What is a channel partner in real estate?
A channel partner is a real-estate broker or agency that brings buyers to a builder’s project for a commission, usually under an empanelment agreement with a set brokerage scheme.
Also called CP, broker, real estate agent.
Channel partners range from single brokers to large agencies with their own sales teams. A builder empanels them, shares inventory and prices, and pays brokerage on bookings they bring, often in slabs that rise with volume.
Registration. Section 9(1) of the RERA Act says no real estate agent shall facilitate the sale or purchase of a plot, apartment or building in a registered project “without obtaining registration under this section”. Check each partner’s RERA agent registration at empanelment and when it is renewed.
What a builder should agree with every partner in writing:
- how a lead is registered, and how long the registration stays valid;
- the brokerage scheme, the conditions for payment (for example a share of the price received) and what happens on cancellation;
- what inventory and prices the partner may share with buyers.
Most disputes come from unclear lead ownership. A written registration rule and a recorded visit log settle nearly all of them.
Source, read on 29 Oct 2026: the Act (Gazette copy hosted by MahaRERA).