Every building society in Mumbai is governed by the same byelaws.
It is easy for building societies to bully single women or impose illegalities on them. However, knowing a few byelaws will help you from being fleeced or insulted. Surekha Shetty (34) is a divorcee who lives with her two sons in Juhu, Mumbai. The apartment was her father’s gift to her on her wedding 11 years ago, and was purchased in her name.
“When I first separated from my husband, he had to move out because the house is mine. Two years later, I got custody of the children. But I began to see that the building’s behaviour towards me changed after the divorce.”
From “small incidents” at first – her potted plants outside the door would be upturned, or the watchman wouldn’t allow courier boys to her flat “for her own safety”, the society one day called her to a meeting and presented a list of dues she had not yet paid. “I was stunned. They were saying that the society had taken ‘less’ transfer fees from me when the house was purchased, and I had not paid for replastering the building. When I protested, I was told to pay up within three months or I would have to vacate the house.”
Like Surekha, most of us are unaware of some simple facts – firstly, every building society in Mumbai is governed by the same byelaws. And the society’s managing committee cannot impose laws or take final decisions – all of these are to be referred to the Registrar of Cooperative Societies. Most importantly, building societies – at their own level – cannot evict any member.
Here are some useful byelaws to be aware of:
Paying donations: A person has to pay a transfer fee of not more than Rs 25,000 to the building society on purchasing a flat. This is separate from the stamp duty and registration fees to be paid to the Government to ratify the house agreement. The society cannot ask for a rupee more than this sum of money.
Some societies ask for an additional sum of money under the guise of ‘security deposit’, or ‘advance maintenance charges’ or even ‘amenity charges’. These demands are totally illegal. If you are being asked to pay money by lieu of ‘donations’ to the society, refuse to pay up. If the demand persists, write to the Registrar with full facts of the case.
On the use of parking space: Bye-law no 78 entitles flat owners to hold a parking space in the building’s parking lot, provided they pay a monthly charge as decided by the managing committee. In their turn, owners cannot sell or transfer the parking spot in another person’s name.
As long as you (or if you are the tenant, your landlord) are a member of the society and paying the monthly parking fee, the society should not bother if you are using the spot or not. Also, if the spot is vacant, no other member can forcefully park there without your written permission to do so.
At the same time, the society cannot ask you to move your car that has been lying in the parking lot for months without being used, as long as you are paying for the spot.
Defaulting on dues: There may be a time when you are unable to make payments on monthly maintenance, or settle society-related bills. This may cause a problem if the dues continue to accumulate with no intimation as to when you will pay them. In this case, however, the society cannot threaten to throw you out of the premises, but can send you a letter stating that you have to pay up within a certain period of time.
If you miss this deadline, the society can make use of Section 101 of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act (MCS Act), under which the society can make a formal application to the Registrar, who will in turn, summon you for an explanation and verification of the complaint. If you still do not pay up, the Registrar may issue a Certificate to the Society and authorise the attaching of movable property from your house.
Using the building terrace: No member of the building has exclusive rights to the building terrace; it is a shared space and its usage must be permitted by the managing committee on certain grounds. Do not expect the society to allow you to hold a party without permission, even though the terrace may be next to your home – this does not give you the right to use it without permission.
However, under Section 171 of the Model Bye Laws, the society should allow the limited use of the terrace for purposes of carrying out carpentry work, for example, provided you stay within the time limit suggested and do not cause damages to the terrace in any way. If you do, the society is empowered to recovering the damages from you.
Keeping plants and shoe racks outside the front door: The space immediately outside your house does not belong to you. Hence, you cannot stake claim to it by placing potted plants or shoe racks outside your door. This can be construed as an encroachment in common usable space and you can be asked to remove the items.
Guests and relatives: The society is not empowered to monitor who comes and goes from your house, or who lives there, provided you are not sub-letting the property or causing a nuisance to others. Even if your house guests cause a nuisance, the society can merely object to the noise but cannot ask your guests to leave. If you are a tenant, you cannot allow a third party to stay in your house in your absence, without the permission of the society.
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