MahaRERA orders real estate agent to pay 1 percent of flat value to Mumbai homebuyer

The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has directed a registered real estate agent to pay a Mumbai homebuyer an amount equal to 1% of the flat’s sale consideration after finding that the agent failed to honour a written commitment to share part of his brokerage.

According to Hindustan Times, the homebuyer had purchased an apartment in a high-rise project in Kandivali East. The buyer told MahaRERA that the agent was entitled to receive a commission of 2% to 2.5% from the developer for facilitating the transaction, and that they had agreed that 1% of this commission would be passed on to the buyer.

The arrangement was recorded in an email sent from the agent’s registered email address on March 31, 2025, before the agreement for sale was executed on April 17, 2025. The buyer later complained that despite repeated follow-ups, the agent did not pay the promised amount and stopped responding to calls and communications.

The agent did not file a response to the complaint despite being given multiple opportunities, according to the MahaRERA order cited by Hindustan Times. The authority therefore decided the matter ex parte. MahaRERA also noted that the agent had neither denied the March 31 email nor produced evidence that the promised amount had been paid.

What MahaRERA said

The regulator examined whether the agent’s written promise could be enforced under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016.

MahaRERA relied on Section 10(c) of the RERA Act, which prohibits registered real estate agents from engaging in unfair trade practices or making false or misleading representations about the services they offer.

In its August 5, 2026 order, the authority held that the agent had made a written promise to share 1% of the transaction cost with the homebuyer while facilitating the sale. Since the promise was not honoured and no explanation was provided, MahaRERA treated the conduct as a misleading representation and an unfair trade practice under Section 10(c).

The agent has been directed to pay the buyer an amount equal to 1% of the total sale consideration recorded in the registered agreement for sale dated April 17, 2025. GST, stamp duty, registration charges and other statutory charges are excluded from the calculation. The payment must be made within 30 days of the order.

MahaRERA said failure to comply within the stipulated period could lead to further penal action under Section 65 of RERA.

Mumbai-based advocate and solicitor Trupti Daphtary, quoted by Hindustan Times, said the order highlights that registered real estate agents can be held to commitments made in writing while facilitating a property transaction. She said MahaRERA had treated the failure to honour the commission-sharing commitment as a misleading representation and unfair trade practice.

The case underlines a practical point for homebuyers: where a broker makes a financial commitment in writing as part of a property transaction, keeping that record can become important if a dispute later reaches the regulator.