Homebuyers of a China Evergrande Group project found that apartments delivered to them were seized by a court, the National Business Daily reported. 

A court in southern Guangdong’s Zhuhai city seized land under the residential project on Jun 30, the newspaper said, citing records on Guangzhou city government’s website and some residents. That’s about nine months after the more than 400 buyers moved in, according to the report. The seizure was lifted on Jul 4, it said.  

The land was taken after a local branch of China Construction Bank sued the housing project’s developer over a loan conflict, according to records of registry database Qichacha. The bank had asked the court to freeze some equity of the developer, which is fully owned by Evergrande’s onshore unit Hengda Real Estate Group Co, Qichacha records show. 

Calls to Guangzhou’s housing regulator weren’t answered on Friday (Jul 7).

The case underscores the enduring conflict between creditors and homeowners as debt-laden Evergrande faces more than a thousand lawsuits. Local governments and financial institutions have rushed to seize land and real estate assets of the developer following its default in late 2021. BLOOMBERG