Frequently Asked Questions on RWAs



From Sri S.Muralidharan of MH2 Owners welfare Association:

Which is the competent authority for registering the Resident Welfare Association?
1. Apartment Owners’ Associations (consisting of either one or more towers) can be registered:
Under Rule 7 (c) of Telangana Apartments (Promotion of Construction & Ownership) Rules, 1987 (Rules). The Competent Authority to register the Association is Commissioner for Co-operation and Registrar of Co-operative Societies.
Requirement to be fulfilled:
Minimum number of members 5 – Section 3 (c) of Telangana Apartments (Promotion of Construction & Ownership) Act, 1987 (ACT)  – Definition of building
All owners of Flats to submit Declaration under sections 2 and 14 of the Act  as contained in Rule12 – Form IV should be filed with the competent authority and also to be Registered under the Indian Registration Act, 1908(Rule 14). Competent Authority with whom Declarations are to be filed is Commissioner of GHMC in GHMC Area.
2. Apartment Owners Association  and also Association of owners of Villas in a gated Community can be registered with Registrar of Co-operative Society under Section 6 of Telangana Co-operative Societies Act, 1964. The Competent authority to register is Registrar of Co-operative Societies.
Requirement to be fulfilled:
Minimum number of members 21 persons.
NOTE: Apartment Owners’ Association cannot be registered under the Telangana Societies Act, 2001, in view of the High Court Judgment in the case of M/s. Nuggest Estates Private Limited and Belvedere Residents Welfare Association and the Circular memo dated 28/01/2019, issued by the Commissioner and Inspector General, Registration and Stamps, Telangana.

Have we to file the byelaws and subsequent amendments before the competent authority?
Yes, byelaws and subsequent amendments have to be filed with the competent authority.

Is it incumbent upon the authority to approve byelaws every time or filing is enough?
Amendments have to be filed with the competent authority and the same have to be approved by the Competent Authority ( Registrar of Co-operative Societies – Section 16 of the  Telangana Co-operative Societies Act 1964. Even if the Association is registered under Telangana Apartments (Promotion of Construction and  Ownership)  Act, 1987, byelaws have to register with the Registrar of Co-operative Societies. Hence by operation of the procedural aspects, the Registrar of Co-operative Societies has to approve and register the amendments.

What if this is not followed by the association now when the committee changes every 2 years?
The Amendments are not effective and cannot be acted upon

Who is responsible for any mismanagement? Is the present committee or previous ones or the committee under whose control the mismanagement occurred?
In my opinion, obviously, the members of the Committee under whom the mismanagement occurred.

For forming new EC, the election process is followed. In a given situation, no one applies for nomination. Election cancelled. But later, either by persuasion or by one’s own desire some people come forward and get nominated. Is it correct as per law ?
If the byelaws are registered under Co-operative Societies Act, elections are to be held under the supervision of the representative of the Registrar of Co-operative Societies, as per the detailed procedure laid down under the cooperative laws.

If the byelaws are registered under the Societies Registration Act, EC is to be constituted as per byelaws of the Society, generally in an Annual General Meeting or in an Extra-Ordinary General Body Meeting.

What are the Acts that govern the RWAs ?
Telangana Apartment (Promotion of Construction and Ownership) Act, 1987 and The Real Estate (Development and Regulation) Act 2016 mention about the RWAs.  Modal Byelaws prescribed under Telangana Apartment (Promotion of Construction and Ownership) Rules,1987 lays down detailed guidelines and management and administration of RWAs. Maharashtra State Cooperative Societies Act, has a separate  chapter on Housing Societies which in a way are RWAs.          

By Sri. G. Jagadeeswara Rao, 
CA, B.Com., FCA.,DISA (ICAI), Tarnaka, Hyderabad

Post a Comment

0 Comments