Living in a cooperative housing society (CHS/the Society) requires a fine balance between individual rights and collective responsibilities. While these residential communities are meant to function on the principles of democratic decision-making, mutual understanding and cooperation, they are also frequently beset by practical challenges, ranging from building modifications and redevelopment complications to conflicts over meetings, voting rights and member conduct.
Many of these issues arise due to a lack of clarity around what the law permits, what the Society’s bye-laws require and what recourse individual members have when the management committee fails to act or acts unfairly. Sometimes, the confusion is further complicated by outdated practices, non-cooperative members or the absence of awareness among residents, especially about bye-laws and CHS rules and regulations.
Illegal Alterations in Housing Society
Question: My Society has a lot of illegal alterations. The previous management committee modified the elevation by adding chajjas to the existing flower beds. Now people have started building into the flower beds and loading them. Since our secretary himself has made several modifications, he is keeping quiet over the matter, claiming he has resigned. I need a lawyer to help me, as the registrar too has written to the Society members asking them to stop, but they are not paying any heed.
Answer: Only you can individually fight against the illegal constructions and extensions in your Society. Under bye-law no174(D)(iv), you should file a complaint against your Society with the assistant deputy commissioner (ward officer) of your municipal ward. The ward officer will take proper action through the assistant engineer of the building and factory department of your municipal ward.
Recording a Committee Meeting
Question: We have one member who insists on recording every Society meeting, including annual general meeting or special general meeting (AGM/SGM), even though no other member is interested. At a recent meeting, the managing committee objected and he filed a police complaint. Can he record the meeting using his mobile phone? He has not paid Society dues for many years and a case has been filed against him. However, he continues to create a nuisance at every meeting. Can the Society prevent him from attending meetings?
Answer: Recording of the Society's meetings using a mobile phone is allowed. If the member is a defaulter in paying the Society dues, he still cannot be prevented from attending meetings, nor can he be stopped from recording them with his mobile. At the same time, some other member should also record the proceedings to record the nuisance created by the defaulter member.
However, the Society should take legal action against any member, under Section 154B-29 of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, who is in default of dues for three months or more.
Redevelopment of a Property That Has a 99-year Lease
Question: Could you kindly advise how a 99-year lease property is priced if the buyer is a redeveloper? The property is on a 99-year lease, privately owned and has been leased to a Society for 99 years. Fifty years have passed and the Society wants to go for redevelopment. How should the property be priced for sale to a redeveloper?
Answer: On the Society’s leased land, the Society can appoint a builder to redevelop its old building. In the redeveloped building, depending on the available floor space index (FSI) and loaded transfer of development rights (TDR), the builder can construct a few additional flats which will generate profit after providing free-of-cost new flats to the existing members of the Society. There is no question of selling the Society’s land to the builder during the redevelopment of the old building.
Drilling in Common Wall for AC Duct Pipe
Question: I have drilled a hole in the external wall for AC pipe ducting to connect my indoor unit to the outdoor unit. This is a plain wall and not a beam wall. The Society is raising an objection after one year of me carrying out this drilling work. Please advise.
Answer: You should file a complaint against your Society under bye-law no174(C)(iv) with the assistant commissioner of your municipal ward office. The assistant commissioner will take appropriate action against your Society through the assistant engineer of the building and factory department of your municipal ward.
NOTE
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Disclaimer: The guidance provided in these columns and on our Legal Helpline is on the sole basis of the facts provided by the reader/questioner and does not amount to formal legal advice in any form whatsoever.
(Shirish Shanbhag has an MSc in Organic Chemistry, a Diploma in Higher Education, and a Diploma in French and has completed his LL B in first class in 2021. Before his retirement, he was a junior college teacher at Patkar College from July 1980 to May 2012, teaching theoretical and practical chemistry. Post-retirement in 2012, he started providing guidance and counselling to people on several issues, specifically focusing on cooperative housing society-related matters. He has over 30 years of hands-on experience in all matters about housing societies and can provide out-of-box solutions for any practical issue.)
