The 70 Per Cent Escrow Rule — Where Your Money Sits During Construction

Buyer money in Indian real estate once moved freely between projects. A developer could collect on one launch and spend it completing another, and when the chain broke, buyers at the end of it lost years and sometimes capital. The escrow requirement exists because that practice destroyed a great deal of value, and understanding it changes how you read a payment schedule.

Under the framework, seventy per cent of the amount collected from buyers for a project must sit in a separate project-specific account with a scheduled bank. Withdrawals are permitted in proportion to construction and land cost incurred, and must be certified by an engineer, an architect and a chartered accountant. Money cannot simply be drawn because a developer needs it elsewhere.

Thirty per cent remains available to the developer for other purposes, which is the part buyers often miss. Escrow is a substantial protection rather than a complete one, and it works alongside the developer's own balance sheet rather than replacing the need to assess it. A developer with depth to carry extended pre-revenue construction is safer than one depending entirely on collections, particularly on a project where possession is indicated from 2030.

Construction-linked payment structures interact directly with this. The Embassy Riverine Villas payment plan follows a construction-linked schedule with milestone percentages confirmed at launch, which means outflows track visible progress rather than a calendar. Paying against completed stages rather than dates is the buyer-protective structure, and it is worth confirming which milestones trigger which percentage before signing anything.

Timing matters more than most buyers realise. Escrow protection applies to funds collected under a registered project. Money paid before registration sits outside that framework, which is precisely why the Embassy Riverine Villas booking amount is confirmed at formal launch alongside registration, and why nothing beyond an Expression of Interest should move before the number is live on the state portal.

Three practical steps follow. Ask for the escrow account details in writing once registration completes and confirm payments are made to that account rather than a general one. Retain every receipt and the certification trail. And read the payment schedule against the construction timeline rather than in isolation, because a schedule front-loading payments ahead of progress transfers risk back to you regardless of what escrow provides.

Related reading: the Embassy Riverine price guide.

FAQs

1. How much of my money sits in escrow?
   Seventy per cent of amounts collected for the project must sit in a project-specific account with a scheduled bank, with withdrawals permitted only in proportion to construction and land cost incurred, certified by an engineer, architect and chartered accountant.

2. Does escrow protect funds paid before registration?
   No. Escrow applies to funds collected under a registered project, which is why nothing beyond an Expression of Interest should be paid before the registration number is live on the state portal.

3. What should I check in the payment schedule?
   Which construction milestones trigger which percentage, and whether payments track visible progress rather than calendar dates. Confirm payments go to the project escrow account and keep the full receipt trail.