Have you bought a flat in an apartment? Has the builder made a declaration of deed regarding the land right related to your flat?
Check details of apartment association registration and make sure that the association formed for your apartment is registered with the Cooperative Department! Not registered? You have a problem if registered in the office of the Sub-Registrar. Decide for yourself after reading this information about Apartment Association Registration!
In big cities like Bangalore, skyscraper apartments are being built more than houses. Because more people live in less space and builders build forty-story apartments to make more profit. After the flat of these apartments are sold, the land rights belonging to the flats in the apartments, apartment associations are also formed for the management of the apartments. Most of the builders register the apartment association in the office of the Sub-Registrar.
Generally, for apartment or multi-storied buildings, the original owner has converted the land and then got the plan approval from the concerned planning authority and paid the account revenue. After this, a purchase agreement is made for each flat to the buyer and then the purchase deed is registered.
After registration of purchase deed in respect of all the apartments, there is a practice where the original owners talk to the buyers about the original documents related to the property, form an association among them and hand over the original documents to them.
The Karnataka Flats and Apartments Owners Act states that after registration of the purchase deeds, a deed of declaration should be made in respect of each purchase deed. However, some builders do not follow the practice of deed of declaration.
A deed of declaration would be most appropriate. It is mandatory to make a deed of declaration ensuring the right of undivided land by making a deed of declaration.
In case of apartment association, the builder prepares a deed of association by entering the purchase deed numbers of the flat owners and registers the same at the sub-registrar’s office. This is wrong.
If the apartment association is registered in the office of the deputy registrar, the deputy registrar is not responsible for the management of the association, the issue of accounts, the irregularities committed by the officers of the association. If something illegal happens in the association, if the officers of the association are found guilty, no one can do anything. Then u have to go to the court.
Registration of Associations Act 1965 is a law for the proper registration of Apartment Association, and the responsibility of implementing that law is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Cooperation, Government of Karnataka. Assistant Registrar, Cooperative Department should register the association here as per the area where the apartment is located.
However, since most of them are registered in the office of sub-registrars, if any document is not registered in the office of the sub-registrar, the sub-registrar is not responsible for the work, audit, follow-up, compliance report related to that document. Therefore, the association registered in the office of the Deputy Registrar cannot function properly under public administration.
In the same case, if registered with the Co-operative Department as per the Societies Act, 1965, there should be a board of directors of at least seven people. Every year the accounts of the association should be audited and submitted to the Registrar of Cooperative Department for approval. And if there are any omissions, all the members of that association have the right to ask.
If there is a serious allegation of misappropriation of money in respect of any member, he can be investigated as per Section 25 of the Societies Registration Act. And election at fixed time, other rule of public governance can be implemented. All these points are not applicable if the societies is registered in the office of the Sub-Registrar.
Therefore, if the flat buyers form an association of their apartment, they must make a deed of declaration. In addition, it is advisable to register the association with the cooperative department. If it is wrong, there will be no one to hear about the irregularities in the association!
