Apartment associations exercise real power over daily life, and they frequently exceed it. The starting point is always the constitutional document.
Which law applies to you
In Karnataka this is genuinely confusing, because associations are variously registered under the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act, 1972, the Karnataka Societies Registration Act, 1960, or as a co-operative society, and the state has been moving toward a consolidated apartment ownership framework. Your rights depend on which statute and which bye-laws govern your association, so establish that first. It also determines the correct forum for a dispute.
Maintenance charges
- Must be levied in accordance with the bye-laws and a resolution of the general body, not by the managing committee acting alone where the bye-laws require otherwise.
- The basis of apportionment, whether per square foot of undivided share or equal per flat, must follow the bye-laws or the deed of declaration. Changing the basis usually requires an amendment, not a committee decision.
- Members are entitled to inspect the accounts, the audited statements and the minutes.
This is the most common abuse and it is generally unlawful. Access to water has been recognised as part of the right to life under Article 21, and consumer commissions and High Courts have repeatedly restrained associations from disconnecting essential services to enforce payment of dues. The association's remedy is to sue for the arrears, not to make the flat uninhabitable. The same applies to blocking lift access or denying parking.
Where to take a dispute
- Requisition an extraordinary general body meeting, which the bye-laws usually permit on the demand of a specified number of members. This is the fastest internal remedy and it is under-used.
- The Registrar of Societies or the competent authority under the applicable Act, for disputes about elections, accounts and non-compliance.
- The consumer commission, where the association is rendering a service for a consideration and there is deficiency.
- A civil suit or injunction, particularly for an urgent restraint against disconnection.
Practical advice
Pay the undisputed portion of the maintenance and dispute the balance in writing. A member in arrears on everything is in a much weaker position, and non-payment is often used to disqualify members from voting or contesting elections.