The Next-Gen Brand Lab
Compliance
RERA-compliant real estate advertising: what the ad must carry
Last updated 2026-08-13 · 6 min read
Real estate advertising in India is regulated under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. The obligation to hold a valid registration and to advertise accurately sits with the promoter — not with the agency — which is exactly why an agency should check it before running anything.
The core requirement
A registered project's advertising must carry its RERA registration number and the web address of the relevant state RERA authority, and must not misrepresent the project. Marketing a registrable project that is not registered is the problem the Act exists to address.
The practical consequence for a campaign is that the registration details belong in the creative and on the landing page, not only in a terms document nobody opens. Karnataka projects register with K-RERA; the state authority's portal is where a buyer verifies what you have claimed.
Accuracy is the larger exposure
Carrying the registration number is the easy part. The harder discipline is that everything else in the ad has to be true and current:
- Prices. "Starting at" figures must correspond to inventory that actually exists at that price. A starting price for one unit on one floor, advertised as the project price, is the classic exposure.
- Areas. Carpet area is the defined term under the Act. Advertising super built-up as though it were the comparable figure invites exactly the dispute you do not want.
- Amenities. Distinguish delivered from planned from approved. A render is not a fact.
- Distances and commute times. "Five minutes to the metro" is a claim. Measure it, and state the conditions.
- Approvals and possession dates. Both change. An ad that was accurate last quarter may not be this one.
Pre-campaign checklist
- Confirm the project is registered and the registration is current.
- Get the registration number and the state authority URL in writing from the developer.
- Place both in the creative and on the landing page.
- Verify every price, area, distance and date in the copy against a current source document.
- Label renders as artistic impressions and planned amenities as planned.
- Re-verify at each creative refresh — the details drift, and old creative keeps running.
None of this is legal advice, and an agency is not the right party to give it. Where a claim is uncertain, the developer's counsel decides. What an agency can and should do is refuse to run copy nobody will stand behind.
Questions developers ask
What must a RERA-compliant property advertisement include?
The project's RERA registration number and the website address of the relevant state RERA authority — for Karnataka projects, K-RERA. The advertisement must also not misrepresent the project. Both details should appear in the creative and on the landing page, not only in a terms document.
Who is responsible for RERA compliance — the developer or the agency?
The legal obligation sits with the promoter, meaning the developer. The agency is not the regulated party. In practice a competent agency verifies registration before running anything, because a campaign built on an unregistered or misdescribed project harms both sides regardless of where the statutory duty formally sits.
Can you advertise a project before RERA registration?
Marketing a registrable project before it is registered is precisely what the Act was written to prevent. Whether a specific pre-launch activity is registrable is a question for the developer's legal counsel, not for a marketing agency — and an agency that waves it away is not one to trust with the rest of the campaign either.
Should carpet area or super built-up area be advertised?
Carpet area is the term defined under the Act and it is the figure buyers are entitled to compare on. Advertising super built-up area as though it were the comparable number is the source of a large share of buyer disputes in this category. Where both are shown, label them unambiguously.
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