HC upholds Rera-backed co-op society,dismisses flat owners’ welfare body plea | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: In a verdict that could influence how apartment associations are constituted in real estate projects governed under Rera, the high court upheld the legality of the Commune 1 Apartment Co-operative Society.The court dismissed two writ petitions filed by a group of flat owners and their registered welfare association, concluding that the co-operative society formed under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (Rera) has the lawful authority to represent allottees and manage the project’s common areas.The case pertains to the Commune 1 Apartment Project, where the Commune 1 Residents Welfare Association challenged the registration of the co-operative society formed on Aug 11, 2023. The association argued the society was illegally created by agreement holders from Towers A and E, which were still under construction. They contended these individuals had neither ownership nor possession and thus no right to take over project maintenance.Meanwhile, residents of Towers B, C, and D, who had taken possession of flats, argued that only an association under the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act (KAOA), 1972, could legally manage the property. Tensions escalated when Rera allowed the co-op society to take over the project in May 2024, followed by a district registrar’s order preventing the welfare association from collecting maintenance.The petitioners sought to quash the co-op society’s registration and restore their association’s rights. However, the govt defended its action, stating that Rera’s directions under Section 8 made the society’s registration both valid and necessary. The state contended that under the Karnataka State Co-operative Societies Act, 1959, such a society could be formed even before project completion to protect buyers’ interests.The high court observed that while KAOA applies post-ownership transfer, Rera governs the pre-ownership phase. It added that cooperative societies cannot be registered under KOFA, 1972, unless there is a commercial unit, and societies under the Karnataka Societies Registration Act (KSRA), 1960, cannot legally undertake apartment maintenance.Citing earlier cases — including Shantaram Prabhu, VDB Caledon, and DS Max — the court clarified that these applied to pre-Rera cases. The ruling noted that the Starnest judgment restricting society registration under KOFA to mixed-use projects no longer holds after Rera came into force.The court upheld the Commune 1 Co-operative Society’s legal status and directed the builder to execute conveyance deeds for common areas within 120 days. It also urged the Union and State Law Commissions to clarify overlapping provisions in Rera, KAOA, KOFA and KSRA, calling the current legal framework a “Catch-22” for apartment buyers.