UP RERA has warned homebuyers in Uttar Pradesh to pay booking amounts and instalments only into the authorised collection account linked to the concerned real estate project, cautioning that payments made to other accounts could expose buyers to financial loss.
The Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority said buyers should verify a project’s authorised collection account on the official RERA portal before transferring any money. The verification, according to the authority, is intended to improve transparency in property transactions and help protect buyers’ funds.
The advisory is particularly relevant at the booking and instalment stages, when buyers often make large payments based on instructions received from a builder, promoter or sales representative. UP RERA said buyers should not rely solely on payment details provided through informal communication and should independently confirm the account information on the regulator’s portal.
The authority also cautioned that some builders may ask buyers to deposit money into an account other than the authorised collection account for the project. Such a request can create difficulty in establishing whether the payment was made towards the registered project and may increase the risk of financial loss for the purchaser, according to the advisory.
UP RERA chairman Sanjay Bhoosreddy asked homebuyers to follow three safeguards before making a payment. Buyers should deposit project-related amounts only into the authorised collection account, verify the account details through the RERA portal and immediately complain to the authority if a builder or promoter pressures them to transfer money to another bank account.
The warning places responsibility on buyers to complete an account-level verification before making payments, while also providing a route for complaints when payment instructions conflict with the project’s authorised banking details. For buyers, retaining payment records and checking the account information before each transaction will be important in following the regulator’s advice.
The advisory does not prohibit buyers from making booking or instalment payments. Instead, it specifies that such payments should be directed only to the authorised collection account of the relevant project. UP RERA’s stated next step for buyers facing pressure to use another account is to report the matter directly to the authority.
