Delhi HC orders DDA to clear 1,373 leasehold-to-freehold conversion applications in two months

The Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi Development Authority to process 1,373 pending property conversion applications within two months, for which Rs 155.06 crore has already been collected from residents. The court also instructed the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to formulate a futur

The Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to process within two months the 1,373 pending applications for conversion of property from leasehold to freehold, for which the authorities have already collected Rs 155.06 crore from residents. The order, passed on 28 Sep 2026 by a bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Vikas Mahajan, expressed frustration over the prolonged delays and the lack of a defined timeline for policy finalisation.

The court said that while the pending applications should be processed in terms of the prevalent policy, a future policy may be formulated by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and the DDA. The bench noted it had repeatedly impressed upon the authorities the importance of conversion and the enormous difficulties faced by Delhi residents, particularly those who had already filed applications and paid the then-prevalent charges.

The matter concerns the non-functioning of the DDA's IDLI portal, which has remained unavailable since 2 Jan 2026, preventing property owners from submitting fresh conversion applications. The court noted that of the 1,373 pending applications filed between 2020 and 2026, 308 had received approval but conveyance deeds had not been executed.

Initially, the MoHUA secretary submitted that the ministry and DDA would require four months to finalise the conversion policy, with a minimum of two months. However, the court said it had given sufficient opportunity to both bodies and observed that various orders passed since 3 Jul 2026 showed the conversion policy had not been looked into for at least six months, with no progress made despite court directives. The bench also expressed dissatisfaction with an affidavit filed by MoHUA that failed to provide any concrete timeline.

The court listed the matter for further hearing on 11 Dec 2026 and directed the MoHUA secretary and DDA vice-chairman to join the proceedings on that day.