Make corrections: the State Duma did not support the idea of early disclosure of escrow accounts

The State Duma criticized the initiative on early disclosure of escrow accounts of developers, while the Ministry of Construction is still ready to work out an appropriate proposal. However, the deputies believe that such changes may bring back the risks of "deceived shareholders." The current mechanism was created as a tool to protect home buyers: funds in escrow accounts remain unavailable until construction is completed, which guarantees the fulfillment of the developer's obligations. At the same time, business representatives point to the need to introduce new measures to support the industry. These include maintaining the parameters of the family mortgage, subsidizing loan rates, and shortening the approval period. About the challenges faced by the construction industry and whether the authorities are ready to expand its support again, see the Izvestia article.

Why does a business ask for step-by-step disclosure of escrow accounts

The Ministry of Construction has allowed a change in the rules for using escrow accounts, in which developers will be able to use the funds on them in stages during the construction process. Nikita Stasishin, Deputy head of the department, said this at the Dvizhenie real estate forum, which takes place in Sochi from June 16 to 19, responding to proposals from realtors and developers on measures to support the industry in a difficult situation. At the same time, the State Duma reacted critically to the initiative.

— Our colleagues from the Central Bank say that in this case, the cost of project financing in the beginning will be many times more expensive, as this will increase the risks for banks. But considering how much the banks have already earned during the project financing and escrow operations, which is more than the developers, I think that this issue needs to be approached in some way, especially in the current situation for the industry," Nikita Stasishin emphasized.

The head of Russia's largest real estate agency, Floors, Ildar Khusainov, speaking at one of the forum sessions, suggested allowing developers to receive funds from escrow accounts after the facility is half completed.

— Today, everyone lives off past stocks. There have been almost no new good and strong developers over the past two years, and the whole industry seems to be freezing," he explained.

In his opinion, it is necessary to establish a dialogue with banks in order to adjust the level of their profitability and create more balanced conditions for both developers and home buyers. This position was supported by representatives of many companies at the forum.

— The mechanism of step—by-step disclosure of escrow accounts is an important tool to support the industry. It will allow developers to receive part of the funds as the facility's construction readiness is confirmed, and reduce bank financing and debt servicing costs," Pavel Galkin, founder and chairman of the Board of the Parity Development Group, told Izvestia.

At the same time, according to him, the mechanism should be linked to understandable stages of construction and accompanied by strict control in order to preserve the protection of buyers.

— As developers, we support both the phased disclosure of escrow and the right to transfer accounts between banks. This is not a desire to circumvent the protection of shareholders, but a necessity dictated by the current economic situation," Gennady Shitikov, head of the project management department at Rasvetay Stolitsa, told Izvestia.

According to him, today developers implement projects mainly at the expense of credit funds, bearing a significant burden of interest in the framework of project financing. At the same time, the funds of buyers placed on escrow accounts do not actually participate in turnover, depreciate under the influence of inflation and lose purchasing power against the background of an increase in the cost of building materials.

— Phased disclosure will partially reduce the debt burden as the facility is ready. Now the buyers' funds are frozen until the construction is completed, and the developer is building at the expense of project financing," said Valeria Varkushina, Deputy Director for Economics and Finance at BM Group development, adding that with a high key rate, this creates a huge burden.

According to Yuri Nemanezhin, managing partner of the GRAVION development company, developers will be able to quickly use the released funds to purchase materials, pay contractors and launch new queues, speeding up capital turnover and increasing the profitability of projects. In addition, the possibility of phased financing makes the start of sales more profitable, allowing developers to attract buyers even at a reduced price per meter, he added.

What are the risks of early disclosure of escrow accounts?

The State Duma reacted critically to the initiative.

— At the moment, we are not ready to legislate such changes. This is a direct blow to the system of protection of the rights of shareholders. If the money starts being transferred to the developer before the house is delivered, it will no longer be in the escrow account and will not be insured by the state in the deposit insurance system," Vladimir Koshelev, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Communal Services, told Izvestia.

According to him, such initiatives actually return the risks of "deceived shareholders", from which the project financing system was originally designed to protect. The MP noted that the previous bill on this topic had already been rejected.

At the same time, as Vladimir Koshelev emphasized, the proposal that allows developers to transfer funds from escrow accounts from one bank to another as part of loan refinancing deserves attention. In this case, the money remains in the accounts and remains secure.

— The bill on the transfer of escrow accounts from bank to bank has already been submitted to the State Duma and may be considered during this session, — said the deputy.

According to another member of the committee, MP Alexander Yakubovsky, the issue of transferring escrow accounts from one bank to another needs to be supported and substantially finalized. Today, there is a serious bias in the construction industry, in which credit institutions actually become one of the main beneficiaries, he noted. In his opinion, it is necessary to evaluate the earnings of banks based on this model. Perhaps additional restrictions are needed, for example, a more stringent binding of the project financing rate to the sales level in a particular project, the parliamentarian said.

However, a number of market participants reacted cautiously to the initiative.

"The escrow mechanism was created as a tool to protect home buyers: equity holders' funds remain unavailable until construction is completed and thus guarantee the fulfillment of the developer's obligations," said Pavel Bushkov, executive director of the Marmax development company.

According to him, if early or phased disclosure of accounts is allowed, there is a risk of blurring the very essence of this mechanism. Yes, this could partially reduce the financial burden on developers, but at the same time it would increase the requirements for control over spending and potentially increase risks for buyers, the business representative noted.

What other support measures does the construction industry expect?

The difficult situation in the construction industry and measures to support it from the state became one of the key topics of the forum, which brought together more than 4,500 developers and realtors. Market participants note that in 2026, only about 40% of developers will be able to make a profit, and this figure continues to decline.

As the director said at the forum bnMAP.pro Sergey Lobzhanidze, the total gross revenue in the largest new building markets (24 regions of the Russian Federation were studied) in January–April amounted to 1.167 trillion rubles, which is 3.7% less than a year earlier. The most significant decrease was recorded in Moscow — minus 25.5% in annual terms.

An additional problem for developers is the increase in delays in housing commissioning. If in 2025 the share of such projects averaged 41%, then in 2026 it increased to 58%, Izvestia wrote. According to market participants, this is largely due to the lack of funds to complete the construction of facilities.

At the beginning of the year, the demand for new buildings decreased significantly in annual terms. A further drop in consumer activity is possible against the background of stricter family mortgage conditions, Yaroslav Gutnov, founder of SIS Development, told Izvestia. According to him, this particular tool remains the main driver of sales in the primary housing market.

— If we talk about support measures, then it seems much more logical not to allow the transfer of escrow, but to limit the maximum amount of project financing rates. In other words, the indicator can be "linked" to the key one. As a result, banks will not be able to offer loans significantly exceeding its value. The government may well subsidize the difference with the market rate in exchange for developers fulfilling certain social obligations," the business representative believes.

To stabilize the market, measures are needed to stimulate demand for housing, says Stanislav Bannikov, Commercial director of Plateau Development. First of all, according to him, it is important to maintain the current parameters of the family mortgage program for families with one child.

Pavel Galkin, founder and Chairman of the Board of the Parity Development Group, also spoke about the need for comprehensive support for the industry. In his opinion, the key areas should be to reduce the cost of project financing and administrative burden. Among the possible measures, he mentioned subsidizing interest rates on loans, reducing the time of approval procedures and supporting infrastructure construction.

In addition, the expert noted the need for legislative regulation of the installment market. Today, this tool has become one of the main ways to buy a home, but there are no uniform rules for its use yet. According to him, the law should establish transparent conditions, consolidate the rights and obligations of the parties and protect buyers from opaque schemes.

— We see the need for several system solutions. These include a reduction in project financing rates through government subsidies, similar to industrial loans. Administrative procedures need to be shortened — obtaining permits and passing examinations often take longer than the construction itself. We also propose replacing the mandatory construction of social facilities with an infrastructure fee: developers are willing to pay into the budget, but not take over facilities that have not been put into operation for years due to bureaucratic delays on the part of municipalities," said Gennady Shitikov from the company "Blossom Capital".

According to him, it is also necessary to maintain preferential mortgage programs in order to maintain effective demand.