Does the developer/builder own the land where the apartments situate

740 votes

When one person has purchased one's apartment in a multi-unit building, the apartment owner has two interests in land: the exclusive possession of the apartment itself, and an attached covenant that grants the apartment owner certain access to the building and grounds in exchange for a promise from the building owner that the owner will maintain the building and grounds. That is ; when you buy an apartment, you are technically buying two things. The first component is the constructed part of the building where the owners will actually reside, while the second is a proportionate share of the land on which the property is built.

In case of Condominium, even one person who owns the entire building can form a Condominium provided there are at least five Apartments in the building. In the case of a Condominium, the title of each Apartment rests with the Apartment owner, who also has a proportionate undivided interest in the land on which the building stands the common areas and facilities of the building.
The sum of all the undivided shares for each apartment owner must be proportionate to the area of the land in which the apartment has been constructed. undivided shares can be calculated by multiplying the total land area with the size of the individual apartment and dividing the result by the total area of all apartments in the project.

So peruse the sale deed first. There is usually a dedicated section in the agreement that gives the details regarding the undivided shares, which is often mentioned in either percentage terms

Advocate Ajay NS LawRato