Apartment bodies must be co-ops or cos to enjoy rights

After allowing thousands of apartment associations to register under wrong provisions of law, the government has now said improper registration deprives these bodies of rights over common areas.

Replying to an RTI query by Dhananjay P, the Law Department has said apartment associations can’t be registered under the Karnataka Societies Registrations Act 1960. Citing a high court order, the government has said such societies have to be registered as a cooperative society or a company to have “irrevocable right” to access common areas and facilities for maintenance.

‘Common area’ as defined by the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act, includes the land, the building and all the facilities located in the land. Several associations have contended that without rights, the apartment will continue to be at the mercy of the builder.

Associations of apartment owners, which have been fighting for rights, estimate that only about 100 apartment societies in entire Karnataka are registered under the Karnataka Cooperative Societies Act.

“Builders still register under the wrong law. This continues because the government has not done its job. One direction to sub-registrars not to register apartment societies will end the problem,” said Dhananjay, who heads the Karnataka Home Buyers Forum.

The government’s latest stance comes in the wake of a petition in the Karnataka High Court by Anil Kalgi of the Bangalore City Flat Owners Welfare Association.

He noted that in the Illachi Devi vs Jain Society case, the Supreme Court noted that society was not capable of ownership of any property or of suing or being sued in its own name unless it is a body corporate with financial powers.

“Unfortunately, many are unaware of the fact that holding the title of the apartment is not the same as the title of the land. We are hoping that the high court’s directions will put an end to the decades-long duping of people, who invest their life’s savings to purchase flats,” Kalgi told DH.

The law has been clear on the ownership, which then allows legal transfer or sale of the flat. Section 6 of the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act says the undivided share (UDS) shall be deemed to be conveyed even though such interest is not expressly mentioned in the conveyance or other instrument.

Kalgi, however, noted that the conveyance can happen only when the apartment society has the necessary power as a body corporate.