Register apartment land in our name, say flat owners in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: Flat owners in the city are demanding that the title deeds of the plots on which their apartments stand must be transferred in the name of their association, by way of executing a registered conveyance deed. They claim builders in Bengaluru and elsewhere in Karnataka are deliberately not doing so and this has created room for some promoters to mortgage the land or take up fresh construction activities, even after the passage of several years.
Sections 11 and 17 of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Act mandates the promoter or the builder should execute a registered conveyance deed of the undivided proportionate title in common areas to the association of allottees.This is required to be done within three months of getting the occupation certificate or the completion certificate.
The flat owners were participating in a session organised by Bangalore City Flat Owners’ Association (BCFOWA), a not-for-profit organisation for apartment owners/ associations/ federations/ forums, to spread awareness on ownership, management and maintenance of apartments and properties. Over 30 members from different apartment associations were in attendance.
Ganesh A, a flat owner from Uttarahalli, said: “We were first-time buyers of a flat so we weren’t aware of many things. I paid Rs 60 lakh to buy the flat. Except for the sale deed, we don’t have any other rights that talk about our ownership of the land. In the encumbrance certificate, my name is not shown; it actually scared me about ownership right on the flat I bought for a huge amount.”
Bharathi Srivastava, a resident of an apartment complex in Whitefield, asked: “Without the conveyance of the title deed for the entire land, how can we ensure that fresh encumbrances aren’t created on the land?”
Charge for common areas
Flat owners wonder why they are being fleeced in the name of common areas when the plot isn’t even in their name.
Veena Shantharam Prabhu, who owns a flat in Mangaluru, shared: “The land isn’t in the name of our society and yet I pay maintenance charges every month for maintaining our common areas, which actually belong to the builder. When our association asked me to pay the maintenance, I asked for a registration certificate but they didn’t provide me any such document. Then I said I wouldn’t pay. So they cut off my water and electricity connection, and the matter is in court now.”