An agent's records and advertisements: what MahaRERA expects to see

Registration is where an agent's obligations begin, not where they end. The duties that follow — records, disclosures, what appears in an advertisement — are the ones agents are actually penalised for missing.

What must be maintained

• Books of account, records and documents for the transactions facilitated, kept as prescribed.
• The registration certificate, valid and renewed before expiry rather than after a lapse.
• Particulars of the projects and promoters dealt with.

Advertising

An agent must not facilitate the sale of an unregistered project where registration is required, and the registration number is expected to appear in the material that induces a buyer. The exposure is not only regulatory — an advertisement is also the representation a disappointed buyer will later rely on.

Duties to the buyer

1. Do not make a false statement, oral or written, about a project.
2. Facilitate access to the information the allottee is entitled to at the time of booking.
3. Do not involve yourself in an unfair trade practice in connection with the sale.
4. Assist the allottee in obtaining the documents the promoter is obliged to provide.

The registration number on the hoarding is the cheapest compliance available. Its absence is the easiest to prove.

Contraventions attract penalties that accrue daily, and renewal lapses have a way of surfacing in the middle of a transaction rather than at a convenient moment.