For many homeowners who cannot occupy their property, subletting is a common option. And why wouldn’t they? The house will have some human presence and it brings in some extra cash. This is always a better option than keeping it closed and not generating any money. If the property in question is an independent house, it’s easy to sublet it. You don’t have to report to an association or notify anyone about renting your property. But, when you live in an apartment complex, there’s an association and rules you must stick to. This brings us to the focal point of this article – if you live in an apartment complex, do you need NOC from your housing society management before you rent out your apartment?
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Can The Association Make Its Own Rules?
Yes, some housing societies can. When the association is formed, the members often come together and create bylaws at the time of registration, the way any cooperative society would function. Such byelaws are often considered as the final word as far as the functioning of the association is concerned.
Are such byelaws strong? Yes, they are often framed under the Co-operative Societies Act which is a central act. The primary function of such rules is to lay out a guideline and structure for governance of association, behaviour expected from members and other aspects related to members and units within that apartment management system.
Can The Association Ban Certain Types Of Tenants?
Technically, housing societies are very often legally empowered to deny tenancy if their bye-laws state as such. Some even charge extra maintenance from owners who have rented out their property. This means that the association can sometimes override the owner and impose these rules.
This is where tenancy, leave & license come into the picture. Very often, societies place strict rules around the kind of tenants that can be entertained inside a unit of the society. So despite the personal interests of the owner of that unit, tenants of a certain kind can be denied permission to occupy that unit. This is widely seen in the case of bachelors. Across India, it is very common for bachelors to encounter hostile landlords who refuse them tenancy because their association demands that. Sometimes, people are denied tenancy based on their food habits and in worst cases, even religion.
Even though the housing society has no constitutional right to do so, owners rarely breach such laws because they could also share the same views or they just do not like the idea of locking horns with the association. In such cases, getting a NOC from your housing society management can become a very difficult task.
How Can A Landlord Rent His Property To Tenants Of His Choice?
As we mentioned before, societies are legally empowered to deny permission to certain types of tenants. However, legal experts claim that if any such bye-law affects the fundamental rights or basic human rights of a person, that bye-law can be challenged in a court of law. If dragged to court, there is a solid chance for the association to lose because the association’s laws do not have the same stature as that of the Indian law.
If a member is being stopped (like not being granted NOC from your housing society) by rules laid by the association from giving his property to a tenant of his choice, a simple police case filed in the local police station would get things moving in the right direction. The grievances of either party would then be addressed in a court.
Is There A Law That Allows Landlords To Sublet Their Property To Any Tenant?
Thankfully, yes. Even though the bye-laws can state otherwise, as per the 7th Constitutional Amendment of Bye-Law 43 of Co-operative Housing Society Act, a landlord can sublet, leave and license his house to any tenant as long as the association has been informed about the tenancy at least 8 days before the property is occupied. Any non-occupancy charges or extra maintenance required by the rules of society will have to be paid by the landlord though.
This means that you do not need your society’s permission or NOC to rent out your property even if the association rules state otherwise.
Harassment From MC Members
Often, tenants or landlords complain about MC members and the association as such being hostile about a tenancy they don’t approve of. It can either be in the form of extra charges or general negative behaviour. If anybody faces this, and continued talks with the MC members yielded no results, the best way forward would be to call for criminal proceedings against the hostile association and MC members.
Everyone Is Free To Stay In Any House
Now that the law allows owners to rent out their property without NOC or permission from their association, landlords can breathe a sigh of relief. However, we would like to put out a word of advice to such folks – while it is your house and it is your absolute choice to pick tenants, you need to be considerate about other members in the society. Your tenants can directly influence the quality of their neighbors life. So while it is your discretion, it would be nice to pick people who will get along with the community as a whole. After all, apartment complexes are just like a big family, coexisting and sharing the same residential space.
At ADDA, we’re constantly on the lookout for ways in which your apartment management system can be improved.
If you have any questions about this topic or anything else, please feel free to reach out to us at 022-48905764 or mail us at sales@adda.io today.
As a market leader in apartment management system, we promise you that we’ll find a way to address whatever concerns you have about apartment living.
