DW BUREAU / Chandigarh Gurugram RERA has warned real estate agents to mend their ways over arbitrary brokerage. A day after quorum gets completed it comes heavily in on the real estate agents over arbitrary brokerage issuing warning to them to mend their ways. The real estate regulatory authority's warning comes in the wake of number of complaints mushrooming on a daily basis in the city and land up in the authority where the cheated buyers or allottees turn up for relief. The authority said that the Haryana Regulation of Property Dealers and Consultants Rules, 2009 provides charging of only half percent commission each from the buyers and the sellers. The Authority in one of its decisions it passed on September 1, 2022 disallowed the brokerage of more than half percent which is currently being deducted by the promoters on surrendering of the units by the allottees. "The authority has decided to fix this problem and working on it blacklisting such agents who have been charging brokerage arbitrarily," said Dr KK Khandelwal, Gurugram RERA Chairman. Khandelwal said arbitrary brokerage is an offence as apparently defined in the RERA Act yet the agents or brokers have continued adopting this malpractice in defiance of the RERA Act, which is punishable. "We will revoke, blacklist and debar agents or brokers who have committed the offence of exorbitant commissions in contravention of the rule," said the Chairman adding that Authority has decided to come heavily on such malpractices adopted by the Real Estate Agents and brokers to exploit allottees in the name of charging arbitrarily high brokerage. While disallowing the arbitrary brokerage, the authority on Wednesday issued warning to all 1840 registered Real Estate Agents over arbitrary brokerage that they charge from the innocent sellers and property buyers. It is worth noting that the Authority has received many complaints where it found the real estate agents have apparently been charging more than half-percent from the sellers and the buyers which is a clear case of defiance of statutory provisions of rule 1 of the Haryana Regulation of Property Dealers and Consultants 2009. The Rule provides for commission of half percent of the agreed consideration value by sellers and purchasers on finalisation of deal.It has also come to the notice of Authority that some of the Real Estate Agents are indulging in sale of plots or apartments in the projects which are not registered with Authority otherwise registrable. Authority noticed a malpractice in the Real Estate Agents in Gurugram where even on issuance of letter of intent the brokers enter into an arrangement with the promoters and block a number of units that are assigned to such brokers for concluding deals in the market with the allottees even at such time when the project is not registered. "On account of it, large number of allottees get cheated by brokers as before the registration neither the sanctioned plans are available nor the specifications of the project are known to buyers," RERA said. (editor@dailyworld.in)