Society Monthly Maintenance Charges

617 votes

Popular methods of calculating Maintenance charges
There are two common ways in which each housing society can decide the service charges for each member. The society is free to choose the design that suits their respective needs. The two popular methods used to calculate maintenance charges are:

Flat Wise: Flat wise service charge module calculates sum or total maintenance charge to be incurred by the society and divides equally among all flat owners irrespective of the size of the flat. This method brings a sense of fairness to each flat owner and society resident. This method is best adopted in housing societies where each flat is of the same size.

Area Wise: Under the Area Wise maintenance charge method, the total costs incurred by the society are charged according to the area in terms of per square feet owned by each member. The common areas are divided equally using a fixed rate while flats are calculated depending on the size of the apartment. For example, If acrate is Rs. 2/sqt then for 1000 sqft flats it is Rs 2000/per month and for 1500 sqft flat it is Rs 3000/per month.

Understanding Maintenance Charge Calculations
Housing societies have the option of charging their maintenance charges in either per square feet or per flat basis.
Regulations in most states are not clear, but the model bye-laws of MOFA provide a simple solution. As per the Act, each housing society must follow a combination of per sq ft and per flat for various heads. There are however some exceptions as Co-operative Housing Socities (CHS) are not allowed to levy maintenance charges based on the area of flat of members under MOFA. This was clearly mentioned in the judgment following a writ Petition of Venus CHS Ltd and another, when the cooperative housing society wanted to switched from flat-wise monthly charges to area-wise monthly charges.

Advocate Chinnmay S. Shah LawRato

842 votes

This is my response to you:
1. The society should charge maintenance as per the bye laws;
2. This shall be on the per area basis. please go through your bye laws;
3. Consult a local lawyer, discuss full facts and take steps.

Advocate Gowaal Padavi LawRato