State Housing Federation wants clarity on ownership rights in CHS

With property prices skyrocketing in Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region MMR the State Housing Federation has insisted that the state government introduce a special chapterexplanation in the stillawaited Maharashtra State Cooperative Societies Rules and also in its bylaws clearing the misconception of right over property through nomination paper submitted to the society by the flat owner when aliveHousing experts say family members named in nomination forms are mere provisional members and have to adhere to the personal laws for succession claiming property rights if the original owner expires intestate without willIdea mootedAdv Shreeprasad Parab expert director State Housing FederationldquoWe as a federation have provided our suggestions to the state authorities to streamline the process of the nomination in cooperative housing societies by making simplified provisions in the yettobepublished Maharashtra State Cooperative Societies Rules and also in its bylaws by introducing a chapterexplanation on nominations under the subhead Housing Societies The federation has been receiving numerous queriescomplaints about nominations especially when the flat owner has expired intestate and next of kin in the family claim membership right on the basis of nomination filled by the original flat owner without realising that they next of kinlegal heirs are mere provisional members and have to follow the due process of personal law for succession and claim right over the property However due to a lack of legal understanding the next of kin and the society office bearers in most cases remain puzzledrdquo said Adv Shreeprasad Parab expert director State Housing FederationldquoIn Maharashtra there are more than 125 lakh housing societies having over 30 lakh members and more than 12 crore people residing in them Due to the various differencesignorance of law there are many disputes or conflicts between the members of housing societies and the managing committeerdquo said Adv ParabCanrsquot enforce new act without rules in placeHousing societies in Maharashtra are governed by the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act of 1960 However with a large number of cooperative housing societies being formed over the years the need was felt to change the 1960 Act and a new MSCS Act of 2019 was introduced for housing societies by the state with effect from March 9 2019Though the nomination process and the concept of provisional membership are mentioned in the new act of 2019 under section 154B of chapter XIIIB the said provisions under the act are toothless without having the MSCS Rules yet to be released for its implementation ldquoHence a request has been made by the federation to the state authorities for bringing more clarity and simplifying the process of nomination and provisional membership in the coming MSCS Rules and the bylawsrdquo explained Adv ParabldquoThe concept of membership and ownership in the housing society is closely associated with each other as the person who is the owner of the flat is the member of the society and if any person is a coowner then he is a joint member The nomination form is an important document which upheld the continuation of the membership process even after the death of the memberjoint member though temporaryrdquo he said4 types of CHS membersbull Member Original Member whose name stands first in the title documents such as agreement for sale or sale deedbull Joint member A joint member is a member whose name stands second third fourth etc in the title documentsbull Associate member An associate member is one who doesnrsquot hold any share right title or interest in the flat and is a near relative such as husband wife father mother brother sister son daughter soninlaw daughterinlaw nephew or niece of the original memberbull Provisional member A person who is admitted on a temporary basis after the death of the member on the basis of the nomination filed by the deceased member till the legal heirs of the deceased member are brought on recordNomination formsIt is the duty of every society to get the nomination forms filled up by their members as and when they are admitted to the society The nomination forms as provided in the Model ByeLaws 2014 are to be filled in sets of three by every member of the society incorporating all hisher details such as name share certificate details flat number area etc The member shall further provide the names of the nominees to whom heshe intends to give provisional membership after hisher death The nomination form provides details such as the address of the nominees type of relationship with the member date of birth and the percentage share of each nomineeMisconceptionsThere is a misapprehension in a majority of the societies that only the first owner ie the member and not the joint member shall fill the nomination forms which is not correct as the member and the joint members if any shall make their nomination separately by filling up separate formsldquoSome societies ask the associate member or the provisional member to fill the nomination forms which is also incorrect as they are not holding title when they are in the capacity of such type of membershiprdquo clarified Adv ParabIf nomination is filedOn the members death the nominees shall apply for provisional membership of the society along with the death certificate within six months ldquoIf there is more than one nominee they shall make a joint application to the society and indicate the name of the nominee who should be enrolled as a provisional member of the societyrdquo Adv Parab saidNo nomination filedIf no person has been nominated then the society shall admit such a person as a provisional member as may appear to the committee to be the heir or legal representative of the deceased member in the manner prescribed The conditions to apply for provisional membership are the same as if a nomination has been filedPercentage of shareIt is very clear that the provisional membership is temporary till the legal heirs is brought on record Once the legal heirs is on record the provisional member ceases his membership and the legal heirs becomes the ownercoowner of the flat and thereby the memberjoint member of the society ldquoThus even if the memberjoint member incorporates the percentage share to his nominees the nominees ultimately get only temporary membership and the share is ultimately decided by the testamentary documents succession laws or family arrangement obtained after the death of the memberjoint memberrdquo Adv Parab concludedExpert takeRajesh Lovekar deputy registrar for D ward cooperative housing societies Malabar Hill Peddar Road Walkeshwar Grant Road Girgaum etc who has around 1150 CHS under him said ldquoIt is true that under the new MSCS Act 2019 those mentioned in the nomination form and the legal heirs of the deceased member are mere provisional members and can only assist in the daytoday functioning of the society and do not get rights over the property There are numerous judgments from the Supreme Court which clearly state that the succession law supersedes the nomination provisions in a housing societyrdquo