SAHAKARSUTRA

In a landmark order, Additional sub urban district forum has held that refusal to allot parking space to a flat owner as a quid pro quo for unpaid society dues amounted to deficiency in service by the society. George and Philomena Thakkara got a favorable order against Venus Cooperative Housing Society in Powai and Sun City Housing on a complaint filed in 2013. VENUS CHS has been asked to allot parking space to these joint flat owners within two months and, along with the builder, the society has to pay Rs 5,000 as compensation. The society having not exhausted the remedy available under the Section 101 of the MCS Act 1960  to recover the dues, weighed heavily in favour of the flat owners. The forum also ruled that  “We are of the opinion that the Development Control Rules do not allow the society to withhold the allotment of parking on the grounds that dues are pending against the flat purchasers.“ The forum also ordered the builder, Sun City Housing, to hand over the o...

Cooperative society is a creature of a statute. It is not a body established by Statute like public Sector Undertakings. It is registered as a private association of the like minded persons coming together voluntarily and for common economic gain like the maintenance of house property and getting amenities and services un-interruptedly and economically, sharing costs among themselves. In order to manage its enterprise, with member’s democratic control coupled with autonomy of members in policy framing,  a small group is elected to handle its day to day affairs usually called “The managing committee “. The scheme of cooperative society law is so nicely designed that the participants (called members) of a well identified cooperative venture can run it with ease and full understanding and mutually sharing the least tension and anxiety on their part. But going by the spate of questions cooperators across the country refer to  www.indiancooperative.com  anxiously looking...

The wait is over. The Maharashtra website for RERA compliant homes is up and running. From now on, if one wishes to buy a home, all material information about the real estate project could be had sitting at home itself.  Remember, every RERA compliant project will have its specific 'registration number'. Ask for it the next time, whenever you are searching and exploring properties.  Accessing project details   On the website, one can either search for RERA registered projects or could also find out the projects being handled by registered real estate agents.  The same can be accessed at https://maharera.mahaonline.gov.in/Home/Index  On the top panel of the website, click on 'Registration' and then 'registered projects', which will take open up a new window. Here, one has to select the - Division, District and the Project name to view the registration certificate and the entire details of the project.  As of now, only a few developers have uploaded the p...

[RERA seeks to bring clarity and fair practices that would protect the interests of buyers and also impose penalties on errant builders]   HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh  has termed government policies on housing as practical and implementable and expressed hope that new regulations will stop "undesirable activity" practiced by some realtors. Segments of the  real estate  sector in India have many a times been a hotbed of undesirable activity and these practices should come to an end with the recent establishment of real estate regulatory authorities across the country, he said in his annual message to shareholders. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 ( RERA ) was passed by parliament in 2016 and the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation had given time till May 1, 2017, to formulate and notify rules for the functioning of the regulator. RERA seeks to bring clarity and fair practices that would protect the interests of buye...

[According to the Maharashtra regulator, the rules framed by the state prohibit the ongoing projects from advertising and sales after the end of 90 days from the date of notification of the Act]   Real estate  developers in Maharashtra can continue to advertise and market their ongoing projects till July-end, but they will not be permitted to do so thereafter without registering themselves with the state's Real Estate  Regulatory  Authority ( RERA ). Although the central government has said that no real estate projects can be advertised or marketed without registration with the RERA concerned, officials said that developers in Maharashtra will get the stipulated 90-day window starting from May 1. According to the Maharashtra regulator, the rules framed by the state prohibit the ongoing projects from advertising and sales after the end of 90 days from the date of notification of the Act. “Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority follows the rules frame...

A new wave of vegetarian-only buildings are coming up across the metropolis, in areas like Bandra, Khar, Nana Chowk, Juhu Scheme, Teen Batti and Walkeshwar, says legal expert Ameet Mehta. Many societies in these areas ensure that only vegetarians are allowed to move in. This is, naturally, a silent movement there are no written rules forbidding non-vegetarians from buying homes there. This is a huge debate in the city today and there seems to be a culture clash. Mehta answers questions with reference to housing societies and the veg vs non-veg divide. Q. Certain residential societies are known as ‘vegetarian’ societies. They do not allow members to eat non-vegetarian food in their homes. Is it true? A.  There is discrimination going on, on the grounds of religion or other grounds including food-preference, marital status, sexual orientation, caste, gender identity and ethnic identity in the housing sector in India. Everyone has the right to eat whatever she/he wants to...

GST Insight and applicability of GST on Co-op Hsg Societies- Why Maharashtra Housing Society is covered under GST GST is applicable to the dealer-person who is rendering the service or supplying the goods in its regular course of business activity. Person has been defined under 2(84) as follow:- “person” includes— (a) an individual; (b) a Hindu Undivided Family; (c) a company; (d) a firm; (e) a Limited Liability Partnership; (f) an association of persons or a body of individuals, whether incorporated or not, in India or outside India; (g) any corporation established by or under any Central Act, State Act or Provincial Act or a Government company as defined in clause (45) of section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013; (h) anybody corporate incorporated by or under the laws of a country outside India; (i) a co-operative society registered under any law relating to co-operative societies; j) a local authority; (k) Central Government or a State Government; (l) society as defined unde...