HC poser on space sale in Gurgaon societies

There is good news for people living in highrises and apartments in Haryana who have been fighting builders over control of common properties. In a recent judgment defining the status of common properties in group housing complexes in Haryana, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked director town and country planning (DTCP) to look into the objections filed by Silver Oaks Society (SOS) against builder DLF for selling off such facilities commercially.

SOS had objected to the sale of shops, community centre and club, parking places and nursery school on the grounds that such properties belonged to the apartment owners collectively and DLF could not have sold them off or retained them as its own property.

The DTCP has been given six months to decide on SOS objections on the basis of the criteria laid down by the court. The latter also ordered that owners in Silver Oaks Colony, which has 749 apartments, who were denied membership of the condominium association, be permitted to join the same and fresh elections be held within two months under supervision of the DTCP.

Complexes such as Heritage City, Garden Estate, Silver Oaks and Central Park in the Millennium City, where thousands of people reside, are or have been involved in disputes with the builders over this matter.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked DTCP to examine afresh the declaration filed by DLF under the Haryana Apartment Ownership Act while transferring properties to the buyers saying, “the competent authority is to be guided by the provisions, objects and spirit of the Act in this matter.” The court said in the decision that all properties in such condominiums in Haryana are either apartments or limited areas and facilities or common areas and facilities. Anything not covered by the definition of apartment had to fall into either categories, leaving no scope for outside ownership.

The judgment was delivered on a petition filed by SOS in 2003 and covers an issue of vital interest to dozens of group housing societies in Gurgaon and the rest of the state. The order was passed by a bench comprising Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Daya Chaudhary.

Said Col B K Dhawan, president of Apartment Owners Association (Haryana), “This will bring relief to all multistoreyed complexes in Haryana, especially in Gurgaon and Faridabad.”
Source:- The Times of India 23 September 2009 Page No.6 Delhi