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Dr Rajendra Prasad (FOUNDER - TECHNOLOGY-PATENT.COM)     26 March 2018

Responsibility of rwa

Sir,

I am a member of a housing society in Delhi and own a flat on the top floor of the building.  I do not live in the flat for some years and have rented it out. There are water tanks for all the flats beneath my flat on the terrace, just above my floor. The water pipes of all the floors below that of mine run through the roof of my flat and for some years many of the pipes have rusted and needed to be replaced.

The RWA decided at some stage that the respective flat owners have to get the pipes replaced themselves. But two flat owners below that of mine did not take any action despite several reminders and personal requests.  As a result, these pipes started leaking and the seepage started through my roof inside my flat at several places resulting in severe damage to my property and a great deal of inconvenience to the tenants.

The matter was reported to RWA and concerned officials visited the site and assured to get it replaced or ask the concerned flat owners to take immediate action. As an emergency, I had to replace all the pipes at my own cost and spent nearly Rs. 7000/- which should have been equally contributed by the concerned flat owners in equal share. 

Now that the job is done, both flat owners, as well as RWA, have withdrawn from the scene.  RWA insists that I must deal with the flat owners myself. I am withholding certain payments due to RWA insisting that they must come forward to resolve my issue first. But there is a complete stalemate and on the contrary, RAW is now imposing interest charges on my unpaid dues.  This is a strange situation and I do not know if there is a legal remedy available to me.

Looking forward to your advice and suggestion.

Rajendra

 

 

 



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 7 Replies

Kumar Doab (FIN)     26 March 2018

Hope you have written record to substantiate all transactions posted by you.

The amount involved is not much Rs.7000/.

Either forget it or entrust the matter a very able senior LOCAL counsel of unshakable repute and integrity specializing in society/civil matters and having successful track record …………….and worth his/her salt…to claim damages.

KISHAN DUTT KALASKAR (Advocate)     29 March 2018

Dear Sir/Madam,

Since your case is complicated case as such I require documents and same may be send to my email/PM (personal mail) for detailed legal advise.

 

With regards,

Legal Expert

Dr Rajendra Prasad (FOUNDER - TECHNOLOGY-PATENT.COM)     29 March 2018

Thank you for your kind response. Yes, the money involved is not much and it may not be worth prolonging the tussle. It is more of an issue of prestige since I have taken a stand. The money I spent should have been borne either by i) the society or ii) by the respective flat owners. 

I do have emails that I have been writing to the society and the flat owners with no concern shown by either of them The damage to my property anyway necessitated that I must get the repairs done as a matter of urgency, without waiting for an amicable resolution.

Do you know someone who has been dealing with in society matters?

Regards,

  

Dr Rajendra Prasad (FOUNDER - TECHNOLOGY-PATENT.COM)     29 March 2018

Dear Dutt ji, What type of documents you need? And what is so complicated in this matter? As I have stated in response to Kumar Doab, I have email communications both to the Society as well as one of the flat owners. Will that be helpful for you to look at?

Regards,

Rajendra

 

Dr. MPS RAMANI Ph.D.[Tech.] (Scientist/Engineer)     29 March 2018

In order to fix the responsibility on your RWA, the following information is required. Is your RWA registered? If so under which Act is it registered?

Dr Rajendra Prasad (FOUNDER - TECHNOLOGY-PATENT.COM)     31 March 2018

Nice to hear from a professional like you, Dr. Ramani.  The society under reference is a registered one with registration number 133H with Registrar, Cooperative Societies that is governed by Delhi Cooperative Societies Act 2003 and DCS Rules 2007. The accounts of management committee are  audited annually and the reports submitted to the Registrar. Elections of the office bearers are also held periodically as mandated by an appointed Returning Officer.

I do not think there is any other separate Resident Welfare Association. I mentioned in my post RWA in error, which I meant by the Management Committe (not RWA). Sorry for any confusion, if any.

Do you think, I need to take up with the Registrar?  I have copies of my email to Secretary, MC and the concerned flat owners. I can also post these for your perusal, if required.

Please advise.

Regards,

Rajendra

 

Dr. MPS RAMANI Ph.D.[Tech.] (Scientist/Engineer)     31 March 2018

If you were a tenant in a building owned by a landlord, plumbing work outside of the flats will be the responsibility of the land-lord. In a co-operative housing society, unlike other types of associations, such work as in your case, is the responsibility of the Society. Any resolution passed otherwise, such as members should do it themselves, will not be valid. You must ask the Society to pay. When a Society pays, the MC members are not paying from their pocket. The expenditures are collected from the members as stipulated in the bye-laws. In a case like yours, if it were in Maharashtra, the aggrieved members can complain to the Registrar. If the Registrar does not take action or if one is aggrieved by the action taken by the Registrar, one can go on appeal before the co-operative court. In my personal opinion, co-operative housing societies are outside the purview of consumer courts. But in Mumbai, consumer fora are left and right accepting cases by co-operative society members. You can file a complaint before your local consumer court. Consumer courts are simple. You can even file a complaint without engaging a lawyer.


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