What Section 19 Actually Requires of Agents

Section 19 of the RERA Act imposes five specific duties on real estate agents. You must act in good faith. You must disclose all material facts known to you about the project, property, or transaction before the buyer or seller commits. You must not misrepresent or suppress facts. You must not induce any person to breach the Act. You must not assist promoters in violating RERA requirements.

These duties are not vague principles. They create concrete liability. If you breach any of these, you expose yourself to action under Section 59 (penalties up to Rs 5 lakh and imprisonment up to three years) and Section 72 (compensation orders in tribunal proceedings). The obligation binds you from first contact through to transaction completion. It does not end when the agreement is signed.

Acting in Good Faith: What This Means in Practice

Good faith under Section 19 means you must prioritise the interests of both parties fairly and honestly. It does not mean equal treatment of conflicting interests. It means you cannot favour one party's gain over the other party's legitimate right to information.

Practically, good faith requires you to independently verify claims before repeating them to clients. If a promoter tells you a project will be completed by March 2026, do not tell your client this is guaranteed without confirming the RERA registration, checking tribunal orders against that promoter, and reviewing project history. Good faith also means disclosing commission structures, any financial interest you hold in the promoter, and any prior disputes involving the property or builder. If you know a project is facing litigation or regulatory action, you must say so.

Disclosure Obligations: The Timing and Scope

Disclosure must happen before the buyer or seller makes any commitment. This means before they sign an offer letter, agree to a price, or pay any amount. If disclosure happens after commitment, it is too late. You have failed Section 19.

The scope of disclosure includes the RERA registration status and number of the project, any pending complaints or tribunal orders against the promoter, the actual timeline for completion stated in the RERA registration, any known structural or legal defects, encumbrances or third-party claims on the property, and the promoter's track record on previous projects. You must also disclose your own role: whether you are acting for the promoter, the buyer, or both; your commission structure; and any financial stake you have. MahaRERA Rule 8 requires written disclosures. Verbal disclosures leave you exposed because you cannot prove what was said and when.

Agent Liability for Promoter Misstatement vs. Your Own Error

The RERA Act treats these differently. If the promoter misrepresents a fact and you repeat that misrepresentation without independent verification, you share liability. You cannot hide behind the defence that you were merely relaying what the promoter said. Your duty under Section 19 is to verify before you speak.

Your own error creates direct liability. If you fail to confirm that a project is RERA-registered before recommending it, you are liable for knowingly assisting the promoter in operating an unregistered project. If you fail to disclose known delays or cost overruns, you are liable for suppressing material facts. Tribunals have held agents accountable for signing undertakings on behalf of buyers without explaining the legal implications. The distinction matters because courts treat agent negligence less severely than agent fraud, but both carry penalties under Section 59.

Three Common Agent Errors and How Section 19 Liability Attaches

Error 1: You recommend a project without confirming RERA registration. The buyer signs an agreement and later discovers the project is unregistered. You knew registration was required. You did not check. Liability attaches under Section 19(1)(b): you acted in bad faith by failing to disclose the registration status before commitment. Penalty: Section 59 applies.

Error 2: A promoter tells you a project faces a tribunal order for delay. You mention this casually to the buyer but do not put it in writing or explain what it means. The buyer signs anyway, then sues you for not properly disclosing. Your verbal disclosure is insufficient under MahaRERA Rule 8. Liability attaches because written disclosure was required before commitment.

Error 3: You recommend a non-RERA-registered project to a buyer, saying it is exempt because it is below five acres or because the promoter applied for exemption. No exemption has been granted. You have assisted the promoter in breaching RERA. Liability attaches under Section 19(1)(d).

How Documentation and Written Disclosures Protect You

Written documentation is your only defence. Create a disclosure checklist and have every client sign it at the start of engagement. The checklist must include RERA registration number and date, status of occupancy certificate or completion certificate, any pending tribunal cases or complaints against the promoter, the timeline stated in RERA registration, any known construction delays, and your commission structure and financial interest.

Maintain a file for each transaction that shows dates of disclosure, copies of all communications with the client confirming receipt of disclosures, independent verification of facts (RERA registration certificate printout, tribunal database search results, complaint records from the authority). If a client later claims you did not disclose something, your file proves otherwise. Tribunals have admitted such records as evidence. Without them, your word stands against the client's, and you lose.

Section 19 Compliance Checklist for Agents

At first client contact: Provide written disclosure of your role (promoter agent, buyer agent, or independent), commission structure, and any financial interest in the transaction.

Before recommending a project: Confirm RERA registration on the official MahaRERA portal. Print the registration certificate. Check the tribunal case database and MahaRERA complaint records for that promoter. Verify completion timeline and occupancy status.

Before the client commits: Give written disclosure of all material facts discovered. Obtain signed acknowledgement that disclosures were received and understood. Document the date and method of disclosure.

During transaction facilitation: Answer all questions truthfully. If you do not know the answer, say so and commit to finding it in writing. Do not make assumptions or educated guesses about legal or technical matters.

After agreement signing: Maintain all documentation. Respond promptly to client queries. If new facts emerge that affect the transaction, disclose them immediately in writing.

For exam preparation, focus on Section 19 paired with MahaRERA Rules 5 through 8, which spell out agent duties in regulation. Tribunal orders frequently reference Section 19 breaches. Practice identifying liability exposure in fact patterns.