Real estate agents will have to appear for exams

Mumbai: Real estate agents, the intermediary between property seekers and owners in the state, will soon have to appear for exams and get a certificate in order to do their jobs

Mumbai: Real estate agents, the intermediary between property seekers and owners in the state, will soon have to appear for exams and get a certificate in order to do their jobs.

Mumbai, India - March 22, 2020: Deserted view of Elphinstone bridge during Janata Curfew in Mumbai, India, on Sunday, March 22, 2020. (Photo by Pratik Chorge/Hindustan Times) (Pratik Chorge/HT Photo)

In a new circular, MahaRERA has announced plans to provide training to real estate agents. From May 1, 2023, when it completes six years of operations, the Authority will only allow agents with a valid Competency Certificate to register as authorized real estate agents on its portal.

While the RERA was enacted in 2017 to bring professionalism, accountability and competence in the highly unorganized real estate sector, real estate broker business was once the easiest way to be self-employed if you could smooth-talk customers, and understand the commission percentages.

RERA brought structural changes in the sector, and forced the developers to bring about changes in their internal management, and comply with regulations. Similarly, real estate agents had to be first registered with MahaRERA before they could start the brokerage business and comply with a set of regulations similar to what the developers had to.

The circular said real estate agents are the public face and intermediary between promoters and home buyers and therefore it is essential to provide them training to equip them with the knowledge of regulatory framework.

“In order to bring about certain level of consistency in the practices of real estate agents, enhance knowledge and awareness of the regulatory and legal framework and practices, enforcement of code of conduct and with a view to ensure that real estate agents are professionally qualified to help assist home buyers, MahaRERA proposes to introduce basic real estate agent training and certification course for real estate agents across the state of Maharashtra,” the circular dated January 10 said.

The authority has over the past two years developed a basic curriculum for real estate agent training and from February empaneled training providers will impart training in online, offline and hybrid form.

It has collaborated with the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection for undertaking online examinations so that real estate agents who clear the exams could be given the Certificate of Competency. The agents presently registered with MahaRERA have to obtain the competency certificate by September 1, 2023.

There are 37,746 real estate agents across Maharashtra registered with MahaRERA presently.