An apartment owners association - Critical to maintanence of your property

Once the builder hands over the apartment complex to the home owner, the responsibility literally shifts on the association to maintain the property. It is actually critical that the association takes a serious role as this could really make or break the property once you have purchased it. For more on what an association does please read below. An association comes into picture especially after 3 to 4 years of handing over of the property since it is then that leakages start to appear, the gym equipments stop working, the childrens play area is no longer tidy, the elevators shut down etc. 

The host of problems that an association will have to deal with depends on the quality of construction, however a good association can ensure the upkeep of a large complex especially ensuring key factors like fire safety, fire drills, doing preventive maintenance, deciding on water supply and maintanence charges etc. If you are going for a resale property it does not harm to check how active and good is the association with the neighbours and to know what is the ongoing maintenance rates to get a full understanding of the costs you would incur after buying the property.

An Apartment Owners association is formed by a volunteer association of the owners of an apartment in India. The association may or may not be registered. 

By registering the association, members can enjoy legal benefits and the association gets a unique name registered. An apartment owner’s association needs all the owners of an apartment to gather at one place at time of registration. The builder can register the association if all the owners give power of attorney for forming an association.

Rules for forming an apartment owners association:

• A minimum of seven members are required to form an association.
• A memorandum has to be created. The memorandum will state the name of the society, the objectives, the names, addresses and occupations of each and every member.
• The bye-laws or the rules regulating the conduct of the affairs of the society will be made.
• The memorandum and the bye-laws will be filled with the registrar of the societies concerned by a member of the committee of the society.
• The memorandum will be registered.
• The memorandum and the bye-laws have to be printed or typewritten and have to be signed by the members.
• The registration charges are nominal.

Bye-laws are required by the managing committee of an Apartment Owners Association (or Residents Welfare Association) to ensure proper maintenance of the apartment complex and to resolve all the issues that the residents face in a timely and effective manner.