Is an Apartment Owners' Association Necessary?

For those looking to buy a new home, apartments are often the go-to choice. There are many differences between living in a standalone house and living in an apartment. While a homeowner can handle any maintenance within the apartment, external maintenance tasks cannot be done individually. They must be handled collectively by all residents.

In particular, addressing external issues and carrying out maintenance tasks in apartment buildings cannot be done by individuals acting alone. Everyone needs to work together.

Each person may have different opinions, and the cost can make many hesitate. Many do not realize that tasks can only be accomplished if everyone cooperates.

To prevent everyone from going in different directions, it is essential to form a homeowners' welfare association in an apartment building. Only with such an association can maintenance and repair work be carried out properly.

However, many apartment buildings lack an association. People talk about forming one only when problems arise. They discuss depositing money in a bank for maintenance tasks but do not implement it in practice.

In reality, an association should be formed once two-thirds of the apartments in a building are sold. If all apartments are sold, an association should be formed within the next two months.

But most apartment owners are unaware of the need to form an association. Following the floods in Chennai last year, many apartment buildings underwent maintenance work. However, disputes over sharing costs and hiring workers for maintenance were common.

An association would have provided a way for apartment residents to work together based on common decisions.

Can an association be formed at any time? Yes, apartment residents can come together to form an association at any time. There is no problem with this. You can approach the district registrar's office in your area to follow the procedures for forming an apartment owners' association. New homeowners can ask the builder to help establish a welfare association with the new residents.

An association is not just for maintenance work. In large cities like Chennai, apartment buildings are often constructed without leaving space between them, sometimes even violating regulations. 

If legal issues arise regarding this, it is easier to address them through an apartment welfare association rather than individually.

If your apartment building does not have a homeowners' association, it is a good idea to establish one immediately.