APARTMENT LIVING – A SUCCESS STORY

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Joyalukkas Gold Tower, Vazhakkala, Kochi


About the Featured image

Normally, featured images in this blog are randomly selected from Google Images.  But this time, there is a difference.  It is the image of Joyalukkas Gold Tower, Kakkanad the only apartment building submitted to the provisions of the Kerala Apartment Ownership Act 1983 (Act 5 of 1984 or Act for short).  This article is to tell the story of the apartment building, its promoter, and its association. 

The Journey of Gold Tower

As in the case of hundreds of other apartments in the State, when it came to handing over the common property management to the association, the first choice was a charitable society without any rights over the property.   However, one of the owners, inspired by a few articles in this blog and other materials advocated for submitting the property to Act.

Hectic debates and discussions followed, and finally, owners were asked to vote on whether the association should be formed under the TC Act[i] or Act.  Act 5 of 1984 succeeded with a brute majority of more than 90% vote.    The interesting part is that the differences among owners vanished, divergent views subsided and the entire community acted in unison to see that Declarations[ii] and Deeds of Apartments[iii] by all the owners were executed and submitted to the Managing Committee.  The President and a few members with the assistance of the support staff of the Builder collated these documents and submitted them for registration to the local sub-registrar office and to file the same before the competent authority[iv]. 

This success of the Gold Tower community is a torch bearer for many to follow.  Their achievement needs to be appreciated because they achieved it with limited professional assistance.

The Process of Application – Explained

The application of Act, ideally, requires the execution and registration of a Declaration by the sole owner or all the owners of the property.  Through the application of the Act, the apartment owners would be entitled to apartment ownership,[v] and the Association of Apartment Owners would have the right to manage the common areas and facilities, as described in the Declaration, in accordance with the approved byelaws.

Declaration and Bye-laws

It is the promoter’s statutory obligation to enable the formation of an Association by convening the meeting of the apartment owners, and assist the preparation and approval of the bye-law[vi]. He may also prepare a Declaration in Form A of the Kerala Apartment Ownership Rule 1994.  The entries required in Form A primarily relate to descriptions and measures of private apartments and common areas of the apartment, which are otherwise available in the floor plans.  Form A shall be registered in Book 1[vii] of the Registration Act, along with the floor plans and title documents of the property. 

Formation of the Association

When the certified copy of Form A, along with the above-mentioned annexures and the approved bye-law is filed before the Competent Authority, he may issue a certificate along with Reference No. and Filing Date.  Such details are required to be filled in the Deed of Apartment, in Form B of the rules.  The Association of Apartment Owners will be equipped to discharge its statutory functions. 

Execution of Deed of Apartment

The Promoter may get the Deed of Apartment in Form B signed by the apartment owners, before the execution of the sale deed to them concerning their apartment.  Such a Deed of Apartments may be forwarded to the Managing Committee of the Association.   

The Association shall then forward the Deed of the Apartment for registration along with Form E signed by the Secretary of the Association[viii]. The copies of the Registered Form B shall also be filed with the Competent Authority.  When all the Deed of Apartments are executed and registered by the Apartment Owners, the apartment is said to be fully compliant with the provisions of Act 5 of 1984.

The Process adopted in Joyalukas Gold Tower

The promoter executed a Declaration in Form A, concerning one of one of the apartments in their ownership and possession.  This Declaration contained all the details regarding the private apartments, common areas, and facilities.  The floor plans and the title deeds of the property were also annexed to the Declaration for registration.  This was treated as the master declaration. 

The apartment owners executed declarations accepting the contents of the registered Master Declaration executed by the Promoter.  They have also executed the Deed of Apartments.  The promoter had convened the meeting of the apartment owners and got the bye-law approved.  The approved bye-laws along with Master Declarations, and a few Declarations and Deeds of Apartments were submitted before the competent authority, who issued a provisional certificate with Reference No. and Date of Filing enabling the Association to discharge its functions.  In the Provisional Certificate, there were instructions to ensure the completion of the filing of all the documents, within the timelines prescribed. 

The President and members of the Managing Committee then conducted a mass drive to get the Declarations and Deeds of Apartments signed, within the time limits prescribed by the Competent Authority.  The Managing Committee of the Association then forwarded these documents to the local Sub Registrar for registration.  The certified copy of the same was then filed with the Competent Authoirty. 

The benefits of compliance

The apartment owners of Joyalukkas Gold Tower can now claim for the following benefits, following compliance with Act 5 of 1984.

  • The Apartment Owners have gained apartment ownership and their apartments are now heritable and transferable[ix].
  •  The Apartment Owners have gained exclusive ownership[x].
  • The private areas and common properties have been delineated and there is no opportunity for either the promoter, association or any other person to interfere or encroach upon the common properties of the building.
  • The details of the private areas, common areas, and facilities, including floor plans and title documents of the property in which the building is situated are preserved for eternity.  These are likely to be the most valuable documents at the time of repair, reconstruction, or rebuilding.
  • The percentage of undivided interest in the common areas and facilities is defined. 
  • There will be no further disputes between the Association and the Apartment Owner regarding maintenance dues payable by them. 
  • The Managing Committee will be competent to access the arrears of maintenance dues payable by the Apartment Owner.  Hence it is possible to charge a higher rate of interest against the defaulting apartment owners.
  • The common expenses accessed by the Managing Committee shall be a charge on the apartment of the defaulting apartment owner.  The charge over the apartment shall be enforced in the same manner as if it is a simple mortgage.  The Association will be competent to recover the access by execution and sale of the defaulters' apartment.   
  • The encumbrance certificate of each apartment may indicate that the property is submitted to the provisions of Act 5 of 1984, therefore it would become incumbent on each apartment owner to get no dues certificates from the Managing Committee before the transfer or encumbrance of the apartment.
  • The apartment owners may be entitled to other benefits provided in Act 5 of 1984, but not enlisted here.

Conclusion

There is an urgent need to ensure that the promoters of the new apartment buildings, execute and register the Declaration in Form A before the first sale deed is executed by the promoter in favor of any apartment owner.  There is an urgent need to simplify the process for the application of Act 5, and the procedure should be capable of being handled with limited professional help by the owners themselves.  The Government may make suitable amendments to the provisions of Act to enable the migration of existing TC Act Associations to the Apartment Ownership Law. 

The success story of Joyalukkas Gold Tower has opened the windows of new hope and expectations for several others.  Hopefully, it will mark the beginning of a movement for making apartment living a happy and peaceful experience.

[i] Travancore Cochin Literary Scientific and Charitable Societies Act 1955

[ii] Ref Form A of the Kerala Apartment Ownership Rules 1994

[iii] Ref Form B of the Kerala Apartment Ownership Rules 1994

[iv] Deputy Collector (Housing presently Disaster Management) of each District is the Competent Authority: Ref SRO No. 482/97 dated 25/06/1997 in K.G . Ext. No. 828 dated 25/06/1997

[v] Ref to Section 4: Status of Apartment Ownership

[vi] The Bye-law should comply with Section 16 of the Act 5 of 1984

[vii] Section 51 of the Registration Act

[viii] Ref Section 13 (6) of Act 5 of 1984

[ix] Section 4 of Act 5 of 1984

[x] Section 5 of Act 5 of 1984

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