Apartment Vs. Co-operative Housing Society:Which is Really better?

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Readers, welcome back! In this article, we’ll look at the provisions that Distinguish A Co-Operative Housing Society from An Apartment. Any housing project necessitates the formation of a flat holders’ association. This entity may be a co-operative housing society, an apartment, or a private company. Now let’s look at how a co-operative housing society differs from an apartment.

• Click here for registration of society. 

Governing Law:

• The Co-operative Housing Societies are governed by The Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960, and its Rules, 1961.
• Apartments are governed by The Maharashtra Apartment Ownership Act, 1970, And its Rules, 1972.
• Recommended for you: Benefits of Housing Society Registration

Transfer of Ownership:

• In case of the Co-operative Housing Society, the building land is always get transferred on the Society’s name and Society’s name only gets incorporated on the 7/12 extract, or property card as the case may be.
• If there is an Apartment, building land is transferred in the name of each apartment holder in proportion to his share. Each apartment owner’s name in proportion to his share gets incorporated on the 7/12 extract, or property card as the case may be.
• Check the list of the documents builder should handover to society. 

Bye-Laws and Amendments thereto:

• The Society’s Bye-Laws are very comprehensive. It is modified from time to time basis in accordance with the Act’s and Rules’ provisions. The amendments to the Bye-Laws are made by passing a resolution by two-thirds (2/3^rd) majority in the General Meeting and then the Bye-Laws are amended with the approval of the Registrar.
• The Apartment Bye-Laws i.e. Condominium of an Apartment may be amended under the Apartment Act by registering a Deed of Declaration to that effect. Each time the Deed of Declaration has to be registered in the office of the Sub Registrar and a copy thereof needs to be duly submitted to the Registrar.
• To resolve the disputes in society see these Bye-Laws Amendments. 

Transfer Fee:

• The flats in the Society are only sold with the prior permission of the Society. Only with the No Dues Certificate, a new flat buyer can become a member of the Society. The Society can charge the transfer premiums and fees.
• The Apartment owner does not need the approval of the Association of Apartment Holders for the selling of flats,
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Types of Members and their Voting Rights

• Along with the members, the society has joint-members, associate-members, nominal-members, temporary-members. In the absence of a member, the joint-members and associates have the right to attend and vote at the general meeting as well as to become members of the committee.
• Only the first apartment owner has the right to vote and attend the meeting. Membership types do not exist in Apartment Act.
• You may like this: Important points about AGM

Election:

• The Society Committee election is governed as per the rules and regulations made by the Co-operative Election Authority / Commission.
• The government has no control over the elections held in Apartment.

Restrictions on the Transfer of Flats:

• If a society member intends to sell his flat, he must wait at least one year after becoming a member.
• The transfer of the flat was done as per the provisions of the condominium / Bye-Laws.

Expulsion of Members:

• A member of a society who commits detrimental acts that endanger the safety or deregulate the workings of the society may be expelled.
• There is no provision in the Act for the expulsion of an apartment owner.

Audit:

• The audit in housing society is done by auditors who are members of the Panel of Auditors. Errors or scams discovered during the audit could result in appropriate disciplinary action being taken against Committee members, as well as criminal charges may be filed against them. The Department of Co-operation has the authority to conduct a Special Audit.
• Audit in Apartment is done by CA. The government has no control over audit errors. Taking action against the guilty manager is very hasty and difficult process. There is no provision for Special Audit.
• See this also: Co-operative housing society Audit!

Administrative Committee or Administrator:

• In the housing society, the Registrar has the power to appoint an Administrative Committee or an Administrator if the committee is not functioning properly.
• In Apartment Act, there is no provision for Administrative Committee or Administrator.

Redevelopment:

• There are clear guidelines from the government regarding redevelopment of Co-Operative Housing Societies.
• There is lack of guidelines from the government regarding redevelopment of Apartment.
• See this also: Entrusting land to a builder for development

Dispute Redressal

• For the society, there is a Department of Co-operation. Since the Co-operative Act has a wider scope and there is a Co-operative Court, the conflicts are easily resolved.
• The Department of Co-operation has been granted new powers to handle but owing to a limitation of the Apartment Act and Rules, internal conflicts redressal mechanism for apartments is not comprehensive as it is for society.
• You might like this also: Bye-Laws amendments for housing society disputes resolutions

• • Is it possible to form a co-operative housing society by removing a property from the provisions of the Apartment Act?
    Yes, with the consent of more than 50% of the apartment owners may remove a property from the provisions of the Apartment Act, by an Instrument i.e. Deed of Declaration to that effect duly executed, and a Co-Operative Housing Society can be registered.

Considering the difference, it seems more convenient to form A Society than An Apartment.

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