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padmajairam (behavioral assessor)     28 April 2013

Apartment maintenance charges - chennai

I live in chennai. My apartment was constructed and handed over in 1991. At that time, the TN Apartment ownership act of 1994  had not yet been passed. I live in an apartment with 48 apartments with varying sq. feet as follows..

 

Size of flat in sq. ft

Number of flats in nos.

523

10

615

08

725

28

1100

03

1500

02

10000

01

The 10,000 Sq. feet basement belonging to the construction company - which they use as a godown. There is some open space around the apartment but  no specific car space allotment  to any owner and so there is a huge shortage. Owners are given priority to using a vacant parking space, while tenants are NOT given any prioroty. Parking space  is alloted once a slot falls vacant . Once the owner vacates, the space is alloted to the next applicant waitlisted.  The maintenance charges since the past 20 years have been common for each flat - irrespective of size . The basement alone pays an equivalent of 10 apts. as maintenance.  The association has not been successful in increasing the maintenance cost over the years in keeping with the rising cost. In order to raise quick money, they want to divide the maintenance cost based on sw. feet per apartment. The smaller apts totalling to 46 in number are eager to let the bigger flat owners take the burden of higher maintenance. The bigger flat owners will further  also have to proportionately contirbute higher share for all common maintenance costs such as lift AMC, painting, repairs on a sq. feet basis as per the new rule.

My question to the forum is;  why should a mere 5 people ( having bigger flats) bear the burden of the other 46 owners -  While  the costs of servants, cleaners, water and common electricity being enjoyed is the same for all.?  To top it all, the rental value of larger flats is highly diminished as no car parking space is prioritised for the tenant occupied flats. It is obvious that tenants who can afford to pay higher rent fora 1500 sq. flat will definitely want a car park ( if ot two). when the association waives the responsibility to provide or satisfactorily take care of yet another amenity - which is car park, then does the association have the right to change the bye law  rules to go in for sq. feet calculation of maintenance by quoting the "Tamilnadu  apt. ownershop act of 1994 "? They seem not to be addressing the issue in its totality.

  I am willing to bear sq. ft. wise cost for general outer maintenance such as painting, repairs etc. as they are for the maintenance of the " outer area" which is common for all and since I occupy a larger area, will bear cost to a larger extent. But, while I am already paying  the property tax authorities for the " internal plinth area of my flat" - why should I have to pay as per the internal area occupied by me to the association as well?. Their upkeep is only on the outside - in terms of guards, water, common electricity, elevator and AMC for the same and to add to it all - No alloted car parking space !

please guide me. Can I , as an owner of a 1500 sq. flat,  take  legal recourse to address this issue. ( The basement which is used as godown - have an undivided share of 23%, but still the association maintains that as per the bye laws - they are given right to use the pathway and passage to bring a miny lorry to load and unload - but do not possess rights to park their vehicles inside the residential premises. The godown owners continue to cooperate in this matter by not staking a claim to parking lot allotement.



Learning

 2 Replies

mrmadira (Others)     30 October 2013

You can take a look this article - https://blog.apnacomplex.com/2011/08/07/how-to-calculate-maintenance-charges-for-your-apartment-association-or-how-to-share-common-expenses-in-a-housing-society/ on how to amicably arrive at maintenance due calculations for an apartment having flats with different sizes. 

Roopesh Kumar   02 July 2023

If we are having 6 flats in an apartment all having the car parking with equal space and want to have some repair work on columns and outer painting work including the cracks of the apartment.
so the car parking area, water tank area, stair case area, compound wall and the terrace floor area has to come under common which needs to be divide among 6 flats equally, and considering all sides area divide to be as per square feet basis of individual flats. this should be the case instead of dividing completely as per sq.ft


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