How much money do Block contestants start their renovation with, and what happens if they run out?

As the competition hurtles to auction day, The Block is becoming a battle of the budgets: Who actually has enough coin left to finish their build?

On Tuesday’s night episode of the show, after consistent murmurings of empty pickets and blown budgets, viewers were finally given an insight into how much money was actually left in the kitties of each team.

Kerrie and Spence were ahead of the pack with $35,335 left to spend on their last couple of rooms, closely followed by Bianca and Carla who are boasting $33,815 in their account.

The other three teams trailed markedly – Norm and Jess have $21,922 left to spend, Courtney and Hans $18,320 and Hayden and Sara  $17,463.

Alas, with a few last-minute challenges thrown in the mix, the bank accounts of each team were inflated slightly but left a lingering, more pertinent question: What would actually happen if a team ran out of money? Would production allow it?

According to The Block’s executive producer Julian Cress, Scott Cam plays as much a role in ensuring the budgets of contestants are on track as it would appear he does on television.

Related: View the five Gatwick apartments for sale

• Kerrie and Spence: 1/34 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda
• Hans and Courtney: 2/34 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda
• Sara and Hayden: 3/34 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda
• Norm and Jess: 4/34 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda
• Bianca and Carla: 5/34 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda

“Scott Cam regularly intervenes to provide essential advice and guidance to help the contestants remain on track with their budgets,” Cress says.

“His assistant Sarah has regular meetings with any teams who are overspending or not keeping track of their budget. It takes a very fine balancing act over three months to ensure there is still enough money left in the budget to complete the properties, especially in the final weeks.

“Of course, it is still up to the contestants to take the advice given and do what is required. It is a part of the competition they are in to manage their budget as best as they can. But some of them are better than others.”

Contestants are given $220,000 at the start of the season – plus “various” vouchers from sponsors – which puts into stark perspective Hayden and Sara’s $75,000 bathroom in week three.

“If a couple run out of money, then they run out of money,” Cress says.

After all, it wouldn’t be much of a competition if they committed to topping up the bank accounts of teams who continued to spend recklessly.

“Scott has occasionally given additional money to all teams if they all run out of money together,” Cress says.

“But if one team spends all of their money, but the others are managing their budgets well, then in the interests of fairness and the overall competition, that team would simply have to stop renovating and deliver their apartment to market in the state it is in when the money runs out.

“This has happened several times across the years and affected the profits that couple was able to achieve at auction. That is what The Block is all about, as it would be in the real estate market in general.”