APARTMENT LIVING – A few milestones crossed

 

Joyalukkas Gold Tower Vazhakkala, the first property to be submitted to the Kerala Apartment Ownership Act 1983

A prelude

Protection of Apartment Ownership Rights is fundamental for a peaceful apartment living.  A corresponding duty is constitutionally distributed among the central and state governments.  The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016, passed by the Union, and the apartment ownership laws enacted by the states formed the basis of the legal infrastructure.  It is trite that both can coexist, however, a few states in the country fell into a pitfall, due to poor draftsmanship, and Kerala was no exception.

The Kerala Experience

The provision regarding the application of the ownership law[i] gave room to various types of interpretations.  The provision required “…the sole owner or all of the owners of which submit the same to the provisions of this Act by duly executing and registering a declaration …”. The combined effect of all such interpretations is their non-implementation.  The ownership rights of owners continue to be in a state of suspended animation.  There were individual and collective efforts for the implementation of the law.  The state could not remedy this simple mistake for the last 40 years.

It is an indisputable fact that the application of the ownership law is essential for safeguarding apartment ownership rights and their consequential advantages. There cannot be two opinions on the point that the application of the ownership law is fundamental to the preservation of the apartment ownership rights and the consequential benefits.  The omission of the builder to execute and register the declaration, as the sole owners[ii], for the application of the law, is the sole triggering point..  Consequent to the non-application, the owner does not get heritable and exclusive rights over their apartment, most builders find it difficult to exit the completed projects.

Some builders could not exit the completed projects even after a decade.  They continue to maintain the common properties over these periods.  The rising number of litigations between the owners and builders is piling up, takes to the growing awareness.  

A few milestones

In the recent past, there were some concerted efforts for various quaters to bring peace in these high rises.  The specifics of the sustained endeavor and its achievements are discussed here.  There cannot be a claim that the war is won, but a few important milestones were crossed.    

milestone number one

The owners of the Joyalukkas Gold Tower[iii] have created history, as they received a certificate from the Deputy Collector, (Disaster Management) Ernakulam, the competent authority for the relevant ownership law, has finally issued a certificate indicating that all the 162 owners of the apartment building have submitted registered Declarations and Deed of Apartments in Form A and Form B of the Rules[iv] tothe competent authoirty

The certificate is issued exercersising the powers under Section 11(2) and (3) of the Kerala Apartment Onwership Act

The Gold Tower experience is unique in many respects.  Initially, there were different groups with different ideologies.  When one group supports the formation of an association under the general law and the other wishes the ownership law to apply.. Multiple PowerPoint presentations, debates, and electronic voting followed  Finally, there was a consensus, and the result is the above certificate.

The builder and the owners apartment building need to be congratulated on this historic moment.  Their courage and perseverance in following the difficult path are laudable.  The leader of the mission, who took the community through the path untaken, was Dr John Philip, a physics professor.   Hopefully, he might have turned into a legal expert in condominium laws as well.  Their success may pay be way to a new beginging.

Click here to know more Dr John Philip on their success journey

milestone number two

Apartment Ownership right consists of two parts:[v] (1) the right of the apartment owner over the Apartment and (2) an undivided interest in the common areas and facilities appurtenant to such apartment.  The application of the ownership laws preserves and protects these rights.  The state did not implement the ownership law, and the apartment owners failed to gain exclusive ownership and enjoyed the property as owners in common[vi]

The builders conveyed the undivided interest in the common properties and the right over the apartments through sale deeds.  However, there was no mechanism for mutating the right of the land in the land records.  This was another prejudice faced by them. Several representations were made by the owners individually and in groups.  Finally, the state took some positive action, issuing an executive order making provision for the apartment owners to pay land tax in their name[vii].

The decision of the government to create a framework to allow apartment owners to pay land tax is a welcome step.  This is a long-awaited, important one.  Hopefully, the confusion regarding who the owner is has been successfully answered.  The remaining question is, where is the position of the owners' association formed under the general law?  They might lie beyond the typical spectrum.

milestone number three

 The filing of the Public Interest Litigation and the interim order passed by the High Court of Kerala would constitute the third milestone.  The state government, in response to a lawyer's notice, explained the steps taken towards the implementation of the interim order.  According to the Secretary, Department of Housing, they have taken all the necessary steps towards the implementation of the interim order; a few more steps within the domain of the Kerala Rera Authority have to be completed.  Let us keep in mind that the present scope of development pertains only to RERA-registered ongoing projects. 

Read more Undoing the wrong on Apartment Onwer after 40 yearss

Final Thoughts

The real joy of a cake lies in the eating, not necessarily the preparation.  While significant, these milestones are processes towards the preparation of the goal.  However, the stakeholders wish to know when they can consume the benefits of the efforts.  A more profound analysis reveals a less-than-pleasant and inviting state at ground zero

Passing by, one might catch echoes of heated online exchanges emanating from the apartment buildings.  These are from the WhatsApp Groups, both official and unofficial.  Much of their energy is spent battling to prove themselves right, often on inconsequential issues.  Matters involving the protection of apartment ownership rights, preservation of technical data of the apartment buildings, efficient common property maintenance, etc.. take a back seat.  The quicker the state government and stakeholders grasp the significance of an effective apartment ownership law, the better.

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[i] Kerala Apartment Ownership Act 1983 is applicable for the State of Kerala

[ii] The promoter would be the sole owner before transferring apartment ownership to the individual apartment owners.

[iii] The picture of the Joyalukkas Vazhakkala, Ernakulam, is used as the cover of this blog

[iv] Kerala Apartment Ownership Rules 1994.

[v] Read Section 4 of the Kerala Apartment Ownership Act 1983, Status of an apartment 

[vi] Section 14(2) explains the non-application of Kerala Apartment Ownership Act 1983

[vii] GO No. 107/2025/RD dated 22.04.2025 issued by the Additional Chief Secretary on behalf of the Government of Kerala