Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act | Housing | Cooperative | CHS | Latest news |
There are close to two lakh cooperative societies in Maharashtra, with more than fifty million members combined. These cooperative organizations, including cooperative housing societies, are regulated by the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, enacted in 1960.
Housing societies seeking registration under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act must have either five people from separate families or 51% of the number of apartments qualified to become members under this Act sign up to the registration petition.
A brief explanation of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act
On January 26, 1962, the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act was enacted. A statewide framework for cooperative societies in Maharashtra, including requirements for its formation, membership, responsibilities, and rights as legal entities.
Following instructions from the central government, the government of Maharashtra passed an ordinance on February 13, 2013, that amended the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act. Beginning on February 14, 2013, the revised policies were put into effect.
Cooperative Societies Act of Maharashtra and its Impact on Housing Societies
Section 1: Clauses (5), (6), (7), (8), (10), (10-ai), (10-aii), (10-aiii), (13), (14), (16), (17), (18), (20-A), (21), (24), (26), (27), (28), (29), (29A) and (31)
Section 2, Sections 3, 3A, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 20A, 21, 21A, 22, 23, 25, 25A, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41 and 42
Title 50, Section, The 62nd Article. Sections 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 71A, 72, 73, 73ID, 73C, 73CB, 73CC, 73F, 73I, 75, 76, 77, 77A, and 78A. Sections 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 71A, 72, 73, 73ID, 73C
Also, Sections 79, 79A, and 79AA Sections 80 to 89A Sections 91 to 100 Sections 102 to 110 Sections 145 to 148A Sections 149 to 154 Sections 154A Sections 155 to 168 Sections 155 to 168A Sections 155 to 168 Sections 155 to 168A Sections 155 to 168.
Regulation of Cooperative Societies in Maharashtra by an Act passed
What exactly are non-profit housing cooperatives?
As outlined by the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, a housing society’s purpose is to provide its participants with open plots, flats, apartments, and shared services and facilities.
The Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act provides a legal framework for the several types of housing cooperatives in the state.
- Tenant ownership housing society
Housing societies are nonprofit organizations whose members are offered leasehold or freehold ownership of residential land. The members themselves are the legal homeowners.
- Tenant co-partnership housing society
These housing organizations’ primary mission is to fulfill the housing needs of their members by distributing flats in properties that the society owns outright or leases to itself on either a long-term or short-term basis.
- Different kinds of housing societies
Some examples of such groups are mortgage cooperatives, housing cooperatives, and cooperatives specializing in the ownership of commercial space. All the units in the latter are used for business purposes, such as offices or retail spaces.
To learn more about starting a cooperative housing society in Maharashtra, you can consult the state’s Cooperative Societies Act.
For a cooperative society to be registered under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, at least five individuals from various families are required, or at minimum 51% of something like the total number of flats that can become members under this Act. A housing society will not be legally recognized unless these two requirements are met.
The practice of employing a lottery system to assign ownership of land, apartments, or houses in a cooperative housing group.
The law says that land, apartments, houses, or other living units should be given to housing society members by drawing lots unless a contract states otherwise. A cooperative housing association should issue a signed and sealed certificate of assignment to each member who receives a plot, flat, house, or other living space. When the member has paid their fees, they must present this certificate.
In Maharashtra, the legislation limits the size of housing cooperatives to a specified number of members.
If a potential member owns more than the allowed number of units or plots, they should not be accepted into the housing cooperative. Let’s pretend, then, that the landowner followed the law at the time and constructed and sold apartments on the property. After that, the original plot owner may be replaced by the flat buyer’s organization as a member of the cooperative housing association.
Shares and interests of shareholders are immune to seizure by courts or government agencies according to the provisions of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act.
Neither court’s verdict, decision, or order may be satisfied by the attachment or sale of any part or interest in the loan stock granted by a housing society to any member for or in respect of any debt or liability of any kind, whatever incurred by such member. This is true whether the obligation or duty arose before or after the member joined the housing cooperative.
At what point does a member become a “defaulter” under the Maharashtra Cooperative Housing Society Act?
In the context of housing cooperatives, “defaulters” are members who have not paid their dues within three months after the date of delivery of a written notice, delivered by post under a certificate of posting, requesting payment of dues. This timeframe is known as the “grace period” for those who have fallen behind on payments.
The Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act lays out in full the rights and obligations of members of cooperatives in Maharashtra.
A member of a CHS has the following rights and responsibilities following the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act:
- The cooperative housing society must offer him an allotment certificate before moving in.
- A member who is in default forfeits their right to serve on any committee, whether they were appointed, nominated, elected, or co-opted.
- Within the allotted amount of time, the member of the society is responsible for making the required contribution to the community.
- The member will be obliged to quit the apartment when the time comes for the building to undergo the necessary renovations.
Members of CHSs are guaranteed the right to vote under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act.
Every eligible citizen has one vote. With a member’s previous written approval, an associate member may be granted voting rights in elections. Provisional members are not eligible to vote in any elections. Voting rights are assigned to the individual whose word appears on the certificate when there are joint members. If he can’t make it to the vote, the next person on the list will have to make the deciding vote.
Is it changing ownership in a housing cooperative? Check out the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act’s provisions for doing just that.
Cooperative housing society members in the Indian state of Maharashtra can use legal documents to transfer their share, title, and interest in any property they own inside the community.
As per the provisions of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, a member’s share may be passed on to a beneficiary upon their passing.
After a member’s death, the society will transfer that person’s estate to the person named in the dead member’s will, the person named in the succession certificate, the person named in the legal heirship certificate, or the person named in a document of family arrangement. If a member dies, society will take over all of that person’s share, right, title, and interest in the property. Until the legal heir is discovered and admitted to the community in place of the deceased, the community will recognize the nominee as a member.
The Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act prohibits members of a CHS from selling or transferring their membership interests or shares.
A member’s entitlement to occupy their share or interest in a cooperative housing association cannot be transferred to another person unless one of the following conditions is met:
- The housing society’s membership dues have been paid in full.
- The transferee applies to join the cooperative housing association and, after that, becomes a member.
The lease provisions will serve as the governing document for any transactions involving the transfer of leasehold property shares or interest.
The Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act says that the society has to pay members for their shares and interests.
Cooperative housing societies in the Indian state of Maharashtra can collect the share and interest of a deceased member up to the amount of the member’s outstanding dues, regardless of whether the person is still alive.
The latest news about the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act of 1960
Cooperative societies can’t turn away unmarried women, persons from certain tribes, or those who eat certain foods: SC.
The Supreme Court has ruled that cooperative organizations are not allowed to discriminate against individuals based on factors such as the sort of food they consume, the fact that they are single, or their affiliation with a specific community. While deciding a different issue on the validity of the Maharashtra Co-Operative Societies Act, the highest court in the land made this statement.
“Are you aware of the activities that societies are participating in to exercise this Fundamental Right? They are not allowing women living alone to occupy apartments. Also, They are not going to admit anyone who is part of a certain community! They are discriminating against folks who consume a certain type of cuisine! This is how things are! This is not allowed in any way! The Supreme Court stated it “cannot tolerate this mentality from societies.”
The Apartment Act says that maintenance fees will be based on the size of the flat.
The Maharashtra Apartment Owners Act stipulates that the monthly or annual charge for maintaining a flat shall be reasonable for the square footage of the dwelling. However, a Pune-area deputy registrar of cooperative societies ruled that cooperative housing societies registered under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act are exempt from this restriction.
This is because, in cooperative housing societies, the land and the building are owned collectively, and the maintenance costs are shared equally among all members, irrespective of the size of their private apartments.
The Cabinet agrees to change the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act of 1960
The Maharashtra government has given the green light to a bill that would amend the 1960 Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act. Because of this change, cooperative society members can vote freely in future elections without fear of persecution.
A member has not attended a meeting after five years of membership in a collaborative group. The law specifies that in such a circumstance, the member is considered “inactive” and loses their voting privileges. Several statewide cooperatives have temporarily shut down as a precaution against the current wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
All decisions made by MC are the responsibility of all members of a cooperative housing society.
As of January 2021, per a notification issued by the state government of Maharashtra, all members of the MC of cooperative housing communities formed under the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960, must sign a connection making them “jointly and severally” fully accountable for all decisions made by the MC.
The MCS (Amendment) Rules, 2002, included the new M-20 form. On this form, each governing board member must affirm that they are personally and collectively liable for any actions or actions impairing the public interest.
Registrar can’t tell the housing society to give NOCs to its members: Bombay HC.
The Bombay High Court ruled in July 2019 that a deputy registrar of cooperative societies cannot order a harmonious housing society to give a community member a no-objection certificate (NOC) so that he can make improvements and change how he uses his property. After hearing both sides of a case about a housing cooperative, the court decided.
On July 9, 2019, a resident of Mumbai’s Shree Raghunandan Cooperative Housing Society filed a formal complaint with the city’s deputy registrar. The deputy registrar told the housing society to give the member the necessary NOCs on the same day so that the member could connect four apartments and turn the property from residential to commercial. The High Court said, “It’s a disagreement between a member and the society that needs to be settled somewhere else.”
Conclusion
We will end our consideration of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act hereThe Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act says that for a housing society to register under the Act, it would need five individuals from various families or 51 percent of an ability to qualify flats to agree with the proposal.