Which Body to Form?

Deciding whether to from a housing society or apartment association in West Bengal or Kolkata can become a tedious task. In West Bengal, a housing complex can register their governing body under diverse laws, but most prominently under the West Bengal Co-operative Societies Act or under the Apartment Ownership Act. An apartment or flat in a housing association is a self contained housing unit that forms part of a building/association. Cooperative Housing societies are primarily formed in India under State specific legislation to create democratic voluntary organizations that can regulate the functioning of the housing societies within the State.

Features of Societies and Associations

Different states in India have different rules guiding the formation of housing association or cooperative housing society in India. An apartment generally means a property that has direct exit to a road or to a common area leading to such road and the apartment along with common areas and facilities forms an independent residential unit and it may also include a flat. Housing associations are formed in India for ownership of an individual apartment and to make such apartment heritable and transferable property. Housing Societies are democratic organization where flat/apartment owners/members control the society, without any interference from developers or promoters. The concept of apartment association or housing society in India was born due to increasing population and growing need for housing. Housing associations are formed to govern rules regarding the common areas, facilities, and the percentage share of each apartment owner in the apartment building. You may choose a housing society or an apartment association depending on your particular needs.

Benefits of Housing Bodies

Housing associations in India work for the welfare of the residents. The benefit of registering properties under housing association/cooperative housing society is avoidance of disputes. Housing associations formed without registration cannot be termed as illegal per se but are rather considered as interim/ad-hoc/unregistered association. For NRIs who own apartments/flats in India, housing associations can cause real pain if you do not know how to manage your property. 

Forming an apartment association or housing society is the best option to deal with maintenance charges, member disputes and housing property heritance. Associations in West Bengal and Kolkata can be formed under co-operative housing society act or apartment association act. You can check out Advocate Chenoy Ceil to find general answers to housing association and cooperative housing society related questions. For more information, contact here or book an initial consultation now.