Telangana apartment ownership law: buyer rights and duties

When you buy a flat in Hyderabad you buy two things: the unit itself, and a share of the land and everything the residents use together. The law that sets out that second part is the Telangana Apartments (Promotion of Construction and Ownership) Act, 1987. It is an old Act, and since 2017 it works alongside RERA, which is where most buyers now take their complaints. You should know what each one gives you before you sign.

What the Act covers

The Act has two halves. The first sets duties for the promoter, meaning the builder, and applies to every apartment project. The second deals with common areas, common expenses and the owners' association. That second half applies to a building only after the owners have signed and registered a document called a Declarationwhich submits the property to those provisions. Ask the builder whether a Declaration has been or will be registered for your project. Many buyers never ask.

What you get as a buyer

A share in the land and common areas

Along with your flat you hold an undivided interest in the land and the common areas and facilities, expressed as a percentage. The Act says this share cannot be separated from the flat it belongs to, and cannot be partitioned or subdivided. So a lobby, a staircase or a lift cannot be carved out and sold to someone else. Check that your sale deed states your undivided share of land in square yards.

Disclosure before you pay

The promoter has to disclose the title to the land, any encumbrances on it, the sanctioned plans, the fixtures and fittings you will get, the outgoings and the date of possession. Ask for copies of the sanctioned plan now, and the occupancy certificate when it is issued.

A written agreement before any advance

The promoter must sign a written agreement with you, and register it, before taking an advance. If a sales team asks for a large booking amount on the strength of a receipt alone, that is your cue to slow down.

No changes to the plan without your consent

Once the plans have been disclosed and the agreement signed, the promoter cannot alter them without the written consent of the buyers affected.

Title conveyed to you

After you have paid, the promoter must execute a proper conveyance, which in practice is your registered sale deed, free of encumbrances unless the agreement said otherwise.

A promoter who breaks these duties can be punished with imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to Rs 50,000or both. For most buyers the more practical route today is a complaint to Telangana RERA, which can order refunds, interest and compensation.

The owners' association and handover

The 1987 Act expects an association of apartment owners, run under bye-laws, but it sets no deadline for forming one. RERA fills that gap. Where local law is silent, the promoter must enable an association of allottees within three months of the majority of units being booked, and must hand over the common areas to the association within three months of the occupancy certificate. Until that handover the builder runs maintenance, so ask in writing what the monthly charge is, what it covers and when the accounts move to the association.

Parking

This is where most disputes start. The Act lists parking areas among the common areas and facilities. RERA also treats open parking as a common area, so a builder should not be selling you an open slot as a separate item. Covered slots are normally allotted with the flat and charged for. Whatever you are promised, get the slot number and type written into the agreement. A verbal promise of "two car parks" is worth nothing at possession.

What you owe the building

• Your share of common expenses. Under the Act these are charged in proportion to your undivided interest, and the association can pursue owners who do not pay.
• Following the Declaration and the bye-laws: rules on parking, pets, waste and noise.
• No work that harms the soundness or safety of the building or reduces its value. Interior work is fine. Breaking a structural wall, changing the facade or joining two flats needs approval first.
• Using the flat as the building approval and bye-laws allow. If you plan to run an office or clinic from it, check both before you buy.

Turn up for association meetings as well. Buildings where few owners attend tend to be the ones with unexplained maintenance hikes.

Before you sign

1. Confirm the project's registration on the Telangana RERA website.
2. Read the draft sale deed and check your undivided share of land and your parking slot.
3. Ask for the sanctioned plan, and for a ready flat, the occupancy certificate.
4. Get maintenance charges and the corpus amount in writing.
5. Ask when the association will be formed and when the common areas will be handed over.

relai is free for buyers, because the builder pays us a fee when you buy, and we can go through these checks with you on any project we advise on: book a call with an advisor.