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- An infrequent case: in the Russian Federation, they are preparing a ban on overcharging when buying apartments in installments
An infrequent case: in the Russian Federation, they are preparing a ban on overcharging when buying apartments in installments
The authorities may prohibit raising the price of housing when buying it in installments. They want to add such a measure to the draft law on regulating this market, Mikhail Mamuta, deputy chairman of the Central Bank, told Izvestia. Now this practice is common among developers: the difference in the cost of an apartment when paying immediately and in installments can reach 15-20%. The risks of such schemes are high — the buyer can make an initial payment, but in the end will not receive the object if he fails to collect all the necessary amount by the time it is registered in the property. How the installment plan for housing works and what other changes may appear on the market — in the material of Izvestia.
How much does an apartment cost in installments?
The price of an apartment when buying in installments should not differ from the cost of housing when fully paid. Mikhail Mamuta, Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank, told Izvestia about this. This measure is already used when buying other goods in installments, so the regulator suggests fixing it for the real estate market.
The corresponding provision should be included in the draft law on the regulation of installment payments for housing, Mikhail Mamuta said. The document may soon be submitted to the State Duma.
— We strongly support the bill. We are waiting for its introduction and hope that it will happen in the near future," Mikhail Mamuta, Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank, told Izvestia.
For some developers, installments are more of a marketing ploy to attract buyers, said Rigina Gordeeva, founder of the Bezfilter real estate agency. The difference between an acquisition with a one-time payment or in installments sometimes reaches 15-20%.
The inflated installment price in most cases still turns out to be lower than the overpayment on the mortgage, but the conditions for buyers remain unequal, said Evgeny Shavnev, CEO of Flip investment company.
In addition, the bill should make the terms of installments more transparent. Nowadays, contracts are often drawn up so complexly that buyers cannot always understand all the details of the transaction, Mikhail Mamuta said. In addition, it is planned to set limits on the cost of such a service and limit the amount of fines for late payments. Earlier, the Central Bank reported that fines under such contracts can reach 50% of the total debt. The regulator suggests calculating them differently — no more than 20% per annum of the overdue payment amount, and not of the entire debt.
Another change concerns the transfer of installment payment data to credit bureaus. Currently, such information is not being received there, so financial organizations cannot take these obligations into account when assessing a client's debt burden, said Dom Bank's Vice President for Retail Risks.Russian Federation" Roman Evdokimov. As a result, the borrower can get a mortgage, although a significant part of his income is already spent on other payments.
Historically, the share of home sales using installments was 10-20%, said Svetlana Nazarova, head of the Real Estate Finance Department at Sbera. By the end of 2024, this figure had grown to 44%, but since the beginning of 2025, interest in such transactions has begun to decline.
According to the Bank of Russia, as of April 1, 2026, the total amount of citizens' installment loans for housing amounted to 1.5 trillion rubles. This is about 17% of the value of the concluded equity agreements for the purchase of new buildings. At the same time, individual developers can still sell 30-40% of apartments by installments.
How does an installment plan for housing work?
Currently, there are several basic installment schemes on the market for housing:
Classic short installments before the house is commissioned. The buyer makes an initial payment (usually 20-50% of the cost of the apartment), and pays the rest a few months or before the house is commissioned. It is often used when waiting for large amounts of money.
Long installments for one to three years. The buyer pays part of the cost immediately, and pays the remaining amount over several years.
Installments with large tranches. The cost of the apartment is divided into several large payments. For example, 20% of the cost immediately after the registration of the contract, another 30% after six months and the remaining 50% at the end of the installment period.
Installments with a small payment and a large balance. For example, a buyer makes an initial payment of 30%, then pays a monthly payment of 50 thousand rubles per month for several months, and at the end of the term closes the remaining debt.
Such schemes are primarily suitable for those who already have a significant amount at the start and a stable source of future large payments, said Freedom Global analyst Vladimir Chernov. However, they are not suitable for everyone.
The main feature of the installment plan is that by the time the right of ownership is registered, a person needs to repay the remaining part of the cost of the apartment, explained Dmitry Gritskevich, PSB Banking and Financial Market Analysis Manager. During this period, the buyer can sell the old house, receive an inheritance, use maternity capital or find other sources of funds. If there is no money, it is possible to close the debt with a mortgage. But there may be additional difficulties at this stage.
What are the risks of buying an apartment in installments?
Often, the buyer of an apartment in installments expects that after its completion he will immediately receive a mortgage, the press service of the Central Bank explained. But there are no guarantees that the bank will approve it in advance. Even if a housing loan is issued, the payment on it may be noticeably higher than expected.
"Due to the lack of transparency and the lack of an assessment of the debt burden, only 10% of such transactions successfully transfer to mortgages, and the number of terminated contracts is growing," explained Svetlana Nazarova from Sberbank.
If the buyer made the initial payment, but was unable to continue payments, the contract may be terminated, said Alexandra Pozharskaya, an expert at the Popular Front for Borrowers' Rights project. In this case, the housing is returned to the developer.
According to the law, the initial payment in this case must be returned to the buyer, the expert clarified. But the developer can simply impose a fine for non—payment of funds on time in the form of the same share of the cost of housing - as a result, the client will lose the apartment and will not return the money deposited.
If a person has already moved into an apartment and made repairs, the situation may be even more complicated, Alexandra Pozharskaya said. In this case, the developer may receive back the object, which will cost more after repair, while the buyer may not always be able to fully compensate for his expenses.
According to the Central Bank, about 5% of installments are already terminated by the time the obligations are fulfilled for various reasons. It's not uncommon for a client to invest money and end up not getting an apartment.
Installments often create a sense of housing affordability, said Rigina Gordeeva, founder of the Bezfilter real estate agency. The down payment and monthly payments look feasible, but the main debt is deferred to the future. At the same time, developers usually do not conduct a full assessment of the buyer's financial situation, which increases the risk of contract termination.
Informing customers remains a separate problem, Alexandra Pozharskaya said. If a person does not seek help from an independent specialist, there is no guarantee that all the risks of the contract will be explained in detail by the developer's managers or realtors.
The regulation of installments should eventually become a protection for citizens, says Freedom Global analyst Vladimir Chernov. According to him, it is better to have fewer attractive offers on paper than contracts with an inflated cost of housing, unclear fines and the risk of not being able to cope with payments.
It is likely that after the rules change, some of these programs will leave the market, the expert concluded. Installments may become shorter, require a larger down payment, and have a more transparent cost to the buyer.
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