Literature examining Indian housing policy broadly focuses on the shifting role of the state from a
provider of housing to a facilitator of housing markets. Using frame analysis method, this article explores the underlying policy frames responsible for this shift and the factors influencing the homeownership bias in Indian housing policy.

This article attempts to capture the story of an informally employed low-income household who, with the help of informal financial agents, successfully navigated the informal-formal space of housing finance to buy the house of their choice. The article starts with contextualising the accessibility and affordability constraints for housing finance faced by low-income households. Following this, we discuss a case study of an informally employed home loan borrower, explaining the negotiations playing at the cusp of the informal-formal. Lastly, we deliberate upon the roles of lending institutions, specifically during the COVID-19 crisis and the financial recovery of the home loan industry.