RERA Payment Schedule Rules: How MahaRERA Protects Your Instalments

Booking a luxury home in Mumbai or Thane means handing over instalments long before possession, which is why the RERA payment schedule exists to keep that money accountable. MahaRERA caps advance payments, ring-fences funds in escrow and ties every instalment to visible construction progress. 

A quick summary:

• A promoter cannot collect more than 10% of the flat's cost before the Agreement for Sale is registered.
• At least 70%of the amount collected from buyers must sit in a designated escrow account earmarked for construction and land costs.
• Every instalment under this staged payment plan must correspond to a genuine, disclosed construction milestone, not an arbitrary demand.
• Buyers who face a delayed possession date have the right to interest, a full refund, or a formal complaint before MahaRERA.

What Is a RERA Payment Schedule and Why Does It Exist?

This staged framework is the legally regulated plan by which a buyer pays for a registered project in instalments, rather than as one lump sum. Before the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 came into force, developers routinely collected large sums upfront on the strength of a brochure and an allotment letter, with little to show for it on site. 

RERA Act 2016 changed that by requiring every project to register with the state authority, disclose its financials, and follow a payment plan that moves in step with actual construction. In Maharashtra, MahaRERA has been particularly rigorous about enforcing this framework, making it one of the more effective consumer protections to emerge from the Act.

How Much Can a Builder Collect Before the Agreement for Sale?

Section 13 of the RERA Act is unambiguous: a promoter cannot accept more than 10% of an apartment's cost as an advance or application fee without first executing and registering the Agreement for Sale. Before this provision, developers under the older Maharashtra Ownership of Flats Act could demand up to 20%, and in practice, many buyers were asked for considerably more on the basis of an allotment letter alone. Under the current rule, if you have paid your booking advance but not yet signed a registered agreement, the builder is not legally entitled to ask for more.

Read Also: Stamp Duty & Registration Charges in Mumbai and Thane

What Is the 70% Escrow Rule Under MahaRERA?

Once your Agreement for Sale is in place, the payment plan shifts into its second safeguard: the escrow requirement. MahaRERA's updated guidelines confirm that promoters must allocate at least 70% of the amounts collected from buyers exclusively to construction, held in a separate RERA-designated bank account, with withdrawals released only against construction and land cost certified by an engineer, an architect and a chartered accountant. 

The remaining share can be used for other project-related expenses, but the bulk of your money is legally tied to bricks and mortar rather than the developer's general working capital. This is one of the clearest ways this staged structure stops buyer funds from being diverted to unrelated projects.

How Are RERA Instalments Linked to Construction Milestones?

After the Agreement for Sale is registered, subsequent instalments fall due only as the project reaches disclosed stages, such as plinth completion, slab casting, brickwork, finishing and eventual possession. This construction-linked structure is the same one buyers encounter on under-construction Mumbai addresses, including Rustomjee Privé in BKC Annexe, where each demand is tied to a stage of work rather than a calendar date. 

The advantage for buyers is transparency: you can, in principle, walk the site and see the progress that justifies the instalment you have just been asked to pay.

Can a Builder Demand Payment Out of Turn?

Under RERA, a promoter can raise a demand only once the relevant milestone has genuinely been reached. Instalments cannot be front-loaded, and stages cannot be skipped simply because the developer needs funds sooner than the schedule allows. Every demand letter must reference the agreed payment plan, which gives buyers a clear, documented basis to question any instalment that looks premature. 

On an under-construction home such as Rustomjee 180 Bayview in Matunga West, where the project is being delivered across two 37-storey towers on a 1.5-acre site, this milestone discipline is what lets buyers commit progressively instead of gambling on an undocumented promise.

Read Also: Impact of RERA on Indian Real Estate

What Recourse Do Buyers Have If the Builder Delays Possession?

If a promoter misses the registered possession date, RERA gives buyers a genuine choice rather than a grievance. You may continue with the project and claim interest on the amounts already paid, typically benchmarked to the lender's marginal cost of funds-based lending rate plus a margin, or you may withdraw entirely and claim a full refund with interest. 

Either way, the route runs through a formal complaint filed with the authority. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs' own progress data shows more than 1.43 lakh homebuyer complaints have been disposed of by Real Estate Regulatory Authorities nationwide, evidence that these timelines are enforced rather than treated as advisory.

How Do RERA Rules Apply to a Developer-Funded or No-EMI-Till-Possession Plan?

Developer-funded, no-EMI-till-possession plans operate comfortably within this regulated structure rather than outside it. Under a typical CLP Pre-EMI structure, the developer prepays interest on the disbursed home loan for the pre-EMI period, so the buyer's own EMI outflow only begins closer to possession. 

Disbursement, however, still stays staged against construction milestones through a tripartite agreement with the lending bank. Buyers usually still pay around 10% of the Agreement Value on booking and a further amount closer to the Occupancy Certificate date, along with GST and stamp duty upfront, so the underlying milestone discipline is never bypassed, only made easier to carry.

What Should Buyers Verify on the MahaRERA Portal Before Booking?

Before you commit, spend twenty minutes on the MahaRERA portal and check the following:

• The project's MahaRERA registration number and its current validity status.
• The disclosed payment schedule and possession date as filed with the authority.
• The quarterly progress updates uploaded by the promoter.
• The promoter's track record across other registered projects.

How Do RERA Payment Rules Protect Cash Flow for Mumbai and Thane Buyers?

Taken together, milestone-linked instalments, the escrow safeguard, the advance cap and the delay-interest remedy let Mumbai and Thane buyers commit to a home progressively rather than in one intimidating lump sum. A well-structured payment plan eases cash flow planning while keeping your money legally ring-fenced until the home you are paying for actually gets built. That combination of financial flexibility and legal protection is precisely why compliant developers choose to publicise their payment plans rather than bury them in fine print.