RERA and Real Estate Marketing in Bangalore: What Every Ad, Listing and Landing Page Must Show

RERA Applies to the Ad, Not Just the Agreement

Most developers and brokers in Bangalore think of RERA as a registration and paperwork exercise. It is also an advertising law. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 says what a promoter can advertise, when they can start, and what every ad has to carry. In Karnataka the Act is administered by the Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority (K-RERA), and buyers can check any registered project on its website, rera.karnataka.gov.in.

The rules matter more online than they ever did in print. A newspaper ad ran once. A Meta campaign might run forty variations, each with its own creative, landing page and WhatsApp follow-up, and every one of them counts as an advertisement.

No Registration, No Marketing

Section 3 of the Act stops a promoter from advertising, marketing, booking or selling any plot, apartment or building in a project, or inviting people to buy in any manner, before the project is registered with the state authority. Small projects are exempt: land of 500 square metres or less, or eight apartments or fewer, though a state can set a lower threshold.

The words “in any manner” are what catch out digital campaigns. A pre-launch “register your interest” page, an expression-of-interest form, a teaser reel promising “launching soon in North Bengaluru” with a price band, or a broker’s WhatsApp broadcast all invite people to buy. If the project isn’t registered yet, none of these should run.

What Every Ad Must Carry

Section 11(2) sets the minimum for every advertisement or prospectus of a registered project. It has to mention, prominently:

• the project’s registration number issued by the authority, and
• the authority’s website address, where the registered details of the project can be checked.

In practice that means the K-RERA registration number and the K-RERA website on every format: hoardings and print, but also the static and video creatives on Meta and YouTube, Google Ads landing pages, portal listings, brochures sent as PDFs on WhatsApp, and the project page on your own website. A registration number hidden in a footer or shown for one second at the end of a reel is not prominent.

Agents have obligations of their own. Under Section 9, a real estate agent has to register with the authority before facilitating the sale of a registered project. A channel partner running ads for your project is advertising it too, so the same details belong in their creatives.

What You Say Can Cost You Later

Section 12 is the one marketing teams forget. If a buyer pays an advance or deposit on the strength of a notice, advertisement, prospectus or model apartment, and the information turns out to be incorrect or false, the promoter has to compensate them. The buyer can also withdraw and get their money back with interest.

So the copy has to match the registered project:

• Amenities and specifications in the ad should match what’s in the registered plans, not an earlier concept.
• Possession dates should match the completion date declared at registration, not the hoped-for one.
• Distances and travel times (“10 minutes to the airport”) should be ones you can defend at the time the ad runs.
• Renders and model flats should be labelled as artist’s impressions where they aren’t the actual product.

Building Compliance Into the Campaign

The fix is a process, not a lawyer reviewing every reel. What we set up for property clients:

1. A single source of truth. One sheet per project with the registration number, the K-RERA link, the declared completion date, the approved amenities and the price-inclusion wording. Every creative is written from that sheet.
2. Templates with the RERA strip built in. The registration number and website sit in a fixed, legible position in every creative template, so nobody has to remember to add them.
3. Landing pages that show the details above the form. The registration number and a link to the project’s K-RERA page belong next to the enquiry form, not at the bottom of the page. It also reassures buyers, many of whom check.
4. Channel partners on the same assets. Give brokers approved creatives rather than letting each one design their own.
5. A pause rule for pre-launch. No paid campaign, lead form or broadcast goes live until the registration number exists.

Compliance Is Also Good Marketing

Bangalore buyers are cautious with good reason, and the first thing many of them do with a new project is look it up on K-RERA. An ad that shows the registration number up front, and a landing page that links straight to the registered details, answers their first question before they ask it. It filters out people who were never going to buy and gives the ones who might a reason to trust you.

This guide is a summary of the Act for marketing purposes, not legal advice; check the current K-RERA circulars or a lawyer for specific projects. If you’d like a property campaign built around these rules from the start, that’s how we run our real estate marketing in Bangalore.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a developer advertise a project before RERA registration?

No. Section 3 of the RERA Act bars a promoter from advertising, marketing, booking or selling, or inviting people to buy in any manner, before the project is registered with the state authority. Small projects (500 square metres or less, or eight apartments or fewer) are exempt, though a state can lower that threshold.

What must a real estate ad in Karnataka show?

Under Section 11(2) of the RERA Act, every advertisement or prospectus must prominently show the project’s registration number and the website address of the authority — in Karnataka, K-RERA — where the registered details can be checked. That applies to digital ads, portal listings and landing pages as much as to hoardings.

What happens if a property ad contains wrong information?

Under Section 12, if a buyer pays an advance or deposit relying on an advertisement, prospectus or model apartment and the information proves incorrect or false, the promoter must compensate them, and the buyer can withdraw and get their money back with interest.