Check kit · Assured returns · CHECK 3-min read

'12% guaranteed return' — why that is a warning, not a feature

Assured-return schemes were ruled illegal deposit-taking. The payouts are funded by new buyers, and they stop when the inflows stop. Here is the test to run before you sign.

For anyone being offered a fixed or guaranteed monthly return on a property purchase.

Talk to our people

One number, never sold.

Nov 2018

SEBI ruled assured-return schemes illegal deposit-taking (a CIS)

New buyers

are what funds the payouts — not the asset's own income

3 numbers

to compare before you believe any 'return'

The 30-second version

A guaranteed return on a property purchase is a warning, not a feature.

SEBI ruled in November 2018 that assured-return schemes are illegal deposit-taking — a Collective Investment Scheme. The economics are the giveaway: the payouts are funded by money coming in from new buyers, so they collapse when the inflows slow.

Because the label attracts scrutiny, the same structure now appears under other names — lease guarantee, committed income, rental assurance. Judge the mechanics, not the word.

The test to run

1
Ask for the price with the scheme removed
'Take the scheme out — what is the rate without it?' If the price drops, the 'return' was partly your own money being handed back in instalments.
2
Compare three numbers
The circle rate, the actual resale asking price for a comparable unit in the same complex, and the scheme price. A material gap between the scheme price and genuine resale is where the return is coming from.
3
Ask who pays if the scheme stops
Get the answer in writing, and read what happens at the end of the scheme period. A return that depends on the promoter's continuing solvency is not a yield — it is a promise.

Not legal or tax advice

General information to help you ask the right questions — not legal or tax advice. Rules, rates and procedures vary by state, property type and date. Confirm your specific case with an independent property lawyer and, for tax, a chartered accountant before you pay anything.

Sources & citations›

'12% assured return' schemes = illegal deposit-taking / Collective Investment Scheme: SEBI, November 2018. Payouts funded by new buyers and collapse when inflows fall.