News: Insolvency route gives 1.4 lakh stuck homebuyers a path to possession as stronger developers step in-25-09-2026

India’s insolvency framework has helped more than 1.4 lakh homebuyers get closer to, or receive, possession of homes in stalled projects, as financially stronger developers take over distressed developments through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), analysts and industry officials said. Adani Realty, Lodha and others have acquired such projects, bringing fresh capital and execution capability.

The task is still large. About 2.5 lakh homebuyers are linked to the 553 real estate insolvency cases admitted under the IBC, and roughly 17 per cent have been resolved. Another 1.1 lakh buyers across 221 cases are waiting. Resolved projects represent investments of about Rs 84,000 crore, while Rs 65,000 crore is tied up in unresolved ones, according to industry estimates.

In a recent report, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India proposed reforms that make project completion, rather than liquidation, the central goal, including project-wise proceedings, ring-fencing of project cash flows, simpler claims processes and closer coordination between RERA authorities and insolvency courts. Speed remains a problem, analysts said, as litigation and repeated appeals delay completion, and successful bidders may have to deliver homes at prices agreed five to 10 years earlier despite sharply higher costs.

Nikhil Bhatia, Managing Director, Land and Capital Markets, CBRE India, said real estate resolutions are slower than in most sectors because projects are long-gestation ones with layered claims, and the new developer must fund construction upfront. Steady end-user demand and firmer pricing have recently made some stalled assets viable to complete, he said. Gulam Zia, International Partner and Senior Executive Director at Knight Frank, said developers such as Adani, Reliance, JSW and Prestige are using the IBC as an alternative route to projects and land, with stuck buyers the ultimate beneficiaries.

Real estate accounts for 22 per cent of all CIRP admissions, the second-largest sector, and resolution plans have on average realised 94.7 per cent of assessed fair value, the observers noted.

Adani Realty took over Take Ten BKC in Mumbai, which stalled in 2020, committing more than Rs 1,000 crore, including over Rs 400 crore of fresh capital, and homes have been delivered to 903 buyers. In Gurugram, the Hills-77 project was revived, letting 724 buyers take possession, while Centre Court, with claims of about Rs 1,250 crore, has obtained an occupancy certificate, benefiting more than 300 buyers after its original developer, Ashiana Landcraft Realty Pvt Ltd, defaulted.