{"id":6560,"date":"2009-03-10T11:53:00","date_gmt":"2009-03-10T11:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/apartmentadda.com\/wordpress\/?p=12"},"modified":"2023-11-02T06:41:21","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T06:41:21","slug":"a-guide-to-apartment-owners-associations-roles-responsibilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/2009\/03\/a-guide-to-apartment-owners-associations-roles-responsibilities\/","title":{"rendered":"A guide to Apartment Owners Association in Bangalore"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Come March &#8211; the typical fiscal year end, most Apartment Complexes in India get busy with their annual elections &#8211; to elect a new Management Committee of the Apartment Owners&#8217; Association or the RWA &#8211; Resident Welfare Association and decide on an apartment management system.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_q2VoPqcILHY\/SbYKjKvbq1I\/AAAAAAAAELw\/1c4NNJ53Q0M\/s1600-h\/499951_houses.jpg\" data-rel=\"penci-gallery-image-content\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311444409825078098\" class=\"alignnone\" style=\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 164px; height: 154px;\" src=\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_q2VoPqcILHY\/SbYKjKvbq1I\/AAAAAAAAELw\/1c4NNJ53Q0M\/s320\/499951_houses.jpg\" alt=\"Apartment owners association group\" width=\"300\" height=\"280\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a>But many of us Apartment Owners \/ Apartment Residents ask frequent questions on what exactly is the definition of an Apartment Owners&#8217; Association or a Resident Welfare Association? What is its purpose? Its powers? Its duties? Its alignment with the legislation?<\/p>\n<p>Here is an attempt at compiling answers to the above questions . This is in relevance to Apartment Owners Associations in Karnataka. For other states in India, information is most welcome!<\/p>\n<p>The terms Association and Society in this post are used interchangeably.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69d788ed4c7c8\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69d788ed4c7c8\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/2009\/03\/a-guide-to-apartment-owners-associations-roles-responsibilities\/#How_is_an_Apartment_Owners_Association_referred_to_as_the_%E2%80%98Association_hereafter_formed_in_Bangalore\" >How is an Apartment Owners Association (referred to as the &#8216;Association&#8217; hereafter) formed in Bangalore?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/2009\/03\/a-guide-to-apartment-owners-associations-roles-responsibilities\/#What_are_the_various_roles_in_the_Apartment_Owners_Association\" >What are the various roles in the Apartment Owners Association?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/2009\/03\/a-guide-to-apartment-owners-associations-roles-responsibilities\/#As_a_member_what_are_my_duties_and_rights\" >As a member, what are my duties and rights?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/2009\/03\/a-guide-to-apartment-owners-associations-roles-responsibilities\/#What_are_the_duties_of_the_Management_Committee\" >What are the duties of the Management Committee?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/2009\/03\/a-guide-to-apartment-owners-associations-roles-responsibilities\/#What_are_the_duties_and_powers_of_the_President_Secretary_and_Treasurer\" >What are the duties and powers of the President, Secretary and Treasurer?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_is_an_Apartment_Owners_Association_referred_to_as_the_%E2%80%98Association_hereafter_formed_in_Bangalore\"><\/span>How is an Apartment Owners Association (referred to as the &#8216;Association&#8217; hereafter) formed in Bangalore?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Association is formed by 7 or more owners group in the Apartment Complex approaching the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.karigr.org\/contactus\/default.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Registrar of Societies<\/a> together and make an application that:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana;\">Says that they desire to form themselves in to a society under <a href=\"http:\/\/dpal.kar.nic.in\/17%20of%201960%20%28E%29.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Karnataka Societies Registration Act 1960.<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana;\">Encloses a memorandum with following details: desired name of the Association, aims and objectives of the association, and who in the association will be authorized to correspond with the Registrar of Societies (typically the President of the Association).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana;\">Encloses the Bye-laws (rules and regulations) of the Association.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana;\">Encloses the prescribed fee.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>All applicants sign on the application, along with a witness&#8217; signature and Voila! an Association is born. Every new Association will need to catch up and understand the tasks undertaken by the previous association. This is where an apartment management system like <a href=\"https:\/\/adda.io\/apartment-association\/apartment-management-software\">ADDA<\/a> can really make things easy for the new association and give it a smooth start.<\/p>\n<p>Note: The Association can also be formed under <a href=\"http:\/\/www.karnataka.gov.in\/dpal\/pdf_files\/APARTMENT%20OWNERSHIP%20ACT,%201972-new-9.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Karnataka Apartment Owners Association Act &#8211; 1972<\/a>. Documents to be produced include the certified building plan of the building as-built and proof of the property being registered under the Registration Act\u00a0 &#8211; 1908.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_the_various_roles_in_the_Apartment_Owners_Association\"><\/span>What are the various roles in the Apartment Owners Association?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;\">The Member:<\/span> Every owner of the apartment complex is a member of the Association. In case of joint ownership, the first person named in the title document is typically the member. No person who is not an owner of an apartment in the complex can be a member of the association.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;\">The Associate Member:<\/span> Any person, or persons, other than the owner, who is wholly residing, occupying or otherwise in lawful possession of any apartment in complex becomes an Associate member of the association. The Associate member pays maintenance charges to use common facilities, but does not have right to vote, unless authorized by the owner of the <a href=\"http:\/\/essaycube.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">flat in writing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;\">The General Body (GB):<\/span> All members of the association form the General Body &#8211; this is the supreme authority of the Association. The GB may alter, rescind, add, or amend the bye-laws, with the approval and consent of at least 13 members voting in general body. All members of the association are bound by the bye-laws. The decision of the GB is binding on all members.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;\">The Management Committee (MC)<\/span>: A board of members elected by and from the GB, that represents the Association before all government and other official or non official bodies in all matters concerning the building and other rights and interests of the members. The MC is typically composed of a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, a Treasurer (together known as the Executive Committee) and 8 other members. The period of office of the elected members is typically 12 months. Such members are eligible for re-election for another term. The work of the MC is reviewed by the GB at the annual general body meeting or any other meeting.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"As_a_member_what_are_my_duties_and_rights\"><\/span>As a member, what are my duties and rights?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;\">Duties:<\/span> Attend all General Body meetings, pay the dues decided by the General Body in a timely manner, abide by the Bye-Laws<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;\">Rights:<\/span> Vote in the elections &#8211; each member, irrespective of the apartment type &amp; size has a single vote at Annual General Body Meeting or in any other official meeting, elections, of the association. Should a member have ownership of more than one apartment, the number of votes shall be in proportion to the number of apartments owned. The member has a right to authorize a proxy to vote in his absence.<br \/>\nEach member of the association has the right to inspect all records, books of accounts of the association with 3 days prior notice to the Management Committee.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_the_duties_of_the_Management_Committee\"><\/span>What are the duties of the Management Committee?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Organize, social, cultural and recreational facilities and amenities for the resident, supervise the same and maintain or organize the maintenance of all common areas and amenities thereof.<\/li>\n<li>Assign the responsibilities for carrying out day to day administration of building and affairs of association to the employees appointed for such purpose<\/li>\n<li>Represent the members of the Association, in the matter relating to the building or arising in relation to it, with the aim of protecting their rights and interest<\/li>\n<li>Encourage and promote religious, cultural and educational activities and promote charitable feelings among members.<\/li>\n<li>Join hand with any other association for common and mutual benefits.<\/li>\n<li>Open and maintain one or more bank Accounts of the association in the name of the association with any nationalized bank as decided by the committee.<\/li>\n<li>Ensure that the income monies received by the association are applied in promoting the objectives of the association and are not available for distribution on any account among the members.<\/li>\n<li>Keep in custody of all original documents connected to the land and building, licences issued by any authorities in relation of the said building or land<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_the_duties_and_powers_of_the_President_Secretary_and_Treasurer\"><\/span>What are the duties and powers of the President, Secretary and Treasurer?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;\">President<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The president presides over all the committee meetings and has general control over all the affairs of the association. He\/she is the person who can sue with the consent of the general body or defend any legal action against the association on behalf of the association, after taking appropriate legal advice.<\/li>\n<li>All legal proceedings are instituted and continued or defended by the president. He\/she signs all documents and papers and vakalats relating thereto in the name and on behalf of the association.<\/li>\n<li>The president enters into contracts approved or delegated by the committee.<\/li>\n<li>In the absence of the president, for any reason whatsoever, the committee may authorize the secretary or the treasurer to sign all such documents, papers etc. for and on behalf of the association.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;\">Secretary<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The secretary is responsible for the executive administration of the association subject to the control of the committee.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;\">Treasurer<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The treasure has custody of all properties of the association including the funds of the association.<\/li>\n<li>He\/she is empowered to operate the bank accounts of the association jointly, but not severally, with president, or secretary. Any such account operation is only for bonafide and authorized purpose of the association<\/li>\n<li>The treasurer maintains a petty cash account for meeting the immediate petty expenses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">On the question of alignment of the Apartment Owners&#8217; Association with the Courts of Law<\/span>, here is a good <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hinduonnet.com\/thehindu\/thscrip\/print.pl?file=2004091800040300.htm&amp;date=2004\/09\/18\/&amp;prd=pp&amp;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">article<\/a> from The Hindu, albeit a bit dated. The takeaway from this article: &#8220;it is important that the association be held together by close bonds of trust and goodwill. &#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">So, go ahead! Elect your new Association Management Committee, and let them assume office with the re-assuring knowledge that by their side is you, and is <a href=\"http:\/\/adda.io\">ADDA<\/a>*! \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">*<a href=\"https:\/\/adda.io\/apartment-association\/apartment-management-software\">ADDA<\/a> helps Apartment Owners&#8217; Associations \/ RWAs achieve their goals by providing a comprehensive apartment management system, with features providing efficient communication and management tools online.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/adda.io\/contact\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11545 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cta.png\" alt=\"apartment management software\" width=\"893\" height=\"177\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cta.png 893w, https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cta-300x59.png 300w, https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cta-150x30.png 150w, https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cta-768x152.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 893px) 100vw, 893px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Want to know how to be a successful managing committee member? <a href=\"https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/2018\/05\/8-tips-to-be-the-rockstar-apartment-association-member\/\">Click here.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Also, check out our blog on &#8220;<strong>How to levy Maintenance Charges on Flats?&#8221; <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/2012\/01\/guide-to-apartment-society-maintenance-charge-calculation-using-apartment-maintenance-app\/\">Click here<\/a> to read.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 78%;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Note: The above article has been compiled from Karnataka Societies Registration Act and typical Bye-Laws of Apartment Owners&#8217; Associations. Please be aware that each Association has its own set of bye-laws and there are chances that the definitions &amp; duties in your Association is different from those laid out above. You are advised to study the bye-laws of your own association for an accurate understanding of your duties and rights.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Come March &#8211; the typical fiscal year end, most Apartment Complexes in India get busy with their annual elections &#8211; to elect a new Management Committee of the Apartment Owners&#8217;&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":10859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2022,2026,2019],"tags":[171,179,180,181,182],"class_list":["post-6560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adda-community-management","category-adda-for-community-residents","category-adda-india-housing-society-apartment-management","tag-apartment-owners","tag-apartment-owners-group","tag-association","tag-homeowners","tag-owners-group"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6560"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13985,"href":"https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6560\/revisions\/13985"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adda.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}