RERA Advertising Rules for Digital Property Ads: A Practical Checklist
Registration numbers, QR codes and the Authority’s website: what digital property ads need to carry, why enforcement has tightened, and a checklist for every campaign.
Note: This article is general information for marketing teams, not legal advice. Rules differ by state and change over time — confirm requirements with your legal advisor and the relevant RERA authority before publishing campaigns.
Digital campaigns move fast. A developer may run dozens of ad variations across Google, Meta, YouTube and partner channels within a single launch week. That speed is exactly why advertising compliance needs to be a built-in step, not a last-minute check.
What the RERA Act says about advertisements
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 requires promoters to register qualifying projects before advertising or selling them. Section 11(2) of the Act requires that an advertisement or prospectus issued by the promoter prominently mentions the website address of the Authority where the project details are entered, and includes the project’s registration number. Section 9 separately requires real estate agents who facilitate sales of registered projects to register themselves.
In practice, this means a digital ad for a registered project — a Meta carousel, a Google display banner, a landing page or a WhatsApp brochure — should carry the same essential disclosures as a newspaper ad.
How enforcement has tightened: the MahaRERA example
Maharashtra’s authority has been the most visible enforcer. According to Housing.com News, MahaRERA made it mandatory to display a QR code on all advertisements for registered projects from 1 August 2023. The QR code links buyers directly to the project’s details on the MahaRERA website.
In July 2024, Storyboard18 reported that MahaRERA had penalised 628 projects — across MMR, Pune and Nagpur — a total of ₹88.90 lakh for advertisements without the registration number or QR code, with violations identified in collaboration with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).
Real estate is also one of the categories most frequently scrutinised by ASCI. In its Annual Complaints Report press release for 2024–25, ASCI reported that realty accounted for 24.9% of the cases it processed, second only to offshore betting.
Other states have issued their own guidance. Trade publication The Realty Today reported that Tamil Nadu’s authority restricted travel-time claims and vague disclaimers in property ads. Always check the current rules for every state you advertise in.
Why digital ads are especially at risk
- Volume: Many creative variations are produced quickly, often by different people.
- Small formats: Stories, reels and small display units leave little room for disclosures, so they get dropped.
- Multiple advertisers: Channel partners may run their own ads for your project with inconsistent details.
- Landing pages: The ad may be compliant while the page it leads to omits the same details.
A practical checklist for every property campaign
- Registration number on every creative and landing page for a registered project, exactly as issued.
- Authority website address stated where required.
- QR code where the state authority requires it (for example, MahaRERA), sized and positioned as specified, and tested to resolve correctly.
- Accurate claims only: amenities, possession dates, distances and prices must match approved documents.
- No misleading travel-time or “guaranteed return” claims.
- Agent registration numbers for channel partners advertising the project, where applicable.
- Version control: keep an approved-creative log so you can show what ran and when.
- Partner guidelines: give channel partners approved creatives and disclosure rules in writing.
Build compliance into the workflow
The simplest way to stay compliant is to make the checklist part of creative approval rather than a separate review. At Miz Estate, every creative and landing page for a registered project passes a disclosure check before it goes live, and landing-page templates include a dedicated RERA information block so the details cannot be accidentally removed.
Compliance does not make campaigns less effective. Clear registration details are also a trust signal for buyers who increasingly verify projects online before they enquire.