Apartment association asking for arbitrary fines.

Whether the association is a registered one, if so registered as society with the registrar of cooperative society or registered Flat/apartment owners act?  Whether the so called demand for corpus fund and manjeera was decided by a resolution adopted in the GBM and whether it conforms the bye laws meant for the association?  If what you say is correct that the association decided to collect the amount in two installments, then demand for fine for late payment is unjustified.  The association cannot disconnect the power supply or any other service related to basic amenity arbitrarily.  If the elections have not been held as envisaged in the bye laws, you may as a member issue notice to the present office bearers questioning about their legal validity to hold the office beyond the tenure for which they were elected to as office bearers and you can endorse a copy to the registrar of societies about this.  You can also issue a legal notice for their unjustified demands in the name of fine amount.  Consult a local lawyer and proceed legally against them if the conciliation talks fail tom invoke any amicable solution.

Legally appropriate advice by earned Mr. KALAISELVAN. .  Follow his valuable advice.

Sire,

I have more or less similar problem. I live in a gated villas community in Hyderabad. Though there are legal bye-laws agreed, the new EC which came in to force, are not following the bye-laws. Instead they started a practice of having monthly general body meetings, where in they started with their own agenda and started harassing people whoever questioned their autocratic approach. Charging high interest rates on maintenance delays (which is not recorded in any of the bye-laws on the amount, though they said they can be penalties.  However they declined to follow the bye-laws anyway).

When the society started 2 years back, a corpus fund agreed for Rs.50,000/- flat was planned to be collected. Initially it was agreed to be paid in installments by the members. However, after few months, the then committed failed to collect maintenance from the members and even after rejecting in the general body meeting, they went ahead and withdrew the amount from Corpus fund to pay the maintenance costs (electiricity).  They never bothered to provide any plan to refill it.  After that a new committed came into force, who with their autocratic approach are now threatening to charge a penalty of Rs.10000 if we don't pay it in one instalment. I asked them for a legal binding that they won't use it for anything other than the purpose the corpus is meant for. They declined to give any guarantee or legal agreement on it. Meaning they can still use it at their will and wish. If we don't pay, they are adding it to the dues and publishing in public defaming the residents.

Is it legally valid to find for Corpus fund delays, when they can't assure the safety of the funds? All that we wanted that an assurance on the safety of the corpus fund which they declined to give.  Please advice.

Is there any legal clause where we can challenge their autocratic approach?

One more thing they are doing is.. if there is any interest levied on delayed maintenance.. next month they are adding further on that original maintenance+previous interest. Almost like compunding interest. Can they do it? Can't the law protect the residents?

Regards

-Chandu