What is a RERA designated account?
A RERA designated account is the separate bank account into which a builder must deposit 70% of the money collected from a project’s buyers, for use only on its land and construction cost.
Also called RERA 70% account, separate account, RERA escrow account.
The rule is in section 4(2)(l)(D) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016: seventy per cent of the amounts realised from allottees “shall be deposited in a separate account to be maintained in a scheduled bank to cover the cost of construction and the land cost and shall be used only for that purpose”.
Money can come out only in proportion to the percentage of completion of the project, and only after an engineer, an architect and a chartered accountant in practice certify the withdrawal. The accounts are audited by a chartered accountant within six months of the end of each financial year. In Maharashtra, the certificates are Forms 1, 2 and 3; see RERA Form 3.
Three accounts in Maharashtra. For projects registered after 1 July 2024, MahaRERA Order 56/2024 requires three accounts in one scheduled bank: a collection account for all allottee payments (excluding taxes and statutory duties), the separate account for seventy per cent, and a transaction account for up to thirty per cent.
Sources, read on 29 Oct 2026: the Act (Gazette copy hosted by MahaRERA) and MahaRERA Order 56/2024.