Bengaluru apartment owners are seeking the Karnataka governor’s assent to a new apartment law that would clarify ownership of common areas, recognise apartment associations and strengthen mechanisms for managing and recovering maintenance charges. A delegation from the Bangalore Apartments Federation met Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot on Friday and submitted a representation supporting the Karnataka Apartment Ownership and Management Bill, 2026.
The bill has already been passed by the Karnataka legislature and is awaiting the governor’s assent. If enacted, it is expected to define the rights and responsibilities of apartment owners and associations, including the administration of shared property within residential complexes.
The Bangalore Apartments Federation said the proposed law is important for securing apartment ownership beyond individual flats and for protecting common areas used collectively by residents. “Apartment ownership should mean more than owning four walls; it should include meaningful rights over the common property shared by all owners,” federation president Satish Mallya said.
The question of common-area ownership has become a significant issue in older and newer apartment developments. Mallya said the implementation challenge was not only the existence of legal provisions but also the timely compliance and enforcement of requirements already contained in the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, or Rera.
Some home buyer associations pointed out that Rera requires promoters to execute registered conveyance and transfer undivided proportionate title in common areas to the association of allottees or the competent authority, as applicable. The representations made by apartment owners indicate that delays in completing these transfers remain a concern for residents seeking formal control over shared property.
Vikram Rai, a former president of the federation and a resident of Brigade Millennium, said the bill could be particularly significant for older apartment communities registered under the Karnataka Societies Registration Act. According to Rai, one proposed benefit is the automatic recognition of such communities as apartment associations, at a time when several courts have effectively rejected the use of the societies law as the appropriate framework for apartments.
Rai also said the bill clarifies that the land and common areas of an apartment complex collectively belong to all owners in proportion to their undivided rights. He described the proposed authority of apartment associations to manage, maintain and administer the property, along with statutory powers to assess and recover maintenance charges, as significant for resident communities.
However, the proposed law has also raised concerns among home buyers. Dhananjaya Padmanabhachar, convener of the Karnataka Home Buyers Forum, said the bill omits essential provisions for transferring common areas to registered associations. He argued that this omission conflicts with requirements under Rera.
The competing positions highlight the legal and administrative issues that apartment communities face when ownership of shared spaces is not formally transferred. While the bill is intended to establish a dedicated framework for apartment ownership and management, home buyer representatives have called for clearer provisions linking that framework with existing Rera obligations.
The immediate next step is the governor’s decision on the bill. Until assent and subsequent implementation, apartment owners and associations remain dependent on the existing legal and registration frameworks to establish rights over common areas, govern residential complexes and recover maintenance charges.
