Your Housing Problems & Solutions
Improper Distribution Of Maintenance Charges
Q: Our society has 36 members and maintenance charges on items like lifts, money paid towards security guards, cleaning staff, lightings in the common areas like staircase, the compound etc are charged based on the area of the flat.
These are common services rendered outside the Members’ flats. Should it not be charged equally by all the members irrespective of their flat size?
A: Under the Bye-law Nos 65(g) and 66, there are common service charges listed which are the same to all flats and shops, irrespective of their area.
If your society charges these service charges according to the area of the flat, then, under Bye-law No. 174(A)(xxii), with proof make a complaint against your society to the Deputy Registrar(DR) of Cooperative Societies of your area. You have to be very persuasive on your complaint to DR. After 15 days of your complaint to DR, write an RTI application to the Public Information Officer (PIO) of DR, asking PIO to give you information on action taken by DR, on your complaint letter to DR. If you find that no action is taken by DR, then against DR, make a complaint to District DR or DDR. You can simultaneously make a Lokshahi Din Complaint (LDC) to the District Collector, who takes LDC hearing on every first Monday of the month, in his Office. Collector will pass the order to DR, asking him to take action against your Society within a month of his order.
Failure of Administrator to Perform Duties
Q: Administrator has been appointed in our society in the month of September 2019. He is collecting maintenance charges but not giving any account to any member. Such as how much money has been collected from members and how much spent. We even requested the administrator to send a statement on email to members to no avail. We have reason to believe that he is misusing the funds of our society. He is also unwilling to call for a meeting on Zoom stating that society bylaws do not allow for the same. Please advise.
A: An Administrator is appointed to a CHS to correct the irregularities in the CHS's administration. An administrator, after he has taken charge of the society, has to take a meeting of the flat owners (members) of the society, and should inform the society, that he is appointed for a period of six months, and after which, he will review the progress of work that he did, and take permission of the society's members, whether he should continue further or ask Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies to appoint a new administrator. From the details you have shared, it appears that he has not done this.
He should come to Society's office every week, and his weekly presence should be informed or notified to the members of the society on a notice board. He should give his mobile number to society's members in that notice, to facilitate them to contact him, to solve any of their difficulties over phone, since an administrator is not a member of the society, who resides in Society's building. From September 2019 to February, 2021, he should give account statements and balance sheets for two financial years, 2018-2019 and 20192020, and also take an AGM of these two years. It appears this has also not been done by the admin istrator. Therefore very purpose of appointing an Authorised Officer (this is the new term for Administrator) to your society is defeated.With all these defects as above, you should make a complaint against the Authorised Officer of your society, to Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies of your area, to replace him by another efficient Authorised officer.
Audit Report of Society
Q: The last date (31/12/20) for submission of an online audit report of the housing society to the Registrar has already passed. Now, how will the members come to know whether the committee has submitted the same to the Registrar's Office or not?
Or will the Auditor submit through his mail account? If it is not submitted within the time given, what action will the Registrar take against the Managing Committee?
A: To know whether your society has submitted its audit report of the financial year, 2019-2020 to Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies, you can write an RTI application to the Public Information Officer (PIO) of Deputy Registrar (DR).
If the PIO of DR says that your society has not submitted its audit report to DR, then make a complaint against your society to DR, to appoint an Authorised Officer to do audit of the society, and then conduct the AGM of the society.