legal advice
Shankaran V.
(Querist) 23 October 2010
This query is : Resolved
Our building in Chennai, consisting of ground floor plus 4 upper stories and basement is managed by an owners welfare association in maintaining the building and facilities like water supply, electricity, cleanliness, lift operation etc All the members are promptly paying maintenance fees to the association, and property and taxes to the Chennai corporation except the basement. The basement for about 3 years was used by three joint owners to run as wholesale agents for some leading consumer mfg companies... The basement and top floors were initially deemed as unauthorized construction, but the residents of ground floor and upper stories took advantage of TN government's offer of regularization of the constructions, by paying large amounts of regularization fees to the TN government. And formal approval has been accorded. - except in the case of the basement owned jointly by 3 owners. Due to business losses and borrowing from bank (s) the owners disappeared to avoid creditors and lender banks. A bank which seems to he holding the basement as mortgage is trying to dispose it of for recovering its dues. The owners also were not there to avail the opportunity to regularize the construction, announced by the government
The association faces a problem. - the corporation is demanding from us all the property and water taxes dues, with penalty, over a period a decade, failing to pay which we are threatened with cutting of water supply for the entire building and legal acton, Appeals were made as and when such demands were made and action was not enforced, but the demand has again come for payments of large dues. The authorities insist on payment by us to avoid cutting water supply. Interestingly, the basement does not have water connection or any lavatories in it
We have appealed to the authorities not to impose this burden on us and desist from cutting water supply The name of the bank which holds the basement as mortgage is given to them
Legal opinion for justice to the owners of the building is solicited from lawyer friends.
Devajyoti Barman
(Expert) 23 October 2010
The threatening of the Municipality to cut the essential services for whole of the building because of the default of one owner does not seem to be in line with the provisions of the local Municipality. Go fr writ against the Municipal Corporation for such illegal acts provided the other flat owners have cleared their dues if any to the Municipality.
Shankaran V.
(Querist) 24 October 2010
thanks to shri barman and shri subramanian for the quick advice. we will go for wrii at the appropriate time.
Sri Vijayan.A
(Expert) 24 October 2010
Dear V.shankaran,
U R in Chennai. Pl. see the fat of a flat owner in Chennai. The gist of the writ is given below.
WP 5682/2000, Madras
Subject: To restore water connection to petitioner's flat in his apartment at 12/1,South Avenue, Tiruvanmiyur, Chennai-41 since he is paying dues to the Board regularly whereas other Flat - owners
are in default.
JUDGMENT
"The respondents are not duty bound to restore water supply to the Flat complex, if the other Flat-owners are in default. Any Flat complex is jointly owned by several persons, but for water supply, the complex is a single unit. A single flat owner can claim the right of supply, only if he has a separate connection of his own and is not in default. Any other interpretation would render the public bodies bankrupt. It is for the Association of the Flat owners to see that there is no default in payment of the dues to the Board. It is only after all the dues are paid, the respondent Board would be obliged to restore the connection."
