An Housing Society’s full nomenclature is “Cooperative Housing Society”. This means that it runs by cooperation, cohesion, and consensus.
As everyone cannot be running the affairs of the society, the members elect a managing committee (MC) to oversee the day to day affairs, decide fees and charges and collect them.
However, charges cannot be arbitrary at the whims and fancies of the MC. Any charge that is to be levied or levied, including penalties and late charges, must be approved by a simple majority at the Annual General Meeting of the society.
If you were present at the AGM, you would have known about them. Even if you were not, the MC sends you the minutes of the AGM, resolutions proposed, resolutions passed/rejected, etc.
As a member of the society, you are entitled to the following:
How much money the society collected and what it did with the funds? This means the Income and Expenditure statements for the current and previous 4 years.
The complete Balance Sheet for the previous years (up to 5).
If new charges are collected this year, and it is not minuted in the AGM report of the previous year, you can seek a justification.
If the society MC does not provide you with the details you ask for, you are within your rights to deny those payments. But you must send a show-cause notice to the society demanding the reasons and why you are not paying. The notice can be sent by email or in writing or by speed post, etc. You can also complain to the Registrar of the Housing Societies in your city/region of the same.
However, it is my belief that you may not be aware of the entire Bye-Laws of the society. Before taking the above steps, please get a copy of the Bye-Laws. As a member, you are also entitled to a hard copy.
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