Owners Association: Guide to form an apartment association in Kolkata

Apartment owners association in Kolkata can be formed under West Bengal Apartment ownership Act 1972

Kolkata, being the commercial capital and the third most populated metropolitan city in India has been witnessing an increasing demand for both commercial and residential properties. This has led to an increase in the production of various apartments in the city. For an organised formation of the apartment societies and property management, it is very important to form an apartment owner association. Forming an apartment owners association in all the Kolkata apartments will give an opportunity to all the apartment owners and members to gather and raise their opinion about how to function and enjoy all the benefits.

An Apartment owner’s association works for the welfare of the residents in an apartment, conducts events or awareness programs and protects the rights of the apartment owners. Most of the apartment associations are not registered and are functioning, but a registered apartment owners association can help you take a legal action against the violators.

The West Bengal Apartment Ownership Act 1972

This act was initiated in order to deal with the residential apartments. The law allows each apartment to transfer the property with a separate Katha with a specific undivided interest in the land. If an apartment forms an association without this act, it is a hassle to collect all the apartment owners at the time of registration. Also, if the builder is given the power of attorney by the apartment owners, he can submit the property under this act.

How to register the Kolkata apartment owners association?

As mentioned earlier, it is important to register the apartment owners association to seek legal help. The registration can be done under the West Bengal Apartment Ownership Act, 1972.
Following are the points to be considered in order to register an apartment owners association;

• Fill and submit a memorandum which consists of the name of the society, address of the owners, names of the owners, objects of the society and the occupations of the owners and the authorities.
• File the precise apartment association Bye-laws. The Bye-laws can be changed accordingly by the members due to various circumstances.
• The name of the society if not wanted can be changed at the time of registration. It is advisable that you follow and refer the Bye-laws before choosing a name for your society.
• The maximum time limit to register the society is just three months. Only in case of serious situations the time can be extended.
• It is advised that an association has to register immediately as all the bank related operations can be done easily.

Obligatory aspects to form an apartment owners association in Kolkata

• An apartment association can be formed by the volunteer association of the owners of the apartment.
• An apartment owner’s association should be formed under the West Bengal Apartment Ownership Act, 1972.
• It is mandatory for all the apartment owners to be present at the time of formation.
• It is important that there should be 7 or more members to form an apartment association. The members should be above 18 years.
• As mentioned earlier all the memorandum details should be given precisely.
• The Bye-Laws of the association should be clearly explained and followed.
• A prescribed amount has to be paid by each member to be a part of the association.
• The applicants should sign the document in front of the registrar and if the registrar is satisfied with all the requirements of this act and the rules made, he shall certify that the society is registered and issue a certificate of registration.

The duties and the powers in an apartment owners association

• The association will consist of a President, Vice-President, Secretary and a Treasurer along with the members.
• The management committee will be responsible for organizing social and cultural facilities, protecting the rights and interests of the residents, managing accounts and keeping all the documents related to land, building and license issued safe in its custody.
• The members have the right to vote and should attend the meetings. Also they should report the issues and pay their dues on time.
• The management committee should address the association by conducting meetings regularly to discuss problems and provide adequate solutions.
• The president will have the right to sue or defend any legal action against the association. It is his responsibility to keep a check on records and work for the welfare of the members of the association.
• The treasurer is responsible to operate the income and expenses of the association by maintaining funds and the bank account. He will also maintain all the records regarding day to day transfer of money and to maintain cash in the account required for maintenance of the apartment.
• The secretary is responsible for conducting meetings, taking and maintaining a record of the minutes of meetings and collecting the information from members.

Henceforth forming an apartment owners association is an important aspect for a smooth functioning of all the apartments.

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