Photos: Indian homeowners roll up sleeves to complete unfinished flats

Apr 27, 2019 15:05 IST

Lalit Vazirani (not pictured), a computer programmer from Mumbai, never reckoned on having to turn amateur property developer. Yet here he is, a decade after putting down a deposit for an apartment near the city’s airport, dealing with architects, taxes, various planning permissions and even court hearings. All because the developer has gone bust, and nobody else has stepped in to finish the work. (Dhiraj Singh / Bloomberg)

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Lalit Vazirani (not pictured), a computer programmer from Mumbai, never reckoned on having to turn amateur property developer. Yet here he is, a decade after putting down a deposit for an apartment near the city’s airport, dealing with architects, taxes, various planning permissions and even court hearings. All because the developer has gone bust, and nobody else has stepped in to finish the work. (Dhiraj Singh / Bloomberg)

A worker collects scrap metal near an unfinished apartment project. So many delayed building projects have “severely weakened faith in any under-construction properties and reviving buyers’ trust is a Herculean task,” said Anuj Puri, chairman of Anarock Property Consultants Pvt. “If buyers stop purchasing, builders will have a far more challenging time to get funds from external sources for construction.” (Dhiraj Singh / Bloomberg)

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A worker collects scrap metal near an unfinished apartment project. So many delayed building projects have “severely weakened faith in any under-construction properties and reviving buyers’ trust is a Herculean task,” said Anuj Puri, chairman of Anarock Property Consultants Pvt. “If buyers stop purchasing, builders will have a far more challenging time to get funds from external sources for construction.” (Dhiraj Singh / Bloomberg)

Two years ago, India introduced a law with strict punishments for building delays. A series of economic shocks in the past three years, from Demonteization in 2016 to the GST introduced the following year, have dented property-market sentiment and caused funding for developers to dry up. Many lack the funds to keep projects aimed at millions of more affluent citizens going. (Dhiraj Singh / Bloomberg)

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Two years ago, India introduced a law with strict punishments for building delays. A series of economic shocks in the past three years, from Demonteization in 2016 to the GST introduced the following year, have dented property-market sentiment and caused funding for developers to dry up. Many lack the funds to keep projects aimed at millions of more affluent citizens going. (Dhiraj Singh / Bloomberg)

An analysis of about 11,000 home builders by research firm Liases Foras in February showed that developers on average have to repay twice as much in debt each year as the income they generate that can be used to service it. This comes as property prices in India’s biggest cities are flagging -- home values in Mumbai sank 11% last year following a 5% decline in 2017. (Dhiraj Singh / Bloomberg)

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An analysis of about 11,000 home builders by research firm Liases Foras in February showed that developers on average have to repay twice as much in debt each year as the income they generate that can be used to service it. This comes as property prices in India’s biggest cities are flagging -- home values in Mumbai sank 11% last year following a 5% decline in 2017. (Dhiraj Singh / Bloomberg)

Vazirani is one of 281 buyers who banded together to complete their development. Home buyers at another project in the Mumbai suburb of Mulund are lending the developer more money so it can complete the final stages of a tower. At a housing development in the state of Uttar Pradesh, purchasers will monitor construction after a local regulator stepped in following three years of delays. (Arun Sharma / HT Archive)

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Vazirani is one of 281 buyers who banded together to complete their development. Home buyers at another project in the Mumbai suburb of Mulund are lending the developer more money so it can complete the final stages of a tower. At a housing development in the state of Uttar Pradesh, purchasers will monitor construction after a local regulator stepped in following three years of delays. (Arun Sharma / HT Archive)

With would-be home buyers reluctant to hand over cash for deposits, the funding horizon for developers looks bleak. Builders’ debt repayments amount to $18.5 billion each year, the Liases Foras data show. On top of that, some lenders have sharply increased the interest rates they charge developers for new loans. Around 235 of the companies are under the insolvency-resolution process, government data show. (Amal KS / HT Archive)

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With would-be home buyers reluctant to hand over cash for deposits, the funding horizon for developers looks bleak. Builders’ debt repayments amount to $18.5 billion each year, the Liases Foras data show. On top of that, some lenders have sharply increased the interest rates they charge developers for new loans. Around 235 of the companies are under the insolvency-resolution process, government data show. (Amal KS / HT Archive)

Homeowners’ groups hope that price gains since their initial deposits, teamed with the development’s good location, mean they’ll eventually come out ahead. “Owners coming forward to take up the stalled projects and complete them looks a viable option,” said Vinay Sah, the managing director of LIC Housing Finance. “It would be a win-win situation for all stakeholders concerned.’ (Arun Sharma / HT Archive)

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Homeowners’ groups hope that price gains since their initial deposits, teamed with the development’s good location, mean they’ll eventually come out ahead. “Owners coming forward to take up the stalled projects and complete them looks a viable option,” said Vinay Sah, the managing director of LIC Housing Finance. “It would be a win-win situation for all stakeholders concerned.’ (Arun Sharma / HT Archive)

That’s of little comfort to some like Sarju Saini, a 51-year-old chartered accountant who put money down for an apartment off the plan in 2009. His unit was meant to be finished by 2013. “I had put in all my savings for this flat,” he said. “Now for completion of the project I will need to take another loan. This would have been our first house, and we had so many dreams attached to it.” (Dhiraj Singh / Bloomberg)

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That’s of little comfort to some like Sarju Saini, a 51-year-old chartered accountant who put money down for an apartment off the plan in 2009. His unit was meant to be finished by 2013. “I had put in all my savings for this flat,” he said. “Now for completion of the project I will need to take another loan. This would have been our first house, and we had so many dreams attached to it.” (Dhiraj Singh / Bloomberg)

about the gallery

Few things illustrate the malaise in India’s property market as starkly as would-be homeowners having to dedicate untold hours to completing the flats they spent years saving up for. While no estimates exist for the number of people in this position, India’s property market is struggling to digest some $65 billion worth of projects in various stages of completion -- or, in many cases, non-completion. It’s an issue with the potential to sap confidence among house buyers, further complicating developers’ attempts to claw their way out from under a mountain of debt.

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