User:Sudhirpillai/sandbox

What apartment buyers and owners must know about the state of law enforcement/implementation by Govt of Karnataka in regulating and managing apartment spaces and the real estate industry in a larger context? Overall the area is a dismal reflection of the rule of law but much is being forced and is being achieved by some strident citizen activism and vigilantism, This is a vital area that affects millions of apartment buyers and owners in Karnataka and across India. This also has major ramification in growing an industry that can be vital in providing housing to India's teeming millions as they migrate to urban spaces in search of employment and livelihood.

The poor state of enforcement and implementation of the law is outlined as a summary at the end of 2019.

The Karnataka Societies Registration Act 1960 (KSRA 60) has been pronounced illegal for 'maintenance management' of Apartment Complexes by the Karnataka HC in a divisional bench WA heard by CJ.

In a PIL filed by a KSRA60 registered body called Bangalore City Flat Owners Welfare Association (BCFOWA), the Government of Karnataka (GoK) has been asked to enforce and uphold Karnataka Ownership Flats Act 1972 (KOFA), some forty years after the act came into force. This remains very relevant for non-RERA covered buildings. The judgement directs GOK to ensure mechanisms for upholding the law in areas such as seeking builders accounts and permitting examination by home buyers, among some other important regulatory provisions that the Act envisaged. For residential complexes, the pathbreaking Real_Estate_(Regulation_and_Development)_Act,_2016, has many similar and additional/amplifying provisions reiterated through the parliamentary enactment.

The Karnataka RERA chairman in a meeting of the K-RERA Authority with GoK officials with BCFOWA reps and ROCS present (earlier this month) told the GOK to notify which act must Assns of Allottees register in to be a proper legal entity. He referred to HC judgement against KSRA60 and also how regn of a DoD under KAOA does not constitute regn of the Association.

He pointed to operationalisation and issue of general guidelines for Coop Hsg Societies. This invariably has to become a reality in Karnataka (as has been notified through RERA Rules in states like Maha and Guj) as the legal entity to receive conveyance (transfer) of common areas and project lands under rera (and also as per the earlier existing KOFA). The ROCS sought to defend his inability due to manning norms and work pressures handling other cooperatives.

The GOK has since, in a major step, written to ROCS on 18/12/2019 to discuss with Principal Secy Coop Dept the reasons for delay in issue of general guidelines for formation of coop hsg societies.

This sets the tone for major amdts to KAOA (the Act that many promoters place their developments under, with motives that one must be wary off) and should ideally even lead to it being repealed as is being sought in Maharashtra.

Among many positives is a setback with GoI introducing through ordinance route, around Xmas, dilution of our right (upheld by a three bench judgement of Supreme Court against 180 odd WP filed by builders) pronouncing home buyers as Financial Creditors. This would have placed us at an equal footing with banks and NBFCs if any builder filed for insolvency (with many reputed builders being forced into legal compliances and RBI tightening up banks and NBFCs after IL&FS fiasco). GOI seek to amend the law that they introduced in June 2018 that seeks that 10 percent or 100 homebuyers are at least required to come together if they want to trigger IBC against realtors.

Lessons that emerge are that legal compliances for builders and even home owners/buyers is being enforced as required by extant laws. Ad hoc ways are being forced to yield.