Kerala Flats and Apartment Laws in Kerala - Help the Owners of Apartments

The KERALA APARTMENT OWNERSHIP ACT, 1983 (ACT 5 OF 1984)

This Act applies in all over Kerala only to property, 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 as Provided that no property shall be submitted to the provisions of this Act, unless it is mainly used, or proposed to be used, for residential purposes.

The definition of "Apartment" is a part of the property intended for any type of independent use, including one or more rooms or enclosed spaces located on one or more floors (or part or parts thereof) in a building, intended to be used for residential purposes and with a direct exit to a public street, road or highway or to a common area leading to such street, road or highway.

A deed of apartment executed by an apartment owner in pursuance of sub-section (2) of section 5 is called as “Deed of apartment”

The person or persons owning an apartment and an undivided interest in the common areas and facilities in the percentage specified and established in the declaration is called as "Apartment Owner”. Each apartment owner shall be entitled to the exclusive ownership and possession of his apartment. He shall execute a declaration that he submits his apartment to the provisions of this Act and a deed of apartment relation to his apartment in the manner prescribed for the purpose. Each apartment owner shall be entitled to an undivided interest in the common areas and facilities in the percentage expressed in the declaration.

The number, letter or combination thereof designating the apartment in the declaration is called as "Apartment Number”

"Association of Apartment Owners" means all of the apartment owners acting as a group in accordance with the bye-laws and the declaration.And “bye-laws" means the bye-laws of the Association of Apartment Owners.

 “Building" means a building containing two or more apartments and comprising a part of the property. The apartment owners with fifty-one per cent or more of the votes in accordance with the percentages, assigned in the declaration to the apartments for voting purposes is called as "majority" or "Majority of apartment owners"

“Common areas and facilities" unless otherwise provided in the declaration or lawful amendments thereto, mean-

(i) The land on which the building is located;

(ii) the foundations, columns, girders, beams, supports main walls, roofs, halls, corridors, lobbies, stairs, stairways, fire-escapes and entrances and exits of the building;

(iii) The basements, cellars, yards, gardens, parking areas and storage spaces;

(iv) The premises for the lodging of persons employed for the management of the property;

(v) installations of central services, such as power, light, gas, hot and cold water, heating, refrigeration, air conditioning and incinerating;

(vi) Elevators, tanks pumps, motors, fans, compressors, ducts and in general all apparatus and installations existing for common use;

(vii) Such community and commercial facilities as may be provided or in the declaration; and

(viii) All other parts of the property necessary or convenient to its existence, maintenance and safety, or normally in common use.

"Limited common areas and facilities" means those common areas and facilities designated in the declaration as reserved for use of certain apartment or apartments to the exclusion of the other apartments. The percentage of the undivided interest in the common areas and facilities shall not be separated from the apartment to which it appertains, and shall be deemed to be conveyed or encumbered with the apartment even though such interest is not expressly mentioned in the conveyance or other instrument. The common areas and facilities shall remain undivided, and no apartment owner or any other person shall bring any action for partition or division of any part thereof, unless the property has been excluded from the provisions of this Act as provided in section 14 or unless the property is subject to an action for partition under section 22, and any covenant to the contrary shall be null and void. Each apartment owner may use the common areas and facilities in accordance with the purpose for which they are intended without hindering or encroaching upon the lawful rights of the other apartment owners. The necessary work of maintenance, repair and replacement of the common areas and facilities and the making of any additions or improvements thereto shall be carried out only as provided in this Act and in the bye-laws.

Certain works prohibited

No apartment owner shall, without the previous unanimous consent of all the other apartment owners,-

(a) do any works which would-

(i) jeopardise the soundness or safety of the property; or

(ii) reduce the value of the property; or

(iii) impair any easement or hereditament; or

(b) add any material structure to his apartment or excavate any additional basement or caller in the property.

The law defines  "competent authority" is in relation to buildings constructed or to be constructed by the Kerala State Housing Board, the Housing Commissioner, and, in any other case, the person authorized by the Government, by notification in the Gazette, to perform the functions of the competent authority for such area as may be specified in the notification.

All sums lawfully assessed against the apartment owners by the Association of apartment Owners, expenses of administration, maintenance, repair or replacement of the common areas and facilities, expenses agreed upon as common expenses by the Association of apartment Owners, expenses declared as common expenses by the provisions of this Act, or by the declaration or the bye-laws is called as “common expenses”