REGISTRATION OF CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETIES
According to
the Law, every Builder / Developer has to form a Housing Co-operative Society
with limited options available in this regard to managing the affairs of the
building i.e.
(a)
Condominium
(b) Private
Limited Company and
(c) Co-operative
Society, (excluding the unrealistic rental housing),
It wouldn’t
be an exaggeration to state that in at least 90% the Promoters and / or the
Builders have formed a Housing Co-operative Society.
The basic
requirements for a Co-operative Housing Society Registration normally are
unknown to the flat/unit purchasers. It is the statutory obligation cast upon
the builder, where the builder acts as a friend, philosopher, and guide of the
promoters and helps them in forming a Co- operative Housing Society.
There are
four types of Housing Co-operative Societies
(a) Open
Plot type Societies [Tenant ownership]
(b) Flat
Owners Societies [Tenant Co-partnership]
(c) Tenant
Societies
(d) Housing
Board Societies.
The
procedure for <strong>Co-operative Housing Society
Registration</strong> begins with electing a Chief Promoter in a meeting
of the Promoters. The builder under the Flat Owners type of co-operative
society has the first right to act as the chief promoter. The developer / flat
purchasers should call for a meeting of the Promoters by issuing the notice
under Agenda of the meeting given at least 14 days notice to the Promoters. In
this meeting, a Chief Promoter is elected who can exercise such powers and
carry out such functions as are mentioned in the minutes of the Promoters of
the proposed Co-operative Society. After electing the Chief Promoter, the
proposed name of the society has to be decided by the Promoters. Normally, the
name reservation proposal should be accompanied by the signature of at least 10
Promoters who have attended the meeting. It is a common belief that the Society
should consist of at least 10 members. If the number is less than 10 then
special permission from Government has to be taken. In such cases, the
garages/car parking may be allotted to other relatives of the promoter to reach
a number of 10.
It would be
of interest to note that the model bye-laws define flat as a Flat means a
separate set and self-contained set of premises used or intended to be used or
intended to be used for residence, or office or showroom, or shop, or godown
and includes a garage, or dispensary, or consulting room, or clinic, or flour
mill, the premises forming part of a building and includes an apartment. On
allotment of name and permission to open a bank account by the Registrar, the
Chief Promoter has to collect Share Capital, Entrance Fees from promoters and
deposit the same in the branch of the bank permitted by the Registrar. It
should be noted that the amount cannot be withdrawn from the Bank till the
Society is Registered or its Registration is refused, except with prior written
permission of the Registrar. The Chief Promoter should submit Registration
Proposal to the Registering Authority within a period of 3 months from the date
of issue of Letter of Reservation in the name of the proposed Society.
The
documents that need to be submitted to the Registering Authorities for Housing
Co-operative Society Registration are as under:
1.
Application for registration of Housing Co-operative Society in Form A along
with Statement A. Enclosure to application for Registration as per Rule 4(1) of
Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Rules, 1961.
2.
Information about proposed Housing Co-operative Society in Statement ‘B’ (vide
Govt. Circular dated 2-5-1980).
3. Information
about promoter members of the proposed Housing Co-operative Society in
Statement ‘C’ (vide Govt. Circular dt. 2-5-1980).
4. A
Statement of Accounts as per Form D.
5. Model
Bye-laws.
6. Bank
Balance Certificate.
7. S.B.I. /
Treasury Challan for payment of Registration Fee of Rs. 2500
8. Title
Clearance Certificate from an Advocate
9. A true
copy of the approved Building Plan.
10. Letter
of Authority Granting permission to commence construction work/Completion
Certificate (if applicable).
11.
Affidavit on Rs. 100/- Stamp Paper from at least 10 promoter members to the
effect that they are residing in the area of operation of the Society
(Proposed), made before a Competent Authority.
12. An
affidavit from the Chief Promoter on Stamp Paper of Rs. 100/- executed before
the Competent Authority in form ‘Y’.
13.
Certified True Copy of an agreement made on Stamp paper and registered between
the builder, promoter and purchasers of flat.
14. Where
the promoter members are firms/ companies, a letter of authority from such
firms/companies authorizing the promoter to sign on behalf of firm / company. 15. In the case of such proposed societies, names
of 60% of the flat holders of the total number of flats constructed or proposed
to be constructed as per the plan approved, must be included in Statement ‘A’
to be attached to the Registration Proposal. It is the duty of the Registrar to
register the society and on registration of the society; it becomes a separate
legal entity. Thereafter, the management of the affairs of the society is
carried out by the managing committee which is elected by the general body
meeting of the society. It may be of interest to note that in a co-operative
society the principle is one member one vote. In a co-operative society, the
right to be exercised in the general body meeting is a personal right. This is
one of the reasons why even a person holding a power of attorney cannot attend
the general body meeting of the society. The quantum of the capital being
introduced by the member is not of much importance. Preference should be given
to the formation of a private limited company if one member proposes to acquire
the majority of flats in the building.
