BENGALURU
A city civil court has delivered a significant ruling that may influence how apartment complexes across Bengaluru calculate monthly maintenance, holding that home size cannot be the basis for determining charges. The XL Additional City Civil and Sessions Court has struck down the Purva Seasons Owners Association’s “hybrid” billing model, which required residents of larger flats to pay higher monthly fees. The order, passed on November 20, came in response to a suit filed by 61-year-old resident Arun Kumar Rao.
The association had adopted the contested model during a virtual extraordinary general meeting on July 25, 2020. Under this structure, 74.1% of maintenance costs were apportioned based on super built-up area, while the remaining 25.9% was split equally among 660 flats. Rao argued that the system placed an unfair financial burden on owners of larger units despite their equal use of shared amenities such as lifts, security, and the clubhouse.
Judge N. Veena found multiple legal and procedural lapses in the association’s adoption of the model. The court noted that no evidence was provided to show that the registrar had permitted a virtual meeting to amend bye-laws. It also flagged inaccuracies in the amendment proposal, including inconsistent use of the terms “built-up” and “super built-up” area, which could have influenced how residents voted. Gaps in the voting process, conflicting email communications, and the association’s failure to address objections raised by several owners further weakened the validity of the resolution.
Observing that all residents use common facilities uniformly regardless of flat size, the court held that an area-linked levy was unreasonable. On this basis, it struck down all invoices issued between May and December 2020 under the hybrid model.
The association has been directed to revert to an equal per-flat maintenance system and has been prohibited from introducing any area-based fee structure through future bye-law amendments. It has also been restrained from disconnecting essential services to enforce disputed charges.