Rent Rs 45,000, EMI Rs 32,000: CA explains why buying a home is no longer a dream but a nightmare for the middle class

Owning a home has long been considered the ultimate dream for the Indian middle class. But according to Meenal Goel, chartered accountant, educator and founder, this dream is increasingly turning into a financial nightmare.

Sharing a real-life example, Goel explained how one of her friends currently pays Rs 45,000 per month as rent while also shelling out Rs 32,000 as EMI for a house that is still under construction — and may never be completed.

Highlighting the lure of developers, Goel pointed to popular schemes such as “No EMI till possession.” Under this arrangement, the buyer pays 10% upfront, while banks disburse up to 80% of the loan amount to the builder. The builder, in turn, promises to bear the EMI for the first 2–3 years. However, she warned that such offers have trapped lakhs of unsuspecting families.


“The catch is simple but devastating — the loan is in your name, not the builder’s. If the builder defaults, the bank still comes after you, even if the house is never delivered. Miss an EMI, and your credit score takes the hit,” Goel explained.

The scale of the problem is staggering. Citing available data, she said there are over 5.08 lakh stalled housing units across 42 Indian cities, up 9% since 2018. Cities like Mumbai, Noida, Gurugram, Thane and Greater Noida are the worst affected. In Tier-1 cities alone, nearly 1,636 projects involving more than 4.31 lakh homes remain stuck.

As a result, countless families are caught in a double bind — paying hefty rents while simultaneously servicing EMIs for properties that exist only on paper. “Some booked homes when their kids were in school; today, those children are in college, yet the house is still just a construction site,” she noted.

While the government’s SWAMIH Fund has delivered around 50,000 homes and is expected to add 40,000 more by 2025, Goel argued this is a fraction of the problem — covering less than 20% of the backlog.

“This is not just a real estate crisis but a systemic failure of project financing and regulatory oversight,” she stressed, adding that schemes like “No EMI till possession” require urgent reform. For many in the middle class, the dream of buying a home has tragically turned into a long, painful nightmare.