Owners of larger apartments must pay higher maintenance fees in housing complexes, in accordance with the Maharashtra ownership Act of 1970, Bombay High Court decided.
During the recent hearing, the High Court’s decision was lost on the dispute concerning the cash park, the residential complex in Pune with 356 apartments across 11 buildings, Hindustan Times said. The apartment management body went through a resolution on the collection of the same maintenance fees from all apartment owners, regardless of the size of the apartment.
However, the owners of smaller apartments questioned this decision in 2022. They argued that they violated a law that states that maintenance costs must be shared on the basis of an undivided share in the common areas of each owner. A representative of the registrar of cooperative companies agreed to smaller apartment owners and ordered the condom in proportion to the maintenance fees.
Owners of larger apartments, unhappy with this command, first turned to the cooperative court in Pune, but their case was rejected in May 2022. Then they moved Bombay High Court. A lawyer of larger apartment owners told the court that maintenance is used for common premises and equipment used by all residents, and provided that larger apartments have more inhabitants – and therefore have to pay more – is unfair.
The Bombay High Court disagreed. Milind Jadhav justice said that both the law and their own documents on the Declaration of Condominia support reasonable maintenance based on the size of the apartment. Thus, the Court decided that the owners of apartments with larger houses must pay a larger share in maintenance costs, because according to Hindustan Times, they have a greater undivided interest in the common areas.
Milind Jadhav justice said that maintenance costs must cope with the undivided share of each owner in common areas.
Two terms – flat and apartment – are often used interchangeably. However, these conditions are defined differently according to the Maharashtra ownership Act and the Mahashra apartment of 1970. This distinction affects how maintenance is calculated.
In most of the koo-artistic housing companies, which are governed by the 1971 law, maintenance is usually charged equally for an apartment. However, in the apartment-kondominius, which is governed by the 1970 law, maintenance must be charged in proportion to the carpet area of each unit.
(Tagstotranslate) Bombay High Court
