Mangaluru Civil Court orders maintenance charges for flats based on area

Team Udayavani, Sep 4, 2024, 10:46 AM IST

The Fourth Additional Civil Court in Mangaluru has ordered that maintenance charges for flats in multi-story buildings should be collected based on the area of each flat.

Chandrahasa Amin, a flat owner of a multi-story building near Kottara had filed a lawsuit challenging the decision of the building’s association that all flat owners should pay a uniform monthly maintenance charge.

As per the plaint owners of 2 BHK and 3 BHK flats were paying monthly maintenance charges according to the area of their flats and the proportionate undivided share of land from 2018 to 2021. However, in 2021, the building association decided that all flat owners should pay a uniform monthly maintenance charge.

After reviewing the documents and evidence submitted by both parties, the Fourth Additional Civil Court of Mangaluru, on August 21, ruled that under the 1972 Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act, flat owners are obligated to pay monthly maintenance charges based on the area of their flat or the percentage of their undivided share. The court also nullified the association’s decision to impose a uniform maintenance charge on all flat owners.