Formation of an Apartment Owners Association in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh

Talking of flats and apartments, it is imperative that an apartment complex has a registered apartment association in order to ensure smooth functioning of the society. The Apartment Owners Association takes care of the management of common apartment areas and all welfare requirements of the residents. The Apartment Owners Association elects a Managing Committee, which is responsible for collecting maintenance fees and using it for the upkeep of common amenities, such as the lift, club house, gym, apartment security, and various other issues.

However, the Apartment Owners Association needs to be registered to be recognized as a legal body and exercise legal rights. While Apartment Associations need not be mandatorily registered, it is certainly advisable to register the association of your apartment. Here’s the procedure for the formation of an Apartment Association in and Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.

There are various laws under which the Apartment Owners Association can register itself in Andhra Pradesh- the Societies Registration Act, 1960, which is a central act applicable to all states in India, other than Jammu and Kashmir; A.P Societies Registration Act, 2001, which is the registration act specifically released for the state of Andhra Pradesh. This act extends to the entire state.  Only a group of seven or more people, who work for public interest at large, such as promotion of art, culture, literature, religion, science, philosophy, can register under this act.; or The Andhra Pradesh Apartments (Promotion of Construction and Ownership) Act, 1987. In fact, most apartment associations in Andhra Pradesh are registered under this act.

 According to this law, Association of Apartment Owners is defined as “all the apartment owners acting as a group in accordance with the provisions made by it in the bylaws”. The builder, who has constructed the apartments for the purpose of selling them, is called the “Promoter” according to this law. Under this law, the promoter has to submit in writing the date by which the apartments will be handed over to the apartment owners, as well as a list of common properties and documents that will be handed over to the Apartment Association.

According to The Andhra Pradesh Apartments (Promotion of Construction and Ownership) Act, the common property of the Association includes:

• The land on which the building is located.
• Stairs, entrances, fire-exits, elevators, terraces, lobbies, halls, basements, parking lots, cellars, children’s playing grounds etc.
• Premises for the lodging of persons employed for the management and maintenance of the building.
• Installation of central cervices such as water, electricity, gas etc.
• All apparatuses and installations for general use such as tanks, bore wells, and pumps.

  To register under the A.P Societies Registration Act, 2001, or Andhra Pradesh Apartments Act, 1987, a set of documents along with a formal application needs to be submitted to the Registrar of the District. The application must have the signature of all the applicants as well as that of a witness. The following documents need to be attached with the application:

A Memorandum of Association of the society, which must include:

1. The name of the society
2. The aims and objectives of the society
3. The name and occupations of the members in the committee
4. The person in the committee who is authorized to correspond with the Registrar of the District
5. The by-laws of the society stating the membership eligibility; process for electing the Managing Committee; rules for holding meeting, quorum, functions and responsibilities; the office bearers with their responsibilities, election and removal process; types of fund raising, appointment of auditors, and other matters relating to internal management and dispute resolution.

All the documents submitted must be typed or printed and signed by all the applicants. All the persons who sign the application papers are considered the original members of the Association. However, later on, more members can be added to the Apartment Owners Association. It should be noted that it is mandatory for all owners of an apartment complex to become members of the Association.

Once the memorandum and by-laws are found to be legally valid, and the required registration fee has been paid, the Registrar issues the Apartment Association a Certificate of Registration, which proves that the society is legally registered.

However, it is vital to note here that the law requires a signed document to be registered within four months from the date of signing of the document. If it exceeds the given timeline of four months, a penalty is levied as late registration charges.

After the Association is registered it can take legal action on the behalf of the owners, as well as maintain the apartment and enforce the by-laws.

Read also: Bylaws: The constitution of your Apartment Association  and download a sample byelaws template that you can customize for your needs