Curation Team
BHUBANESWAR: In a historic first in Odisha, the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) issued a landmark order in favour of an association of allottees of a major residential project. This order empowers the association to disconnect essential supplies to a few units in the project if they fail to pay the monthly maintenance charge for a continued period.
The association of allottees moved the competent authority with a complaint about the wilful non-payment of common expenses by some flat owners. The BDA, hearing the plea, passed the order in favour of the allottees’ association, citing the provisions in the Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Act of 2023.
According to the case history, four of the house owners out of the total 160-odd houses in the project refused to pay the monthly maintenance charge to the association. They cited that it had not registered as per the act so far and that the maintenance of the common area and facilities in the apartment should be taken care of by the promoter.
The secretary of the association, however, provided the reason that the association had already been registered, and the common areas and facilities had been handed over to the association. For the maintenance of the common areas and facilities, a fixed individual contribution must be made by each of the allottees, the association argued.
The BDA, hearing the case, cited Section 19 (1) of the Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Act, 2023, which states that if an apartment owner either wilfully violates or evidently threatens to violate the provisions of this Act, including failure to pay the common expenses for a period of more than three months, the association of allottees can cut off the essential supplies to the defaulters.
The BDA, concluding the hearing in the matter, stated: “The allottees are directed to clear the outstanding dues towards the common expenses of the association within one month from the date of issue of this order.” It further stated that the association is at liberty to proceed with action as mentioned in the Act on the expiry of the one month’s notice against the allottees for failure to comply with the order.
Real estate experts welcomed the move, citing that it will create a sense of responsibility among people living in apartments. “In apartments, everyone has shared responsibility, and this should be realised by everyone living in it. Some people do wilfully refuse to take these responsibilities, resulting in resentment among others,” expert Bimalendu Pradhan said, citing the order as an eye-opener.
