West Bengal Apartment Ownership Act, 1972

No: 16 Dated: Jul, 05 1972

THE WEST BENGAL APARTMENT OWNERSHIP ACT, 1972

West Bengal Act XVI of 1972

    An Act to provide for the ownership of an individual apartment and to make such apartment heritable and transferable property.

    Whereas it is expedient to provide for the ownership of an individual apartment and to make such apartment heritable and transferable property;

    It is hereby enacted in the Twenty-third Year of the Republic of India, by the Legislature of West Bengal, as follows;

1. Short title, extent and commencement.— (1) This Act may be called the West Bengal Apartment Ownership Act, 1972.

(2) It extends to the whole of West Bengal.

(3) This section shall come into force at once; and the remaining provisions of this Act shall come into force in such areas, and on such dates as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint; and different dates may be appointed for different areas.

2. Application of the Act,— This Act shall apply to every building having residential units or commercial units or both residential and commercial units, and the sole owner or all the owners of every such building shall submit the same to the pro-visions of this 'Act by duly executing and registering a declaration setting out the particulars referred to in section 10:

Provided that no property shall be submitted to the provisions of this Act, unless it is actually used or is proposed to be used, for residential purposes.

3. Definitions.— In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

(a) "apartment" means part of a property having a direct exit to a road, street or highway or to a common area leading to such road, street or highway which together with its undivided interest in the common areas and facilities forms an independent residential unit and includes a flat;

(b) "Association of Apartment Owners" means the association competent to contract in its own name and formed in accordance with the provisions made in the bye-law;

(c) "building" means a building containing two or more apartments or more than one building, each being a complete unit or each containing two or more apartments comprised in the same property;

(d) "common areas and facilities" includes—

(1) the land on which the building is located and all easements, rights and appurtenances belonging to the land and the building,

(2) the foundations, columns, girders, beams, supports, main walls, roofs, halls, corridors, lobbies, stairs, stairways, fire-escapes and entrances and exits of the building,

(3) the basements, cellars, yards, gardens, parking areas, shopping centres, schools, garages, building or apartment vacant or occupied by a tenant or any other person not being an owner, and transferred or proposed to be transferred to the Association of Apartment Owners and storage spaces,

(4) the premises for the lodging of janitors or persons employed for the management of the property,

(5) installations of common services, such as, power, light, gas, hot and cold water, heating, refrigeration, air conditioning, sewerage, etc.,

(6) the elevators, tanks, pumps, motors, compressors, pipes and ducts and in general all apparatus and installations existing for common use,

(7) such other common facilities as may be specially provided for in the Declaration,

(8) all other parts of the property necessary or convenient to its existence, maintenance and safety, or normally in common use;

(e) "common expenses" means expenses of administration, maintenance, repair or replacement of the common areas and facilities and ail other sums assessed against the apartment owners by the Association of Apartment Owners;

(f) "common profit" means the balance of all income, rents, profits and revenues from the common areas and facilities remaining after the deduction of the common expenses;

(g) "Competent Authority" means any person, or any officer not below the rank of a Deputy Magistrate, authorised by the State Government by notification in the Official Gazette to perform functions of the Competent Authority under this Act, for such area as may be specified in the notification, and different persons or officers may be authorised for different functions or for different areas;

(h) "Declaration" means the instrument by which the property is submitted to the provisions of this Act, as hereinafter provided;

(i) "limited common areas and facilities" means those common areas and facilitieS which may be designated in the Declaration as reserved for use of certain apartment or apartments to the exclusion of the other apartments;

(j) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(k) "property" comprises the land, the building and the common areas and facilities;