Sydney property developer Bathla Group’s collapse has left thousands of Australian homebuyers — who have paid deposits and are waiting for their off-the-plan homes to be built — in limbo. Those caught up in Bathla’s crisis face a patchwork of outcomes. They could potentially get their deposits back or eventually receive the keys to their new homes, depending on their contracts and what happens to individual projects.

But if the company ultimately goes into liquidation, their chances of recovering the money will depend partly on how their deposits were held.