Plight of Legitimate Flat Owners in Unregistered Housing Associations in Goa
This is a true story of a legitimate flat owner who lives in an unregistered housing association in Goa.
After I met this person I thought of passing on this information to expose some of the nefarious activities that are taking place in un-registered housing associations in Goa.
After purchasing his first flat in Goa in an "Unregistered Maintenance Society", he realized that there is something drastically wrong with the current housing scenario. This is his story.
When one purchases a flat either from a builder or a resale flat, and if the Society / Association where the flat is located is not registered with the Registrar of Co-operative Housing Societies of Goa, then one could face a lot of challenges for many reasons:
- The builder in all probabilities could have favored a few original buyers with some benefits which would not be available to most other buyers and subsequent buyers. In other words in the colony where he purchased a flat, some (around ten percent) of the original buyers were favorites of the builder were given reserved parking, covered parking, commercial shops, etc. But, strangely there was no provision made for these 10% of members who own flats and were given additional assets to pay towards the maintenance of these added assets.
- Many of the original buyers have entrenched themselves in the "Managing Committee" and conduct themselves as owners of the colony. The committee is recycled with the same committee switching roles.
- Many of the members who own three bedroom flats and other assets have not registered their documents and therefore do not want to disclose the sqm of their flats and pay the higher maintenance compared to those who only have two bedroom flats.
- Maintenance fees are demanded uniformly for every member even though at the AGM meeting a resolution was passed stating that these would be charged according to sqm ownership of assets (flats + covered parking + commercial units)
- Even though the common land belongs to the builder, the managing committee demanded Rs.40,000/- from the members uniformly (to do the paving of builder's land) even though some have two bedroom and some have three bedroom flats plus reserved parking and covered parking in the buildings, plus commercial units in the colony.
- The shop owners do not pay any maintenance and charges for security, cleaning, pest control, electricity, water, paving since those units are owned mostly by the committee members.
- The Committee operates like a "gang of bullies" and threatens anyone with false police complaints if they raise any objections or exert their rights.
- Unfortunately, since this is not a registered co-operative housing society, the managing committee believes that they can bully the members and no Registrar or government body can admonish them.
- At the meetings, the committee members dominate the meetings and if any member raises any objection and puts forward a suggestion, the entire "gang" committee pounces on the member and shuts the member down. When a question is addressed to a committee member, the entire "gang" committee responds with one chorus and quietens the member.
- The present members are therefore terrified to raise objection to the irregularities existing in the colony since more than half the members (around 23) of the 45 member colony are absentee landlords. At the last AGM out of 14 attendees, 8 were committee members (and their family).
- Certain members of the committee control the watchmen, gardeners and cleaners and pay them hefty salaries which enables them to get their personal work done, i.e. cleaning of their cars daily, walking the dog, watering their personal gardens, etc.
- Very often the watchmen (day and night) are missing from their post and yet salaries are doubled!!
The rest of the transgressions are described by clicking Bullying in Housing Associations in Goa.
Upon inquiring with various people affected by this cancer of corruption in housing associations that are not registered, here is an example of a professional individual:
