Dear Forum members,
I am posting this to get an understanding of a situation we are in from the legal fraternity. I have very little experience about legal matters so requesting the same here.
I stay in a three year old apartment (in Kerala) which is G + 3 type residential building. When we booked the flat we were promised of a quiet residential atmosphere. The enterance to our apartment is very small and obscured on the corner of the front of the building. On the ground floor, the builder has three flats of area which he did not convert into flats but kept it for himself. There is a small area for car parking in front of the building.
1) The builder has recently shifted his office into our building, in the ground floor, and this commercial operation is causing a lot of mental agony to the residents. The owners association bye law which was laid down in front of the builder clearly states that there shall be no commercial activity in the building and that there shall be no signage of the same.
2) He frequently parks his vehicles and that of his staff in the area in front of the building leaving residents with little space to walk in or out. This is even after repeated requests to him to park his vehicles on the road outside the property. His actions are in violations of the Kerala building rules 1999 where a percentage of the area should be kept open for recreation.
3) He has made modifications to the building without the permission of the flat owners. He recently sealed one portion of air shaft and converted it into a bathroom. This is in violation of the Kerala building rules 1999 where any modifications to the building after inspection is illegal. He has also made many additional construction changes in the building after the inspection.
4) He had collected money from everyone to buy a generator, but he gave the connection only to himself and his office area. He is asking more money to get the connection between the generator and our house.
5) The internal stair way and the internal fire exit both open up to the same location. This is in violation of the Kerala Building act which says there should be two exits for G+3 buildings. The other exit which was available was sealed up and is part of his office now.
I kindly request all readers to suggest what action can be taken based on the above. Since there are not many residents in our building - mostly elderly, I am being forced to take appropriate measures. What remedy is possible safeguarding myself from the builder mafia who have evidently paid money to the local authorities to get the clearance for the building. Also kindly suggest any measure that will not drain my pockets as I am currently off work looking after my mother.
