The concept of apartments is of recent origin in Bangalore, and
first apartments were constructed in Malleswaram an extension known for
bungalows with vast open space and gardens.Apartments have certain special
features like owners owning undivided share of the land, sharing facilities
payment of maintenance charges, which necessitated separate statute.
The State of Maharashtra was first to enact“Maharashtra Apartment
Ownership Act 1970, which came into force from February 19, 1971.Karnataka
Apartment Ownership Act, 1972 was first published in Karnataka Gazette
extraordinary on 23.07.1973,and came into force from 01.04.1975.
Apartment, Flat and Building etc:
Apartment is defined in Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act as “a
part of the property intended for any type of independent use, including one or
more rooms or enclosed spaces located on one or more floor in a building
intended to be used for residential purposes and with a direct exit to a public
street, road or highway or to a common area leading to such street, road or
highway.
Flat, according to Flat Ownership Act is a separate and self
contained set of premises used, intended to be used for residence or office, or
showroom or shops or go down (includes a garage) the premises forming a part of
a building. A building contains four or more apartments or two or more
buildings each containing two or more apartments with a total four or more
apartments of all such buildings and comprising a part of the property.
Common areas and facilities:
The unique feature of apartments is common areas and facilities,
which is common to all owners, have to be shared with others and none will have
absolute ownership over them. This
includes the land on which building is constructed, the foundation, columns
girders, beams, supports, main works, roof halls, corridors, lobbies, stairs,
stairways, fire escapes, entrances and exits of the building, basement,
cellars, yards, gardens, parking areas, storage spaces, the premises for
lodging of janitors, persons employed for management of property, installations
of central services like power, light, gas, hot and cold water, heating,
refrigeration, air conditioning, incinerating, elevators, tanks, pumps, motor
fans, compressors, ducts, and in general all apparatus and installations
existing for any common use. Further,
community and commercial facilities and all other parts of the property
necessary or convenient to its existence, maintenance, safety or normally in
common use. However, all such common
areas and facilities have to be mentioned in deed of declaration to beregistered with the jurisdictional sub-registrar.
When there are common areas and facilities expenditures is
required to maintain, to upkeep them. The expenses towards maintenance and
upkeep of common areas and facilities are common expenses or maintenance
charges, which has to shared by all apartment owners, based on the area of
their apartments common expenses means “all sums lawfully assessed against the apartment
owner” by the Association of apartment owners expenses of administration,
maintenance, repair or replacement of common areas and facilities, expenses and
expenses agreed as common expenses in byelaws.
Every apartment owner has to share the common expenses based on
the super built area of his apartment and has to be paid periodically.Any
unpaid common expenses shall constitute a charge on such apartment, except
charge if any on apartment for payment of government and municipal taxes and
all sums unpaid on first mortgage of the apartment as per section 19 of the
Act.
Property:
Like various commonly used words having different meaning the
property also had distinct meaning as the Act.This includes land, building all improvements and structures thereon,
allowed in freehold or held on lease or as a occupant under any law relating to
land revenue and all easements, rights, appurtenances belong thereto and all
articles of personal property intended to use in connection with which have
been or intended to be submitted to the provisions of Act.
Deed of
declaration:
If any apartment owner wants to be governed buy the provisions of
this Act, he shall execute a deed of declaration of apartment under this Act,
which has to be registered with jurisdictional sub registrar. Deed of Apartment
contains, description of land on which the building is constructed, whether the
land is freehold or leasehold, complete description of building, mentioning the
number of floors, basement number of apartments and principle materials of
which it is constructed, number of each apartment, location, area, number of
rooms, immediate common area to which it has access and any other data relevant
for proper identification, description of common areas and facilities, value of
the property, each apartment, percentage of undivided interest in common areas
and facilities for each apartment, name of the owner, voting rights, use of
each apartment.
Separate assessment:
Each apartment with its percentage of undivided interest in the
land, common areas facilities will be deemed as separate property for
assessment of tax on land and building.
Status of apartments:
Each apartment together with its undivided interest in land,
common areas constitute a heritable and transferable immovable property. Accordingly the apartment owners may transfer
his apartment with its undivided interest in land, common areas, facilities by
way of sale, mortgage, lease, gift, exchange in any other manner, may also make
bequest of the same under law applicable to transfer and succession of
immovable property.
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