BENGALURU: A year after deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar said the existing Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act (KAOA) would be replaced with a new law, various associations bemoaned that nothing has happened in this regard. They say the existing act is inadequate in addressing their ownership and maintenance concerns.
However, Uma Shankar SR, additional chief secretary, said proceedings are under way on the proposed legislation. “We’ve now prepared a second-cut draft, revision has already taken place and will soon submit it to all relevant departments, ministers and the deputy CM. While there is no fixed deadline yet, we aim to finalise it within this year. The next step is to push it forward and make it a law,” Shankar said.
The draft bill follows similar acts in states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Telangana.
Apartment associations argue unclear laws hinder their ownership rights on the land on which their flats stand. They say that in the absence of clear-cut laws, builders retain the ownership of undivided land, without transferring it to flat owners’ associations.
Surendra, a representative of Karnataka Home Buyers’ Forum, said, “We anticipated the govt would table the new bill during the winter season. During the Feb 2024 legislature session, the deputy CM made the announcement that a new apartment law would be enacted, but there has been no execution. We really don’t understand what is stopping the govt from releasing the draft apartment ownership act to the public. Because of this dereliction, a huge number of cases are getting piled up with RERA, civil courts, and the high court.”
Anil Kalgi, from Bangalore City Flat Owners’ Association, however, claimed that the draft new law also lacks clarity on the roles and responsibilities of the owners’ association and is just a copy of the previous act.
However, Shankar asserted the draft clarifies key aspects such as registration, structure, rights of societies and their functioning. “It defines the rights and responsibilities of residents, associations, and promoters, along with contentious issues like common areas, private areas, and land title deed transfers. The objective is to remove any long-standing confusion.”
