Maintenance charges are an inescapable reality for every apartment owner. People living in apartments or housing societies have to pay a considerable sum of money every month as maintenance charges to the society. Now if you are living in an apartment and paying the charges then it is your onus to make sure that the charges are being spent judicially for your benefit.
Charges collected by a housing society
Let us begin with the charges you have to pay to the society. The managing committee decided the charges payable by each flat as per the resolution passed by the General Body of the society. The main charges levied by the society can be categorized as -
(i) Property Taxes,
(ii) Water Charges,
(iii) Common Electricity Charges,
(iv) Contribution to Repairs and Maintenance Fund,
(v) Expenses on repairs and maintenance of the lifts of the society, including charges for running the lift,
(vi) Contribution to the sinking fund,
(vii) Service charges,
(viii) Car Parking Charges,
(ix) Interest on the defaulted charges,
(x) Repayment of the installment of the loan and interest,
(xi) Non-occupancy charges,
(xii) Insurance Charges,
(xiii) Lease rent,
(xiv) Non-agricultural tax,
(xv) Other charges.
What are maintenance charges? How are they calculated?
Maintenance charges are charges collected by an apartment society to meet the cost of maintaining a housing society and the funds that may be required for major repairs in future. The primary methods to calculate maintenance charges are:
(a) Per square foot – It is a fixed rate based on the super built-up area of a flat in the housing society. Here, the bigger the flat is, the higher the maintenance charge will be. It may become a bone of contention as the owner of a bigger flat may question as to why he/she should pay more for the same facilities being used by the owner of a smaller flat.
(b) Equal fee – When the size of each flat is same, equal fee is collected from every owner; which is calculated by dividing the total cost by number of units.
(c) Combined method – Combined method is when the above methods are combined. On one hand, the cost is calculated equally among all members, irrespective of the size of the flat. Then again, expenses are related to the size of the apartment and is calculated on the basis of the flat area.
Beware of the misuse of the collected charges
Various charges are included in service charges – salaries of the office staff, lift men, watchmen, gardeners and other employees; electricity and water charges of the society office; printing, stationery and postage charges; travelling allowance and conveyance charges to the staff and the members of the committee of the society; fees paid to the members; common electricity charges; etc.
Now, once you pay the charges you should put yourself on guard to make sure the money does not go into corrupt hands and is put to the common benefit of the dwellers. The managing committee manages the fund and quite often it is the financial dealings that assume contentious nature.
Some of the corrupt practices that are commonly witnessed are – the society may charge high fee but disguise this as a donation or repair fund; society may make incoming members sign undertakings that are not part of the bye-laws; charges may be used for the benefit of a selected few only and may not be equally distributed among all the members and apartment owners or residents.
You have to be aware of the rules governing housing societies to be able to stand up against any wrongdoing on the part of any of the office bearers. As management of a cooperative housing society come under the provisions of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, you can avail the services of law to elicit information related to usage of the maintenance charges. Residents can attain information regarding documents pertaining to cheques, bank account statements, tenders, contracts, share certificates of the society.
Important facts about workings of the society
The rules governing housing societies vary across states in the country. The apartment by-laws come under the purview of Cooperative Societies Act of the respective state and Cooperative Societies Rules administered by the Registrar of Cooperative Societies appointed by the Government. No matter as to what degree of flexibility is permitted, the by-law of a society has to be approved by the Registrar of Cooperative Societies.
The elections of the managing committee often becomes a source of disputes. As per rules, elections of the managing committee should be conducted annually and every member of the society has the right to cast their vote in a fair election.
The society funds have to be used judicially. If charges are collected under the head of Building Maintenance charges, then they must be spend for the repairs and maintenance of the building. The society’s accounts need to be subjected to third-party audits and scrutiny by the registrar of societies, and members should have access to them when demanded.
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