RERA advertisement rules: the RERA number, QR code and what every property ad must show

RERA advertisement rules begin with section 11(2) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, which says every ad a builder issues for a registered project, in whatever medium, has to show the project's RERA registration number and the RERA authority's website, and show them prominently. Section 3 goes a step further, because until a project is registered you cannot advertise it at all. Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu also want the project's QR code and tell you where these details go, and in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh a channel partner has to add their own registration number as well.

This guide is for a builder's marketing head, the agency making property creatives and the channel partner running Facebook and Instagram ads or WhatsApp broadcasts.

What counts as an advertisement under RERA

Section 2(b) of the RERA Act, 2016 has the definition:

"advertisement" means any document described or issued as advertisement through any medium and includes any notice, circular or other documents or publicity in any form, informing persons about a real estate project, or offering for sale of a plot, building or apartment or inviting persons to purchase in any manner such plot, building or apartment or to make advances or deposits for such purposes;

The words to watch are "through any medium" and "publicity in any form", and merely informing people about a project is enough. So it is not just the newspaper ad and the hoarding on the highway. The brochure at the site office and the project website count too, and so does every reel, WhatsApp broadcast, SMS or email campaign, portal listing and radio spot about the project.

HRERA Gurugram spelt this out back in its 2021 directions, where it says the definition reaches "social media, SMS, email, etc." and a model apartment too. UP RERA's 2024 memo is even more direct and mentions WhatsApp, reels and property portals by name.

Rule one: no registration, no advertising

Section 3(1) says "No promoter shall advertise, market, book, sell or offer for sale, or invite persons to purchase in any manner" any plot, apartment or building in a real estate project in any planning area without registering it with the authority. "In any manner" is why the label does not matter, so a "pre-launch", a "soft launch" or an expression of interest (EOI) campaign for an unregistered project is still marketing. Section 10(a) also bars a registered agent from facilitating sales in an unregistered project.

Section 3(2) exempts three cases: land of no more than 500 square metres, or no more than eight apartments, inclusive of all phases (a state may lower these thresholds); projects that had a completion certificate before the Act commenced; and renovation, repair or redevelopment that involves no marketing, advertising, selling or new allotment.

The Explanation to section 3 makes every phase a standalone project, so a Phase 2 ad needs Phase 2's own number. Tamil Nadu also requires ads for exempt projects to say clearly, "Project is exempted from RERA registration".

What every ad must show: the RERA registration number and website

For a registered project, the baseline is section 11(2):

The advertisement or prospectus issued or published by the promoter shall mention prominently the website address of the Authority, wherein all details of the registered project have been entered and include the registration number obtained from the Authority and such other matters incidental thereto.

So yes, the RERA number is mandatory on an ad, meaning the project's number as on its certificate, plus the authority's website, both prominent. The Act does not define "prominently", which is why several states have set sizes and positions.

Agents have a similar duty. Section 9(5) says an agent's registration number "shall be quoted by the real estate agent in every sale facilitated by him", and Maharashtra carries this onto the ad, because rule 14(2) of the Maharashtra Rules, 2017 requires a registered agent to quote its own registration number, with the project's, on all documents relating to advertisement, marketing, selling or purchase that it issues. Our guide to RERA agent registration covers getting one.

State RERA advertisement rules: QR code, placement, font size

We read each order on the authority's own website on 16/10/2026. On 22/10/2026 we re-read Tamil Nadu's June to August 2026 proceedings and circulars on TNRERA's website, and Uttar Pradesh's 2024 memo in a published copy, with a PTI report.

Maharashtra. Here the QR code has been compulsory since MahaRERA's Order No. 46/2023, on every promotion published after 01/08/2023, social media ads included, and it has to be "legible, readable, and detectable with software application" and sit next to the number and website. Leaving it off costs ₹10,000 to ₹50,000 per violation under section 63, as Order No. 46A/2023 set it, and Order No. 46B/2023 put registered agents on the same footing under section 65.

Order No. 46C/2025 of 08/04/2025 came after MahaRERA found numbers "not clearly visible due to small font sizes and light colour usage". The number and website must be at least as large as the largest font used for the project's contact details and address, in a high-visibility colour, and they go in the top-right quadrant along with the QR code. MahaRERA lists its suo motu advertisement cases online.

Uttar Pradesh. UP RERA's do's and don'ts memo No. 2387 of 22/02/2024 (in Hindi; the copy published by LiveLaw) wants the registration number and the portal at the top right of the ad, inside the creative's frame, in a font in proportion to the rest and never in a colour that hides them. On social media they go in both the creative and the post text, and on radio, video, reels and WhatsApp they are read out at the same pace as the rest of the ad. And as PTI reported in July 2024, UP RERA gives each new project a QR code at registration, which the promoter must print in brochures and ads and on documents given to buyers, such as booking forms, allotment letters and builder-buyer agreements.

Tamil Nadu. Under TNRERA's revised proceedings of 16/06/2026, ads in print, outdoor, TV and digital or social media carry the registration number, the QR code of Form-C (the registration certificate) and TNRERA's website, preferably top right in newspapers. The promoter's name, office address and contact details go on them too, and so does the project's exact location.

TNRERA's circular of 04/08/2026, in force from 07/08/2026, fixes ₹1,00,000 for a major violation (advertising a project not registered with TNRERA, or an ad misleading on price comparison or location) and ₹25,000 for a minor one: no TNRERA website address, a wrong registration number, a missing or unreadable Form-C QR code, no registration number, or no promoter's office address. TNRERA can still impose more under the Act. Its June 2026 circular had set minimums of ₹50,000 to ₹5,00,000 by project cost, which news reports still quote.

Haryana. HRERA Gurugram's directions of 22/02/2021 want the number as on the certificate and www.haryanarera.gov.in "in BOLD LETTERS and on the top right side of the advertisement". Ads must be "truthful and based on the facts as have been revealed to the authority". A prospectus, brochure or pamphlet goes to the authority at least 7 days before it is printed or circulated, and the promoter cannot shift the blame to its ad agency.

We did not check HRERA Panchkula, Haryana's other authority. Kerala's portal did not load and GujRERA's order would not open on 16/10/2026, so both are left out. Elsewhere, check your RERA portal's orders page first.

False claims: section 12 and the unfair-practice rules

Under section 12, a person who pays an advance or deposit on the basis of "the information contained in the notice advertisement or prospectus, or on the basis of any model apartment, plot or building" and suffers loss "by reason of any incorrect, false statement included therein" is to be compensated by the promoter. If that person withdraws, they get back the "entire investment along with interest at such rate as may be prescribed and the compensation". An adjudicating officer decides the compensation (section 71), and the show flat counts as much as the brochure.

Agents answer under section 10(c). It bars any statement, "whether orally or in writing or by visible representation", that misstates the standard of services, claims an approval or affiliation that does not exist, or "makes a false or misleading representation concerning the services". For a promoter, permitting an ad for services not intended to be offered is an unfair practice, and a ground under section 7 to revoke the project's registration.

State orders get more specific. UP RERA's 2024 memo tells promoters to list only the amenities they can lawfully deliver and to sell on carpet area. It tells them not to advertise assured returns in any form, free foreign trips or other offers unrelated to the project or unit. In Tamil Nadu, as reported by LiveHomes and verified.realestate, ads may not compare prices with a so-called "market price" or with other projects, use bare counts such as "100+ amenities", or say "terms and conditions apply" in place of the terms.

Penalties for non-compliant real estate advertising

• Advertising an unregistered project (section 59): up to 10% of the estimated cost of the project. If the promoter ignores the order or keeps violating section 3, imprisonment of up to three years, or a fine of up to a further 10%, or both.
• Other breaches by a promoter, such as a missing number or website (section 61): up to 5% of the estimated cost of the project.
• An agent breaching section 9 or 10 (section 62): ₹10,000 for every day the default continues, up to 5% of the cost of the plot, apartment or building whose sale was facilitated.
• Ignoring the authority's orders or directions (sections 63 and 65): a penalty for every day of default, up to 5% of the estimated cost of the project for a promoter, or of the plot, apartment or building for an agent.

Penalties are separate from a buyer's compensation claim under section 12.

Checklist: what every property ad must show, and must never say

Get someone to go down this table before anything goes out, and keep a dated copy of each creative. If your team works in Saudaflow, marketing content and marketing budget are among the thirteen things its approval engine approves, going by its page for property developers. On the Professional Team and Custom plans, its pricing page describes a record for each broker firm holding onboarding, KYC, RERA registration, tier and territory.

Channel partners using a builder's creatives

Most CP ads are the builder's own artwork, resized for a reel or a WhatsApp status or squeezed into a portal banner. If the builder's file was compliant, your version starts out compliant too, and stops being compliant once somebody crops off the RERA block to make it fit.

• When you resize, leave the builder's block alone, so the project number, website and QR code stay at the top right and readable, and then scan the QR code on your own phone to check it still works.
• In Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, your own registration number goes beside the project's. In other states section 9(5) already ties your number to every sale you facilitate, so putting it on the ad is a safe default.
• Have the builder's authority letter in hand and use only material the builder has authenticated, since UP RERA's 2024 memo says agents should act only on the promoter's written authority and never use its logo or website content without permission.
• Don't forget WhatsApp and the portals, because UP RERA wants the number and portal in every portal banner, text ad and description, and its 2024 memo names WhatsApp as an advertising medium.

If you are new to builder tie-ups, our guide to the channel partner in real estate covers empanelment, the one on channel partner commission calculation covers payouts, and the Saudaflow glossary explains carpet area, EOI and terms like them.

Worked example: fixing an Instagram caption

This was checked against the RERA Act, 2016 (sections 2(b), 3, 7, 9 to 12, 59, 61 to 63, 65 and 71), rule 14 of the Maharashtra Rules, 2017, MahaRERA Orders 46/2023, 46A/2023, 46B/2023 and 46C/2025, TNRERA's proceedings and circulars of June to August 2026 and HRERA Gurugram's directions of 22/02/2021, all on 16/10/2026. On 22/10/2026 we also went through UP RERA's memorandum of 22/02/2024 (published copy), PTI's report of UP RERA's QR-code rule and the press reports of TNRERA's June 2026 penalty circular. None of it replaces your advocate, though, because this is general information and not legal advice.