In a renewed push to curb mis-selling and restore confidence in residential transactions, the Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), Gurugram bench, has formally cautioned homebuyers and property investors against dealing with unregistered real estate agents. The advisory underscores the regulator’s intent to tighten compliance in one of India’s most active and dispute-prone property markets.
According to the authority, unregistered intermediaries continue to pose a significant risk to buyers by offering misleading assurances on pricing, delivery timelines, approvals, or project specifications. Such practices, officials warn, frequently result in contractual disputes, financial losses, and prolonged litigation, undermining the consumer-protection objectives of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. The regulator reiterated that under the RERA framework, no individual or entity is legally permitted to facilitate the sale or purchase of units in a registered real estate project without first obtaining registration as a real estate agent with the respective state authority. This prohibition applies irrespective of how the intermediary describes their role. Importantly, Gurugram RERA clarified that the legal definition of a real estate agent is intentionally broad. It includes not only licensed brokers and property dealers, but also individuals who introduce buyers and sellers, negotiate transactions, or act on behalf of either party for any form of consideration. Informal middlemen operating outside the registration framework are therefore equally in violation of the law.
The advisory draws attention to Section 9 of the RERA Act, which mandates compulsory agent registration and bars unregistered agents from advertising, marketing, selling, or facilitating transactions in regulated projects. Any transaction routed through an unregistered intermediary may expose buyers to enforcement complications and weaken their legal standing in the event of disputes. Regulatory experts say the warning reflects growing concern over the persistence of informal brokerage networks, particularly in high-demand micro-markets such as Gurugram, where rapid project launches and resale activity create opportunities for unverified agents to operate. Despite nearly a decade of RERA implementation, compliance gaps remain, especially in secondary sales and investor-driven transactions. To mitigate risks, the authority has advised buyers to independently verify agent credentials using the official Gurugram RERA portal, which maintains an updated list of registered agents. Officials emphasised that dealing only with registered agents enhances transparency, accountability, and traceability in property transactions. The advisory also signals a broader regulatory shift from reactive dispute resolution to preventive oversight. By placing responsibility on buyers to verify compliance at the transaction stage, RERA aims to reduce downstream litigation and promote a more disciplined brokerage ecosystem.
As Haryana’s real estate market continues to evolve, regulators say stricter adherence to agent registration norms will be critical to improving market credibility particularly at a time when end-user participation is rising and regulatory trust remains a key determinant of buyer sentiment.
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