I have a 1BHK flat on the ground floor of a CHS in Bhandup Mumbai .This flat has a seperate entrance to it.I am using this premise as my office by carrying out due digilience of obtaining a Shop and Establishment certificate for it.I use this flat for conducting tution classes
I am carrying out some social activities with the help of our local social municipal councilor from my premises.
The councilor visits my premises during 10.am to 12.pm and 6.00pm to 9.00pm daily to address problems of the locality and give remedies and solutions to them.
The society now claims that the presence of the social councilor in my premises amounts to my sub letting of my premises to him and is intending to charge penalty under breach of bye laws 166 since it seems I have not informed them about their presumed sublet.The penalty amount they passed in the AGM was Rs.2500 per month which amounts to Rs. 30000 in a year
Please let me know if this kind of an arrangement amounts to sublet or leave license inspite of my presence in my premises.
I C Naik
Presuming your CHS was registered using 2001 Model Bye laws as its bye Laws, what is required of a member who parts with the possession of even part of the flat as per Bye- law No 43(1) is:
(1) A member may, apply to the society, of his intention of sub-letting of his flat and on receipt of the previous permission in writing of the Committee, sub-let or give on leave and license basis or care-taker basis his flat or part thereof or part with its possession in any other manner under the following circumstances:
(i) Where the member is required to go out of the area of operation of the society for a long duration on account of exigencies of service or business or on account of the prolonged illness;
(ii) Where the member is unable to occupy the flat owing to absence of facilities for education of the children or is unable to secure admission to the school in the locality for them.
(iii) Wherethe his employer, with a view to ensure efficient discharge of duties, requires him to stay in the accommodation allotted to him by his employer.
(iv) Where a member satisfies the Committee about his inability to occupy or continue to occupy the flat for any other genuine reasons;
The CHS in GBM can fix Penalty amount for any breach of specific bye laws in advance and can leavy the same to a defaulting meember after giving him an opportunity to mend his ways and cease to make breach of any bye-law, Only if a mmber persists with his default he is to be summoned before GBM to explain why penalty so fixed should not ne levied. Any Penalty levied bypassing this mandatory procedure (Natural Justice concept) is void and you can dispute its veracity before Cooperative Court. Make sure that your using flat as Office,Tution Class and delivering lectures by a politician all are not in violation of bye law concerning use of the flat.