Maintenance charges for housing society in maharashtra

The Bombay High Court has ruled that maintenance charges in condominiums should be levied proportionately based on the undivided share of each flat, rejecting the practice of charging a uniform fee across all units.

 This ruling applies to condominiums registered under the Maharashtra Apartment Ownership Act, 1970 (MAOA).

 For cooperative housing societies (CHS) governed by the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960, maintenance charges are typically charged equally per unit.

*Key Points:* - _Condominiums (MAOA):_ Maintenance charges are based on the size of the apartment, with larger flats paying more. - _Cooperative Housing Societies (CHS):_

Maintenance charges are usually equal for all units, regardless of size. The court's decision emphasizes that charging maintenance fees based on flat size is fair, as larger apartments have a greater undivided interest in common areas. 

A society in its AGB condominium passed a resolution that the maintenance charges were to be charged equally to all the apartment owners, irrespective of their flat, and some members who are against it approached the Dy. Registrar of society and the Dy. Registrar of societies ordered that maintenance charges levied by the condominium are a violation of Sec.10 of the Apartment Act, and the Bombay High Court upheld the orders passed by the Dy. Registrar of Societies.

If your building is an “apartment/condominium” under the Apartment Ownership / Condominium law (i.e. it has a registered deed of declaration allocating undivided shares), recent Bombay High Court authority has held that maintenance/common expenses may be levied proportionately by the apartment’s share/area (per sq.ft.) — larger flats pay a larger share. 

If your body is a Cooperative Housing Society (registered under the Co-operative Societies Act and governed by society bye-laws), there are recent co-operative/civil court orders that have restrained societies from charging on a per-sq.ft. basis and directed billing per unit/flat until the legal position is finally decided in that particular dispute. Several news reports record such interim orders.

Different laws and different factual documents control:

For apartments/condominiums the deed of declaration / Apartment Act and the undivided interest % is the primary document — courts have relied on those to uphold proportionate (area-based) charges. 

For cooperative societies the society’s registered bye-laws and past practice matter; some co-op courts have granted interim protection to members objecting to sq.ft. basis. That results in mixed outcomes until higher courts settle the point for co-op societies.

According to the Model Byelaws of Co-operative Housing Societies in Maharashtra certain charges which are essentially capital charges like Sinking Fund, Repair and Maintenance Fund have to be charged proportional to the area of the flat. Municipal tax has to be actual tax levied by the Municipality. Other current account expenditures like common electricity, salaries of Society's employees etc. will have to be shared equally by all members irrespective of the size of their flats.