Saturday, October 13, 2012

0% of monthly maintenance/service charges for the purposes of non-occupancy charges.

Please guide us how and from where we can obtain the clarification about the exclusion of sinking fund, insurance, repair fund, water charges etc. while calculating 10% of monthly maintenance/service charges for the purposes of non-occupancy charges.
—Kishin Chainani

The details of the expenses to be included to calculate the monthly maintenance/service charges are given in model bye-law No.68 of 2001 and you may refer the same to calculate the 10% of these charges to be levied as non-occupancy charges.

Society sends quarterly bill with due date specified as the last day of the quarter. For example for October-December bill, due date is 31st December. I have been paying the bills regularly and without fail prior to the due date. However in a previous quarter, I forgot and ended up paying about 10 days later than the due date. It is mentioned in the bills that in case of delayed payment interest @ 21% pa will be charged on arrears. In the next bill, I was charged the interest for the whole quarter i.e. from the beginning of the quarter till the date of payment and not from the due date till the date of payment. I enquired from the office bearer and gave a letter for clarification, but I got an expression of anger over the phone rather than the written response. I have deducted the interest amount and paid the balance. I was told first I should pay and then seek clarification. I had done the same thing in the past for over-charging of non-occupancy charges for some months @ 100% of monthly maintenance charges as against 10%. For over charging for parking also, I did not get any response.
—Venkateshan

The interest on the delayed payment has to be charged at the rate decided in the general body as per the bye-laws of the society. In terms of model bye-law No.72, simple interest subject to a maximum of 21% pa may be charged by the society from the date the amount was delayed till its payment. Therefore, simple interest @ 21% is payable only for a period of 10 days and not for the whole quarter plus 10 days. The action of the society for over-charging, whether for the maintenance or non-occupancy or parking, is not in accordance with bye-laws and the matter should be taken up with Dy.Registrar to issue suitable directions to the society. It would be advisable that all such issues should be sorted out in the general body meeting in a cooperative manner to avoid unnecessary harassment etc. to the members of the society.

I have purchased a residential flat on the ground floor in a society in Sector-17 in Vashi, Navi-Mumbai, which I used for my office purposes without displaying any notice or board outside my flat. In the special AGM, which I could not attend due to my illness, it was decided not to consider me as a member of the society, though I have been regularly paying maintenance charges against the receipts issued by the society. Now I have converted the flat into residential condition and intend to sell it. But the share certificate is not yet transferred in my name and I have taken a housing loan from a nationalized bank. The society is not issuing me NOC for selling the flat and they are forcing me to attend the AGM, wherein they will decide to allow me to sell the flat or not.
—Gulab Chachra

A residential flat cannot be converted for the commercial purposes without the prior permission of the society and change of user by NMMC and more particularly by CIDCO, who is the lessee of the plot in Navi-Mumbai, irrespective of the fact whether you display any notice or the board outside the flat. However, the professionals such as doctors, lawyers, chartered accountants etc. may use a portion of the same for their professional purposes. When you restored the flat from commercial to residential, the society should transfer the share certificate and the flat in your name and society can’t to insist for your presence in AGM to decide the issue. As regards the resale of the flat, NOC from the society is not now required and after the compliance of the sale transaction the society has to enroll the transferee as a member in lieu of you on the compliance of the requirements as per the bye-laws.

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