Bombay HC – Promoters Allotted Flats in lieu of consideration of Development Agreement Must Pay Maintenance Charges Like Any other Member
On 26.9.1996, the petitioners had entered into unregistered development agreement with P and M Associates for four flats. After construction was completed, the respondent no.1 society was registered on 18.5.2005. The petitioners were put in possession of four flats.
On 29.3.2023, the society issued demand notice for maintenance arrears from 2005 and on their failure, filed four applications under Section 154B-29 of MC Societies Act for recovery.
The nature of society dues such as maintenance charges, repair charges, construction cost, and service charges are recurring statutory obligations arising from membership. They are not one time claims that get extinguished merely by passage of time. As long as the member continues to enjoy the benefits of the society and remains bound by its bye-laws, the obligation to pay subsists. Individual rights of a member get submerged in the collective right of the society.
Maintenance, repairs, common services, and common amenities relate to the premises. They are incurred for the building and common areas. The liability follows the flat. It does not arise from any personal act unrelated to the property.
Therefore, considering the language of Section 154B-29, its overriding effect, the finality attached to the recovery certificate, and the settled law on the statutory character of cooperative societies, dues of a cooperative housing society recovered under this provision cannot be said to be barred by limitation merely on the ground of lapse of time. The section does not fix any time limit. That is deliberate. The law understands that society expenses keep happening every month. If a member does not pay for years, the society still has to pay electricity, water, repairs, and salaries. The law does not want the society to suffer just because time has passed.
Membership and occupancy are the connecting links. For the period during which a person was a member or was in possession or enjoyment of the premises, the liability is enforceable even if recovery is initiated later. The liability does not vanish merely because ownership changes.
The obligation to pay society dues is not a one-time obligation. It is a recurring and continuing obligation. Every month, the member is under a fresh duty to pay maintenance and service charges as fixed under the bye-laws. This duty exists so long as the person continues to be a member or continues to occupy and enjoy the premises. Non-payment is therefore not a completed wrong like eviction or dispossession. Here, the breach itself repeats. Each month of non-payment is a fresh omission to perform a positive duty.
Judgment dated 16.1.2026 of the High Court of Bombay in Writ Petition No.8044 of 2025 of Aspandiar Rashid Irani and others Vs. Pasayadan Cooperative Housing Society Limited and others with connected writ petitions
