In short
- RERA defines an advertisement as publicity in any form about a project. Section 11(2) requires the registration number and the Authority's website address to be shown prominently.
- In Maharashtra, MahaRERA also requires a QR code on promotions published after 1 August 2023, and fined an agent ₹25,000 in 2024 for an Instagram ad without the agent number and QR code.
- Under section 12, a buyer who loses money on a false statement in an ad is compensated by the promoter. Under section 59, selling without registration risks a penalty of up to 10% of project cost.
- A creator paid per lead who introduces buyers may fall within RERA's definition of a real estate agent. A flat content fee is the lower-risk model.
A creator's walkthrough of a flat is an advertisement under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, and the developer who commissioned it answers for it. RERA defines an advertisement as publicity in any form that informs people about a real estate project, and section 11(2) requires such an advertisement to show the registration number and the website address of the state Authority prominently. Maharashtra goes further with a QR code. A creator who says "starting at ₹55 lakh" or "possession next year" is also making statements the promoter must be able to stand behind.
Our real estate playbook covers casting, the buyer journey and metrics, and gives the headline RERA points. This post goes one level deeper on advertising rules only: what the Act says an advertisement must carry, where a creator can create agent exposure, what a regulator has done about a social post, and which script lines to cut. It sits under our ASCI influencer guidelines explainer and our guide to influencer marketing in India.
What RERA counts as an advertisement
Section 2(b) defines "advertisement" as any document described or issued as an advertisement through any medium, including any notice, circular or other documents or publicity in any form, informing persons about a real estate project, or offering for sale a plot, building or apartment, or inviting persons to purchase in any manner or to make advances or deposits for such purposes. Our reading is that a paid Reel or YouTube tour of a registered project is "publicity in any form" informing people about the project. We found no authority applying the section to a creator post specifically.
Four sections do the work for a campaign.
| Section | What it says | Effect on a creator campaign |
|---|---|---|
| 3(1) | No promoter shall advertise, market, book, sell, offer for sale or invite persons to purchase without registering the project | No teaser or "coming soon" content before the registration number exists |
| 11(2) | The advertisement or prospectus must mention prominently the Authority's website address, where the registered project's details are entered, and include the registration number | Every post needs both, visible |
| 12 | A person who makes an advance or deposit on the basis of an ad, and loses money through an incorrect or false statement, is compensated by the promoter; if they want to leave the project they get their investment back with interest and compensation | The promoter carries the creator's errors |
| 13 | No more than 10% of the cost as advance or application fee without a registered written agreement for sale | Call to action is a site visit, not a booking deposit |
The registration block
Think of the required details as a block that travels with every post. Section 11(2) requires the registration number and the Authority's website address. In Maharashtra the MahaRERA Order 46/2023, dated 29 May 2023, says the promoter shall prominently display a QR code on each and every project promotion or advertisement published after 1 August 2023. The QR code must be legible, readable and detectable by a software application, and published beside the registration number and the website address. Order 46B/2023 extends the QR code duty to real estate agents, and rule 14(2) of the Maharashtra rules requires an agent to quote their own registration number, along with the project's, in all documents relating to advertisement.
For a creator brief, that means:
- A fixed text block in the caption: registration number, Authority website address, and QR code image where the state requires one.
- The same block on screen in video, held long enough to be read. We have not found a statutory duration, so treat ASCI's disclaimer hold times, two lines for at least four seconds a line, as a sensible minimum.
- The block surviving every reuse: a boosted partnership ad, a repost on the developer's handle, a website embed.
- A pre-posting check by the developer's legal team on the exact format your state RERA expects. We could not verify formats outside Maharashtra, nor the later MahaRERA Order 46C/2025 on font size, which we saw listed but did not open.
What happened to an Instagram ad
In Suo Motu Advertisement Case No. 119 of 2024, decided on 30 May 2024, MahaRERA acted on its own motion against a registered agent whose Instagram advertisement of 31 December 2023, for a project at Parel in Mumbai, did not carry the MahaRERA agent registration number or the project's QR code. The agent did not respond to the show-cause notice or appear at the hearing. The Authority held that rule 14(2) and Order 46/2023, read with Order 46B/2023, had been breached, and imposed a penalty of ₹25,000, with a further ₹1,000 a day for late payment. It also directed its departments to authenticate payment before processing any applications about the project. The amount is small. The signal is that the regulator is reading Instagram.
ASCI's data point the same way. Its FY2025-26 press release ranks realty second among violative sectors with 643 cases, behind offshore betting, and records a partnership with the Telangana Real Estate Regulatory Authority to monitor and curb misleading real estate promotions.
Is the creator a real estate agent?
Section 2(zm) defines a real estate agent as a person who negotiates or acts on behalf of one person in a transaction of transfer of a plot, apartment or building in a real estate project, and receives remuneration, fees or other charges, whether as commission or otherwise. It adds that the term includes a person who introduces, through any medium, prospective buyers and sellers to each other for negotiation, and includes property dealers, brokers and middlemen by whatever name called.
Section 9 requires registration of agents who facilitate sales of registered projects. Section 10 sets their conduct: not to facilitate sales in unregistered projects, and not to make false or misleading statements about the services or claim approval or affiliation they do not hold. Section 62 sets the penalty for an agent who fails to register or breaches those duties: ₹10,000 for every day of default, up to 5% of the cost of the plot, apartment or building whose sale was facilitated.
A creator paid a flat fee for a video, who does not collect buyer details or arrange introductions, looks far from that definition. A creator who captures enquiries and is paid per lead or per booking looks closer. We found no ruling on creators, so this is a risk reading. The simplest protection is the flat-fee model, with the developer's own sales team handling every enquiry. If you want commission or per-lead terms, take counsel's view on registration first.
Penalties a promoter should know
- Section 59. A promoter who contravenes section 3 faces a penalty of up to 10% of the estimated cost of the project as determined by the Authority. For continued violation or non-compliance with orders, imprisonment of up to three years, or a further fine of up to 10%, or both.
- Section 61. A promoter who contravenes other provisions of the Act, which in our reading includes the section 11(2) display duty, faces a penalty of up to 5% of the estimated project cost.
- Section 12. Compensation and refund with interest for a buyer who relied on a false statement.
These sit alongside the Consumer Protection Act route covered in our post on brand liability for influencer posts.
Script lines to cut, and what to say instead
The CCPA's 2022 guidelines and ASCI's Code reach property ads as they reach any other category. They produce a short list of lines that creators repeat.
| A creator says | Problem | Say instead |
|---|---|---|
| "Starting at ₹55 lakh" | Rule 12(e)(i) of the CCPA's 2022 guidelines bars "prices from as low as Rs. Y"; it asks for a fixed price | "A 2 BHK of 78 sq m carpet area is priced at ₹X, inclusive of Y, as per the price sheet dated Z" |
| "Free modular kitchen" or "free parking" | Rule 7(d) bars describing an element as free if it is included in the package price | Describe it as included, or confirm it is truly extra and free |
| "Only 4 flats left" | Rule 5 on bait ads requires adequate supply, and a statement that stock is limited where demand exceeds supply | State a unit count only if true and current |
| "Possession in December 2027" | Section 12 makes the promoter liable for an incorrect statement | The possession date as registered |
| "Assured 8% rental return" | ASCI's Code bars investment ads that mislead on security, rates of return or terms, and requires conditions to be stated | Cut, or have counsel clear the exact terms |
| "10 minutes from the metro" | Rule 12(a) requires substantiation of ascertainable facts | Give distance and the route, tested at peak time |
| "Book now with ₹1 lakh" | Section 13 caps advances without a registered agreement for sale | "Book a site visit" |
A line like "RERA approved" also deserves care. Registration is not the same thing as approval, so say "RERA registered" with the number, and ask counsel if you want anything stronger.
A process that holds
- Registration first. No outreach until the number exists. Collect the certificate and keep it in the campaign file.
- Claims and price sheet. One page: unit types, prices with inclusions, registered possession date, amenities as sanctioned, distances with method.
- A fixed registration block in the brief, with the QR code file if you advertise in Maharashtra.
- A flat-fee contract with the exact ASCI label, an approval right and a takedown time. See our influencer contract guide.
- The developer's legal sign-off on the final cut, as in our compliance checklist.
- Ad previews. If a walkthrough is boosted as a partnership ad, check that the block and the label are visible on the ad, not only on the original.
- Local casting. Property buyers live near the project, so regional and local creators beat reach. See our regional influencer marketing service.
What we could not source
We did not source rules in states other than Maharashtra, MahaRERA's Order 46C/2025, any ruling applying RERA to a creator post, or any statutory duration for how long the registration number must stay on screen. For the rest of the property brief, see our real estate playbook.
To plan a property campaign with the registration block designed in, send us a brief.
This is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
- The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, as on 15 May 2026 (sections 2(b), 2(zm), 3, 9, 10, 11, 12, 59, 61, 62), India Code (15 May 2026)
- MahaRERA suo motu advertisement case no. 119 of 2024, order of 30 May 2024 (Order 46/2023 and 46B/2023 on QR codes), Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (30 May 2024)
- Offshore betting and realty emerge as most violative sectors in ASCI Annual Complaints Report 2025-26, ASCI press release (28 May 2026)
- Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022 (rules 5, 7, 12), Central Consumer Protection Authority, Gazette of India (9 Jun 2022)
- The ASCI Code, Chapter I (investment advertising, disclaimers) and guidelines for disclaimers (13 Jul 2023), ASCI (undated page, accessed 1 Nov 2026)
- ASCI guidelines for influencer advertising in digital media, ASCI (undated page, accessed 1 Nov 2026)
Frequently asked questions
Do RERA advertising rules apply to influencer posts?
RERA's section 2(b) defines an advertisement as any document through any medium, including publicity in any form, informing people about a real estate project. A paid property video fits that wording, though we found no authority ruling on a creator post specifically. Section 11(2) then requires the registration number and the Authority's website address. See our real estate influencer playbook.
What must a real estate influencer video show under RERA?
Section 11(2) says the promoter's advertisement must mention prominently the website address of the Authority, where details of the registered project are entered, and include the registration number. In Maharashtra, MahaRERA also requires a legible QR code beside the number on promotions published after 1 August 2023. Other states set their own formats, so confirm with counsel.
Can a developer use influencers before RERA registration?
Section 3(1) says no promoter shall advertise, market, book, sell, offer for sale or invite persons to purchase any plot, apartment or building in a project without registering it. Section 59 provides a penalty of up to ten per cent of the estimated project cost. Wait for the registration number before the first teaser. Our compliance checklist puts this in the category screen.
Is an influencer a real estate agent under RERA?
Possibly, if paid by commission and introducing buyers. Section 2(zm) includes a person who introduces prospective buyers and sellers through any medium and receives a commission or fee, and section 9 requires agents to register. A flat fee for content is simpler. We found no ruling on creators, so ask counsel before running a per-lead deal.
What happens if a creator makes a false claim in a property ad?
Section 12 says a person who makes an advance or deposit on the basis of an ad and suffers loss from an incorrect or false statement shall be compensated by the promoter, and may withdraw and get the investment back with interest. The promoter answers regardless of who wrote the line. See brand liability for influencer posts.
Can influencers say 'prices starting at' for a flat?
Be careful. Rule 12(e)(i) of the CCPA's 2022 guidelines says ads may not use expressions such as 'prices from as low as Rs. Y' and should state a fixed price instead. State the price for a named unit type and what it includes. Our ASCI guide explains the separate ASCI rules.