27.6 Lakh Homebuyers Stuck in Delayed Projects, FPCE Report Says

An estimated 27.6 lakh homebuyer families remain stuck in delayed housing projects across India, with around ₹12.44 lakh crore of their money potentially locked in undelivered projects, according to a report by the Forum for People's Collective Efforts (FPCE).

The figures come as the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, or RERA, approaches a decade since its enactment. FPCE, a homebuyers' advocacy group and member of RERA's Central Advisory Council, says the problem is not the law itself but how it is being enforced by regulatory authorities across states.

FPCE's 192-page report, titled RERA Extension Abuse: How Regulatory Failure Is Betraying India's Homebuyers, examines project extensions, regulatory decisions and other records to argue that delays are increasingly being regularised instead of resolved.

How FPCE arrived at the ₹12.44 lakh crore figure

The ₹12.44 lakh crore figure is an estimate by FPCE, rather than an official government assessment.

According to the report, the estimate uses Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs' RERA Tracker data dated March 2, 2026. FPCE estimates that around 27.6 lakh homebuyer families have money tied up with developers. Applying a conservative average of ₹45 lakh per family produces an estimated ₹12.44 lakh crore in funds locked in undelivered projects.

That distinction matters. The underlying number of affected families and the total value of money at risk are presented by FPCE as estimates based on available data and assumptions, not as a fresh government audit of every delayed project in the country.

FPCE blames weak RERA enforcement

FPCE President Abhay Upadhyay said the organisation's assessment points to failures in implementation rather than a failure of the legislation itself.

The report argues that state-level regulatory authorities have allowed project extensions without sufficiently examining the statutory conditions governing them. FPCE says this has resulted in delays being regularised instead of developers being pushed to resolve them.

The organisation's broader argument is that RERA can protect buyers only when its provisions are consistently enforced. It has called for stronger regulatory discipline and greater accountability from authorities overseeing stalled projects.

What RERA was designed to do

RERA was enacted to regulate the relationship between property developers and homebuyers, improve transparency and strengthen accountability in the real estate sector.

Among other requirements, promoters must disclose project information and approvals. The law also requires developers to deposit 70% of amounts realised from homebuyers into a separate bank account, with the money intended for land costs and construction.

The FPCE report argues that these safeguards lose much of their intended effect when regulatory enforcement is weak.

The problem for buyers goes beyond a delayed possession date

For a homebuyer, a stalled project can mean more than waiting for a flat to be completed.

Money remains committed to the project while buyers can continue facing housing costs and uncertainty over when — or whether — possession will take place. The scale of FPCE's estimate also suggests that project delays have consequences well beyond individual disputes between buyers and developers.

FPCE has called its report an exercise in course correction, arguing that stronger implementation is needed to restore the accountability and consumer protection intended when RERA was introduced.

The report does not establish that every one of the estimated 27.6 lakh affected families faces the same circumstances, nor does the ₹12.44 lakh crore estimate represent a verified liability of developers. It is FPCE's assessment based on RERA Tracker data and its stated methodology.

For homebuyers still waiting for delayed projects, however, the central issue remains unchanged: whether India's real estate regulators can enforce the protections already provided under RERA.

Sources

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/real-estate/news/27-6-lakh-homebuyers-stuck-with-delayed-projects-report/articleshow/133977540.cms

https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/residential/homebuyers-body-fpce-says-27-6-lakh-customers-stuck-with-delayed-rera-registered-projects/133991046

https://www.business-standard.com/industry/news/rera-enforcement-failures-leave-2-7-mn-homebuyers-with-delayed-projects-126090901021_1.html

https://money.rediff.com/amp/news/market/27-6-lakh-home-buyers-stuck-due-to-non-implementation-of-rera-law-fpce/54028420260909