Guide to Income Tax for Apartment Associations

Income Tax for Housing Societies

For most apartment associations, member contributions form the major chunk of their income. These contributions by members are credited to different heads by the housing association. These include Maintenance charges, Property Tax, Sinking Fund, Municipal taxes, etc. This income that the society generates is used to meet the day-to-day expenses of the society. The expenses and any amount that is left over after making payments are not subject to income tax. Because of this some members assume that housing associations are exempt from paying any kind of tax. This is not so. Apart from member contributions, a housing society may generate income from other sources as well, some of which can be taxable. As per the provisions of the Income-tax Act, Co-operative Societies are treated as an association of persons and are supposed to file the Income Tax returns if this income is in excess of Rs.20,000/.

To pay Income Tax, a Co-operative Society should get a Permanent Account Number by making an application in Form No. 49A. Since housing associations generate income to provide services to themselves rather than to generate profit, there are many exemptions that they can avail of. The deductions in respect of income are provided under Section 80P of the Income Tax Act. Each of these deductions is distinct and independent and the category of income needs to be considered to decide under which head the deduction belongs to.

Let’s take a look at some of the heads under which income is taxable and the exemptions available:

Non –Occupancy Charges

If monthly charges paid by members are not taxable, why should that paid by non-occupying members be taxable? The logic that the Income Tax department uses is simple. It levies tax on non-occupancy charge on members because the owner of the apartment / flat is paying for facilities that he/she is not enjoying. This is in contrast to residing members who are paying for facilities that they are utilizing.

Transfer fee

Whenever a member transfers his share, rights and interest in a property, the member has to pay a transfer fee to the housing society. According to the Model Bye Law, the transfer amount is to be fixed by the general body meeting. However, the amount shall not exceed Rs. 25,000. This amount is taxable under the Income Tax Act.

Rental income from advertisement hoardings

The amount earned as rent from advertisement hoardings in the society premises is fully taxable under the head Business Income / Income from other sources. However any expenses that can be directly attributable to the earning of this income can be claimed as deduction.

Rental from Cable and Mobile Towers

Similar to the revenue earned from advertisement hoardings, the rental earned from Cable and Mobile Towers is taxable under the head Income from House Property. Under this head, it is also eligible for standard deduction u/s 24 (a) @ 30 % of the rent. In case the society has borrowed capital to construct any infrastructure to support the Cable / Mobile Towers then a proportionate deduction can be claimed for interest paid on the borrowed capital.

Rental from Open Spaces/Terraces

Open spaces and terraces can be rented out to members as well as outsiders. If the area is rented out to Members then the income will not be taxable. However, if the rent has been received by non-members then the income is taxable under the head Income from House Property & will qualify for deductions as mentioned earlier.

Parking and Shop Rental Charges

Parking charges levied by members is not liable for tax as it is part of the income that is paid by members for the services used by the members. However, the amount that is earned from outsiders vehicles is liable for Income Tax.
Some societies have shops within its premises. The maintenance charges and any other income earned from these shops are taxable if it serves non-residents. But if it is only for the purpose of the residents, then any income earned from it is not taxable.

Interest on investments and Dividends

Housing societies may invest their excess funds to earn interest on it. This investment can be in Co-operative banks or any other institution. The interest that the society earns on investments made in Co-operative Banks qualifies for deduction @ 100% under section 80P (d). Other income, however, is fully taxable. Similarly dividend income received from Indian Companies under section u/s 10 (34) and Co-operative Banks under section 80P (d) are 100% deductible.

Miscellaneous Income

Sometimes, the housing society may receive an additional amount from a builder for additional floors to be built. In such a case, the income earned will be termed as short term capital gains if the society is less than three years old and the entire amount will be taxable. If the society is more than three years old then it will be treated as long term capital gains which it can invest in suitable instruments to gain tax exemption u/s 54EA/EB.

Slabs and Deductions

A Co-operative society qualifies for a general deduction of Rs. 50,000 under section 80 P (2) (c) against any business income.

The income tax slab for societies is as follows:

Income up to Rs. 10,000 10 %
Income up to Rs. 20,000 20 %
Above Rs. 20,000/- 30 %

The applicable Education and Higher Education Cess would have to be added to this.


This article aims at collating and providing a ready to use guideline for treasurers of the association for benefit of ApnaComplex customers and blog readers. While ApnaComplex has taken every care to ensure the information is accurate, we suggest to please use the information in the article as a guidance and do your own due diligence before calculating the tax. If you need professional advice on this topic and any other property related matters, please send your request through our contact us form.

Before you buy: A checklist for Apartment Buyers

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If you are looking for a checklist to download, click here.

Buying an apartment is one of the most exciting, yet at the same time, most challenging tasks in life. It is exciting because it is one of the biggest financial and emotional commitments one can make. At the same time, buying a home is one of the most demanding activities because of the many pitfalls involved in the process. From fly-by-night developers who are only interested in making a fast buck to poor quality of construction to use of inferior materials and fittings to lack of supervision and inadequate approvals from the concerned government authorities… there are many issues that an apartment buyer has to grapple with. In this article we try to offer you a checklist that could help you decide whether your money and efforts will buy you an apartment that you’d be proud to call home.

Whether you’re planning to buy an under-construction property or a ready-possession flat, do go through the check list given below:

Know the builder

It is always better to go with a builder who has an established presence in the market. A builder who has a good reputation in the market may charge a slight premium over the other builders, which could be well worth it. Consider it as an investment for your peace of mind. Check the following facts about the builder before you decide to consider a certain property:

  • Has the builder constructed sufficient number of projects to establish a reputation?
  • Does the builder enjoy a reputation for completing projects on time?
  • Is the quality of their projects as per the standards you’re looking for?
  • Is the quality of staff employed by the builder helpful and courteous with your queries?
  • Do the leading financial institutions have tie-ups with the builder?

Know the project

Once you’ve short listed the builders whose properties you’d like to buy, find out more about their projects by using the following checklist:

  • Is the project located in an area of your choice?
  • Is the project easy to access by road and rail?
  • Does it have common facilities within easy reach?
  • What is the distance from critical infrastructure like schools, hospitals, fire and police stations?
  • What are the future civic plans for the locality?
  • What is the weather impact on the locality? Does the area get flooded during the monsoons?
  • What is the noise and air level pollution in the area?
  • How is the water availability in the area?
  • What is the number of buildings that are being planned? Will the long construction period affect the quality of living?
  • What is the project plan? Does it leave enough open space for leisure activities?
  • Does it have enough parking spaces for residents and visitors?
  • If the building has lifts does it have back up power supply?
  • Is the construction environmentally and structurally sound? Is it an earthquake-proof construction?
  • What would be the monthly maintenance outgo for the project?
  • Is the project in a safe locality? Does the project offer security staff cabins and intercoms?
  • If you’re buying a flat on resale or in a ready constructed property, check with the existing owner’s association and existing residents. You should be able to get lot of valuable information regarding the project and the locality.

Know your apartment

Once you’ve identified the projects that you’d be interested in investing, check out the apartment with the help of the following checklist:

  • Get the floor plan of your apartment.
  • Calculate the carpet area of the apartment.
  • Check out the inside and outside wall finish. Does the outside wall have a weather coat?
  • Check the floorings used. Does the bathroom and kitchen have floorings that are safe?
  • Inspect the electrical fittings. Do they have child-safe fittings? Are the electrical fittings of a reputed brand?
  • Check the bathroom and kitchen fittings. Are they of a quality brand?
  • Check the door and window quality. Are the doors built to provide easy access? Do the windows allow enough light and air into the rooms?
  • Does the flat allow cross-ventilation for better circulation of air?
  • Does the ceiling have sufficient height?
  • Are the features offered in the rooms of contemporary style and usability?
  • Is the view from all windows of the room acceptable?
  • Do the rooms have provisions for AC fittings?
  • Are there enough outlets for phone, TV and internet connections?
  • Are there provisions for storage and drying clothes?

Know your documentation

Even if you’ve liked an apartment, don’t be in a hurry to sign up the deal and hand over your money. Go through the following documentation carefully to save yourself years of headache later on. These documents are the final checklist that you need to verify before you make your buying decision.

  • What is the rate quoted per square feet? Is it reasonable when you calculate it in terms of the carpet area?
  • There are other statutory charges along with additional charges that the builder quotes outside of the apartment cost. Have you considered those costs?
  • What are the extra amounts that the builder is charging?
  • How much will the statutory charges such as Stamp Duty, Registration Fee, Electricity connection fee, Water connection fee, Sales Tax, Building tax, service tax and other expenditure add up to?
  • If you’re going for an under-construction flat, what will be the payment schedule? In case, you are booking a flat in an under construction apartment, ask for a copy of the schedule and any service and value added tax that you may have to pay.
  • Compare the layout of the apartment with the plan given by the builder. Is there any difference between the two?
  • Does the documentation provided by the builder suggest a clear title? Get it verified from a government authority if you need to be sure.
  • Check the fittings provided in the apartment with the promises made by the builder in their brochures.
  • Check if all the necessary property approvals have been obtained from the land development or planning authorities under the Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act and the Income-Tax Act.
  • Has the municipal corporation issued an occupancy certificate to the project? Insist on seeing this.
  • If you’re buying a resale property, check the ownership document to see the earlier transactions. Also check that the required statutory approvals including stamp duty and property registrations have been done.
  • Check that the builder has acquired all the legal approvals from the Municipal Corporation the Electricity Boards, the water supply and Sewage Boards and the Area Development Authorities.

While the above list is not comprehensive, most buyers consider only a few of the above parameters that are listed above when investing their hard-earned money in their home. Following this checklist will appear time-consuming. But believe us, it will save you years of trouble and offer you peace of mind that really lasts.

We wish you the very best for your dream home!

The entire checklist can be downloaded in excel format from here.


Read also:
Guide to Buying a Property in Bangalore from a Legal Perspective
How to purchase an Aparment in Bangalore – Some Tips


This article aims at collating and providing a ready to use checklist for prospect buyers of an apartment for benefit of ApnaComplex blog readers. While ApnaComplex has taken every care to ensure the information is accurate, we suggest to please use the information in the article and the template provided as a guidance and do your own due diligence before buying any property. If you need professional advice on this topic and any other property related matters, please send your request through our contact us form. We encourage readers to post more items that can be added to the checklist ad we would be glad to release an updated checklist for benefit of the buyers.

No more power failures in your residential complex!

Unless you live in one of the super-exclusive localities in India, power failures will be an all too familiar concept. As you go further into the interiors, frequent power cuts become the norm instead of the exception. And the way the power situation appears, India will be experiencing a major shortage of power in the coming years irrespective of the efforts of the government. Sure, we have diesel generators for back-ups. But with the increasing cost of fuel and the environmental impact of fossil fuels, it’s not the wisest choice either.

So what’s the solution? For a country like India, which enjoys an average of 300 sunny days, the answer is blowing in the air: yes, Solar Energy. Environmental-friendly, renewable, and being completely free, solar energy should be the obvious future for India. It should be the ideal solution for residential complexes like yours to reduce power cuts as well as your electricity bills.  All it needs is the will and the foresight to make an investment that will pay dividends in the years to come.

Use of Solar Power in Residential Societies

A wonderful example of a residential complex going solar right from inception is Rabi Rashmi Abasan (http://www.bengaldcl.com/Rabi_rashmi.htm) society in Kolkata. This complex consists of bungalows with each bungalow being fitted with solar photovoltaic panels on their rooftops. In turn, each bungalow is fitted with a solar heater that is connected to the kitchen and bathrooms. These solar panels generate around 60 units of electricity every day – which is about two units for every home. The complex still uses power from the main electricity grid, but the dependency and thus the bills, are much lower. Any surplus energy that the society generates gets pushed back into the state power utilities. The difference between what the society uses from the power grid and what it pushes back is monitored and the society pays the balance to the electricity board. This project was envisioned by the West Bengal government, to showcase how solar power can drastically reduce traditional power consumption in modern homes.

Cities Encouraging Solar Power

Rabi Rashmi is an example of just one project. There’s an example of a city that has adopted solar energy as the way to power its future. No, it’s difficult to guess the city as it’s not one of the metros or even one of the other larger cities. The city we are talking about is Thane in Maharashtra.

Their effort started a few years back when they introduced solar panels at the Rajiv Gandhi Medical College. The introduction of solar heating reduced their electricity bills by a whopping Rs. 9 lakh per annum as it heated around 19,000 litres on a daily basis. Buoyed by the success of this exercise, the Thane Municipal Corporation offered a 10% cut in property tax for those residential complexes that adopt this facility. It was noticed that societies that adopted solar heating were able to recover their costs as early as three years.  So successful was the experiment that the corporation has now made it mandatory for all upcoming complexes to have solar water heaters as part of their facilities.

Cities like Bangalore and Pune are other examples where the government is taking proactive steps to encourage the use of solar energy. Bangalore has the largest deployment of rooftop solar water heaters in the country, generating a daily equivalent of 200 MW, with 60% of the city’s household and industrial units using solar water heaters. It also offers an incentive of Rs. 50 on monthly electricity bills for residents using roof-top thermal systems. This is now being mandatory for all new structures. Pune is the other city, which, like Thane and Bangalore, has made installation of solar water heaters in new buildings mandatory. At present, it is estimated that 20 per cent of houses in Pune are using solar water heating units.

Power Solar Equipments for Residential Use

Residential solar panels are available in various shapes, sizes and categories. You should select the panels depending on your requirement and your investment ability. For a typical household that uses four Compact Fluorescent (CFL) bulbs of nine watts, a fan and a television set for six hours every day, the solar panel would cost around Rs 25,000. To run all the fans, lights and other gadgets, the cost would be anywhere between Rs 30,000 and 60,000. And if you plan to install a 100-litre water heater, the cost will be around Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 20,000.

Residential complexes could start with using the energy generated to power the common facilities in: the lawns, the passages, the fans, lights and computer in the society office, the security cabin, club house, etc. You could then move to installing solar heaters for all residents of your complex. Studies show that as much as 25% of a household’s electric consumption is for heating water! Imagine if that cost can be totally eliminated for life! You can also consider replacing your diesel-guzzling back-up generators with environment-friendly solar power. With fuel prices on the rise, this is one investment that can show healthy savings in the immediate future.

Once installed, maintaining solar panels is pretty easy. They are flexible enough to be moved from one place to another. If you can keep it away from dirt and pollution, you won’t need to service it regularly either. All you need to maintain it properly is clean and wipe it regularly so that the efficiency of the panel is always at a high.

Government Incentives

IREDA (Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency) provides soft loans at 2% to domestic users, 3% to institutional users not using accelerated depreciation and 5% to industrial/commercial users availing depreciation. The government also provides an interest subsidy, besides a 5% rebate on property tax. You can check details of all incentives offered by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) under the recently launched Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission here. The Delhi government provides a rebate of Rs. 6,000 for every solar water heater you install.

The onus is now on us. Are we up to it? Residential complexes can take the initiative and use solar power to reduce their power consumption, avoid power cuts and cut down on electricity bills. Although the initial investment may seem high, once adopted the future benefits of solar energy to the residential complex as well as to society at large is simply immense.


This article aims at collating and providing information on using solar energy for residential complexes for benefit of ApnaComplex customers and blog readers. While ApnaComplex has taken every care to ensure the information is accurate, we suggest to please use the information in the article only as a guidance for further discussion and action with help of relevant professionals. If you need professional advise on this topic or any other property related matters, please send your request through our contact us form. You may post your questions/inputs in the Comments section below and we will try and get them answered through relevant subject matter experts. 

How to Conduct an AGM in your Apartment Complex?

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If you are looking for sample AGM notice template for residential welfare association or apartment owners association, download from here.

Annual General Meeting Basics

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of a Residential Complex is a yearly event held to discuss the major issues facing the society and to collectively reach a consensus on the best solutions possible. Ideally, the AGM should be held before August 14th of a year (or as mentioned in bylaws of your association). You can extend this date by not more than three months after getting the permission of the Registrar of Societies. In case the Registrar is not convinced about the reasons for the delay in holding the AGM, Registrar may appoint an authorised officer to conduct the AGM at the cost of the society.

Most of the topics discussed during the AGM will be related to policies, finances and the future course of action for the society. While any topic can be discussed in the AGM, certain topics like electing new members, appointment of auditors, any policy change regarding expense amounts, etc. can only be finalized during an AGM.

Checklist for Managing Committee Members

The Managing Committee has its role cut out for this event. All the Committee members should ideally be present for the meeting, with the President, Secretary and Treasurer being the key members. If you’re part of the Managing Committee, you could use the checklist below to make sure your AGM goes off smoothly:

  • Have an internal meeting of the Managing Committee to fix a date for the AGM. Make sure that it doesn’t fall on a holiday or a long-weekend to ensure maximum participation from members.
  • Identify the venue for the meeting. (Take into account the space that will be needed to accommodate maximum participation.)
  • Circulate the notice to all members of the society least 21 days in advance.
  • Get the accounts audited and signed by the President, the Secretary and the Treasurer.
  • Identify the auditors to be appointed and their remuneration for the upcoming year.
  • Prepare of the Annual Report for the AGM. The annual report should contain the work done by the managing committee in the past year and the focus areas for the coming year.
  • Circulate the Annual Report to all members of the society.
  • Get minutes of last year’s AGM and make a list of all the resolutions passed in last year’s resolution.
  • Make a list of all documents that will be presented during the AGM.
  • Keep the book of Accounts ready for inspection by the members
  • Prepare for the questions given by the members.

The committee members also need to take care of administrative aspects such as printing extra copies of the Annual Report for the day of the meeting, ensuring enough chairs for the meeting, make catering arrangement if you plan to provide any refreshments during the meeting etc.

Activities during AGM

A typical AGM will go along the following way:

  • Members sign the roll
  • Quorum gets established (minimum number of members required to have a valid meeting)
  • Meeting is called to order by the President
  • Minutes of last year’s AGM approved and confirmed
  • Financial report for the last financial year  is accepted
  • Transfer of flats mentioned in the annual report is approved
  • Admission of new members into the society is ratified
  • Ways to tackle defaulters in the society are discussed
  • Also ways to tackle non-cooperative members of the society
  • To discuss and approve the appointment of Auditors for the current financial year.
  • Issues related to lifts, gardens, common areas, etc.
  • Discuss salary hikes for the staff that are responsible for the functioning and maintenance of the society
  • Elect new members for the Managing Committee, if applicable
  • Discuss any other matter with the permission of the President
  • Vote of thanks

Post the AGM, it is important that the Secretary of the association circulates the minuites of the meeting to all members so that all members are aware of the decisions taken during the AGM.

Responsibilities of a Member

While the Managing Committee has its responsibilities, the ordinary members too have certain responsibilities. As a member of a Residential Complex, it is your duty to participate in the AGM and contribute to the discussions. Any decision made during this meeting will affect the quality of your life in the society – so don’t leave the responsibility on the others. Before you attend the meeting, familiarize yourself with the Agenda; clear any doubts you may have regarding anything with other members or someone from the Managing Committee before the meeting. Make a list of questions that you plan to ask based on what you’ve noticed about the functioning of the society. Take a copy of the Annual Report with you to the meeting. And finally, be at the meeting slightly before time so that the quorum is reached and the meeting can start off as scheduled.

We wish you a fruitful AGM for your society!

A sample Notice for an AGM can be downloaded from here.


This article aims at collating and providing information on bye-laws for residential complexes for benefit of ApnaComplex customers and readers. While ApnaComplex has taken every care to ensure the information is accurate, we suggest to please use the information in the article and the template provided only as a guidance for further discussion and action with help of relevant professionals. If you need professional advise on this topic and any other property related matters, please send your request through our contact us form. You may post your questions/inputs in the Comments section below and we will try and get them answered through relevant subject matter experts.


Bye Laws: The Constitution of your Apartment Association

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If you are looking for sample template of bylaws for residential welfare association or apartment owners association, download from here.

Need for Bye Laws

The primary responsibility of the Managing Committee of an Apartment Owners Association (or Residents Welfare Association) is to ensure proper maintenance of the Apartment Complex and to resolve any issues that residents face in a timely and effective manner. These are not easy tasks to handle when you consider the sheer variety of challenges that confront the committee. Convincing members to act in the interest of the society is no less a challenge either as almost every resident is aware of their rights but few accept their responsibilities. So how does a Managing Committee go about its day-to-day tasks, taking clear, unbiased actions that work in the best interest of the society? What are the powers of the Managing Committee that enables it to enforce its decisions? And what makes the members of an Apartment Complex accept these decisions?

The answer to all this lies in the rules and regulations that every Apartment Complex adopts from the moment it is registered. Called bye-laws of the society, these rules and regulations govern the day-to-day functioning of the Apartment Complex. So crucial is the role of bye-laws in the smooth functioning of a society that many consider them to be the constitution of an Apartment Complex.

Registering Your Bye Laws

The Co-operative Society Act is a Central Act that helps co-operative societies to manage their affairs. However, most States in India (Maharashtra in 1960, Gujarat in 1961, Karnataka 1960 and so on) have repealed this act and have created their own Co-operative Societies Act. These Acts specify the rules and regulations that are part of a model set and usually any residential Apartment Complex association is free to adopt these bye-laws in total or modify them as per their requirement and accept them. The Act thus offers a certain degree of flexibility to societies.

What is inflexible, however, is the need to get the bye-laws adopted. The bye laws are considered so critical for the efficient working of a society that it is mandatory for an Apartment Complex Association to approve and submit them to the Registrar of Societies during the formation of the association itself. The bye-laws adopted by an Apartment Complex should have the following details:

  • the aims and objectives of the society,
  • the details of the rules and regulations that apply to members,
  • the specifics of selecting a member and office-bearers of the society,
  • details of how the association aims to help the residents of the society
  • details of how it will go about getting the co-operation of all members. 
  • information on how the society will manage its income and expenses.
  • the list the office-bearers who will be authorized to issue cheques and monetary transactions on behalf of the association. (Bye-laws usually recommend rights to three-office bearers for signing any document or monetary transaction with any two of them required to sign at one particular time.)
  • details about transfer charges, maintenance costs, penalties, etc

The bye-laws should also mention when and how the AGM of the society will be held. Usually the first AGM should be held within six months from the close of the financial year. From the second year onwards, it should be held every year after March 31 and before August 14 as per bye-law no. 95or within an extended period as per Section 75(i) of the act. An AGM can be held by giving at least 21 days prior notice to members.

Amending your Bye Laws

Once the bye-laws are adopted, the society can function forever with that particular set of rules. However, the bye-laws can also be amended by the government or the residents themselves if the need arises. For example, if the bye-law says that the tenure of the Managing Committee should be 5 years, the association can change it to 3 years or 7 years by getting it approved by the General Body and then the Registrar. The new set of amended bye-laws will become functional for the association from the date of approval by the Registrar.

An Apartment Complex Association can amend its bye-laws in the following manner:

  1. A General Meeting (annual/special) should endorse the change with a two third majority of the members present in the meeting. This two third of members should not be less than one third of the total members in the society. (The Registrar may still accept the amendment under such a condition if the reason for the low turnout is explained in writing).
  2. The Managing Committee should submit the form mentioning the new law to be brought into force.
  3. The Committee should also submit four copies of the existing bye-laws along with the resolutions passed by the Annual General Meeting.
  4. Along with the signatures of the Managing Committee, the form should have the following details:
    • The date of the meeting at which the amendment was passed.
    • The number of members in the association.
    • Number of members of the present in the meeting.
    • Number of members who voted in favour of the amendment.

 The Registrar will register the amendment upon satisfaction that the amendment does not contravene any Act or rules that guide the functioning of a co-operative society. On approval, the Registrar will issue a certificate of registration along with the certified copy of the amendment. This is proof of the amendment being successfully registered. The Registrar of Societies can, however, refuse to register an amendment of the bye-laws. The Registrar will provide the reason for the decision in writing to the association.  

The bye-laws are thus binding as well as flexible enough for the Managing Committee to manage the affairs of the association as best as possible.

You can download a sample template of bye-laws from here.


This article aims at collating and providing information on bye-laws for residential complexes for benefit of ApnaComplex customers and readers. While ApnaComplex has taken every care to ensure the information is accurate, we suggest to please use the information in the article and the template provided only as a guidance for further discussion and action with help of relevant professionals. If you need professional advise on this topic and any other property related matters, please send your request through our contact us form. You may post your questions/inputs in the Comments section below and we will try and get them answered through relevant subject matter experts.