Assistant Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Ambernath · Letter · 20.01.2020
Service charges must be equal for every flat, whatever its size
On a complaint by members of a Badlapur society that maintenance was not being levied as per the bye-laws, the Assistant Registrar, Ambernath, directed the society to levy service charges equally for each flat under the Government circular of 29 April 2000 and Bye-law 67(b).
Key points
- Under the Government circular of 29 April 2000 and Bye-law 67(b), the society must fix service charges for each flat.
- Service charges are to be the same for all flats, even if their areas differ.
- The society was told to ensure that the Act and the bye-laws are not breached in levying service charges.
The facts
Three members of a housing society in Badlapur complained to the Assistant Registrar that the society’s maintenance charges were not being levied as the bye-laws require. The Assistant Registrar forwarded the complaint to the society.
What the Assistant Registrar directed
The letter informed the chairman and secretary that the levy of service charges is governed by the Government circular of 29 April 2000 and Bye-law 67(b), under which the society fixes the service charges for each flat, and that the charges are to be equal for all flats even if their areas are more or less. The society was asked to take care that the Act and bye-laws were not breached in levying service charges.
Why it matters
This letter applies the settled position that common services are charged equally per flat, while items such as property tax, repair and maintenance fund and sinking fund follow the bases set out in the bye-laws. See the circular of 29 April 2000 and the Bombay High Court’s decision in Venus CHS (2002).
One-page letter in Marathi; names of individual members are omitted on this page. This page summarises the decision for general information; it is not a substitute for the full text and not legal advice. Check whether the decision has since been appealed, modified or overruled.
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