MahaRERA states that an agent registration “shall be valid for 5 years until it is revoked”. Renewal is applied for online from the agent’s own account on the MahaRERA portal.
MahaRERA Order No. 52/2024 recites Rule 13(1) of the Maharashtra Rules, which lets an agent apply for renewal at least sixty days before expiry. It also recites Rule 15(2), under which an agent whose registration is revoked cannot apply afresh for six months.
MahaRERA also requires a Certificate of Competency
In Maharashtra, registration is not only a form. MahaRERA Order No. 41/2023 (10.01.2023) introduced a basic agent training and certification course. Order No. 41B/2023 (13.12.2023) then directed that from 1 January 2024:
- only agents holding a valid MahaRERA Real Estate Agent Certificate of Competency can apply for registration or renewal;
- existing registered agents had to obtain the certificate and upload it to their page; and
- the rule covers individual agents, the authorised signatory of a firm, LLP or company, and staff who deal with homebuyers.
Order No. 52/2024 (29.04.2024) added consequences. Registrations without an uploaded certificate were kept in abeyance, and those agents could not facilitate any sale in the meantime. If the certificate was submitted within one year, the registration came off the abeyance list. If not, it stood revoked, and a fresh application was allowed only after six months from revocation.
For a CP firm, this means checking the certificate position of the signatory and of every sales employee who meets buyers.
What skipping registration can cost
Section 62 sets a penalty for breaching Section 9 or Section 10: ten thousand rupees for every day the default continues. The total can go up to five per cent of the cost of the plot, apartment or building for which the sale was facilitated, as decided by the Authority.
Fees and documents
This page does not quote the registration fee or the document list, because they sit in the Rules and on the portal and can change. Check the current fee and document list on the MahaRERA website before you apply.
This guide explains the rules in plain words. It isn’t legal advice: check the official source, or ask a lawyer, before you act on it.