MUMBAI: Maharashtra has rolled out one of the most comprehensive overhauls of cooperative housing society governance in recent years, with amendments to the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Rules, 1961 introducing a host of member-centric reforms that are set to affect lakhs of apartment owners across Mumbai, the MMR and the state. While the changes relating to self-redevelopment and lower penal interest on maintenance dues have received attention, several equally significant governance reforms have largely gone unnoticed.The amended Rules, which came into force on June 18, reduce the minimum number of members required to form a cooperative housing society from 10 to five, introduce a formal name reservation process for proposed societies, prescribe a procedure for admitting specified relatives as associate members on the recommendation of the original member, and make government-approved model bylaws automatically binding on all cooperative housing societies across Maharashtra, irrespective of whether an individual society formally adopts them.The amendments also grant voting rights to nominees admitted as provisional members after the death of an original member, make it mandatory for societies to issue public notices in two newspapers inviting claims from legal heirs where no nomination exists, prohibit societies from collecting charges not authorised under the Rules, empower the general body to decide parking allotments, and permit annual as well as special general body meetings, including those for redevelopment, to be conducted through video conferencing.Housing experts said the reforms are expected to reduce litigation, bring greater uniformity in society administration and improve transparency in areas that frequently trigger disputes, including succession, maintenance charges, parking and redevelopment.One of the most significant changes concerns succession. Under the amended Rules, the nominee of a deceased member can be admitted as a provisional member with voting rights until regular membership is granted. Earlier, nominees often remained without voting rights for prolonged periods because of delays in completing membership formalities, leading to uncertainty in society administration.Where a deceased member has not made a nomination, the Rules now prescribe a uniform procedure requiring societies to publish notices in two newspapers inviting claims from legal heirs before transferring membership. Housing experts said the provision is expected to reduce disputes and ensure greater legal transparency in inheritance-related matters.“The biggest challenge before cooperative housing societies has been ensuring a steady flow of maintenance funds amid frequent disputes over service charges. By incorporating well-settled legal principles into the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Rules, the government has given statutory backing to a uniform maintenance structure,” said Ramesh Prabhu, chairman, MahaSEWA.“The amendments are based on the state’s 2000 order and the Bombay High Court’s Venus Cooperative Housing Society judgment. While building-related expenses may continue to be recovered on an area basis, common service charges must be levied equally on all members. This will reduce disputes, curb arbitrary billing and bring greater legal certainty to society administration,” he said.In another significant reform, societies have been expressly prohibited from collecting any charges other than those specifically permitted under the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Rules, addressing a long-standing grievance of flat owners over miscellaneous levies imposed without statutory backing.Parking disputes—among the most common flashpoints in residential societies—have also been addressed. The amended Rules provide that parking allotments will be decided by the general body, reinforcing collective decision-making instead of leaving the issue solely to the managing committee.Recognising the practical difficulties faced by members residing outside their societies, the government has also allowed annual general body meetings and special general body meetings, including those convened for redevelopment proposals, to be held through video conferencing, enabling wider participation while retaining statutory compliance.The financial provisions of the amendments affect every flat owner. Service charges must now be recovered uniformly from all members irrespective of flat size, while water charges will be levied based on the number of taps in each flat. Non-occupancy charges have been capped at 10% of service charges, replacing varying practices followed by different societies, while the maximum penal interest on delayed maintenance payments has been reduced from 21% to 12% per annum.To strengthen long-term financial discipline, societies must maintain a Sinking Fund of at least 0.25% and a Repair and Maintenance Fund of at least 0.75% of the construction cost certified by an architect at the time of construction. The Rules also prescribe ceilings on annual maintenance expenditure, including audit fees, based on the size of the society.The amendments further give a major boost to member-driven redevelopment by permitting societies undertaking self-development or self-redevelopment to borrow from banks and financial institutions up to 10 times the government-approved value of the land, significantly improving access to project finance.The notification also extends key housing society provisions to societies having commercial premises and housing associations while revising registration fees payable to the Cooperation Department according to the size of the society.Housing law experts said that taken together, the amendments seek to bring greater transparency, accountability, financial discipline and uniformity in the functioning of cooperative housing societies. Beyond redevelopment, they are expected to substantially reshape the governance of thousands of housing societies across Maharashtra by simplifying society formation, strengthening members’ rights, standardising administration and reducing avoidable disputes.
