I reside in Mumbai (Maharashtra) and is staying on rent in a co-operative society. last week while i was out of my house, there was a water leakage in the house. There is a water cut going on currently and due to sudden force of water once released in the evening, the water whisked out of tap through the drawing room to the elevator. One of the elevator got stuck and was under repair. Now the total cost of repairing is 1.81 lakh rupees and society is putting the whole cost on me along with a penalty of Rs 25000 for the negligence.
My argument is that it was an accident and not a deliberate act. The fact that we stay in a cooperative society, we are supposed to cooperate and not pass on the cost completely on one member. It seems unfair.
Can the society pass the whole cost on me ? Is this high penalty legal to put on one member ? What should i do ?
I C Naik
In law you are a Nominal member and you need to abide by the bye laws equally. For Penalty there is a Bye Law which says the General Body should prescribe the rates of penalties attracted for every act of member which results in to any bye law. Bye Law No 165 reads as under:
1.The meeting of the General Body of the Society may prescribe penalties for different breaches of the Bye-laws of the Society. The Secretary of the Society, under instructions from the Committee, shall bring to the notice of the Member concerned, the breach/breaches of the bye-law/bye-laws committed by him. If the Member persists in continuing the breach/breaches, the Committee shall give the notice to the Member to show cause as why the penalty should not be inflicted on him for breach/breaches of the byelaw/bye-laws. The General Body Meeting, after considering the Say of the Member and after giving him hearing, may levy penalty to the extent of maximum consolidated penalty not exceeding Rs.5,000/- in any one financial year.
2.Save except other provision in the Act, the A.G.M / Special G.B.M. can penalize a Member for committing breaches in his Responsibilities. Such penalty should be reasonable and equal to all such erring Members. A.G.M./Special G.B.M. is empowered to frame the penalty amount. The managing committee shall recover such penalties with proper care.h
Moreover such matters are governed by your Rental Agreement with the concerned flat-holder which needs to be consulted for guidance.