RERA vs. KAOA: Government of Kerala Rules Out Repeal of Apartment Ownership Act 1983
The apartment ownership law of Kerala is now about 42 years old, yet it has hardly done wonders for home buyers in the State. It is a matter of record that, with the solitary exception of 'Gold Tower, Vazhakkala', scarcely any condominium has been effectively submitted to the provisions of this law. Born with a disability, the Act has been ailing ever since its birth. Despite serious attempts to kill it, the law has survived all such threats. Now, the Government has been forced to declare that this law cannot be prematurely killed. Here, we discuss the recent Government Order which declares that the Kerala Apartment Ownership Act, 1983 is not only alive but mandatory and liable to be enforced. The "Forced" Disability and the Missing Teeth The disability was not in the Act’s "genes"—it was not an inherent flaw in the concept of apartment ownership itself—but was rather forced upon it by its legal draftsmen. The Legislature, seemingly without necessary deli...