Co-operative housing society maintenance

Dear Client,
If a member fails to pay the dues after issue of the notice for a period exceeding 3 months is termed as a defaulter as per the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act 1960 and as per Bye-laws of the society. Under Section 71(a) of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960(MCS Act), a member shall be deemed to have committed default in payment of the charges of the Society, if the payment mentioned in the demand notice/bill is not made within the period as prescribed under Section 73FF(c) of the said Act, 1960.With a view to make it easy for cooperative housing societies to recover amounts due from defaulting members speedily new section 154 B (29) has been introduced in the MCS Act in 2019 by State Government. As per Bye Law no.72 of a registered cooperative society, a defaulted member shall be required to pay simple interest at such rate as is fixed by the general body of the society at its meeting, subject to the maximum of 21 % per annum, on the charges of the Society, from the date the amount was delayed till its payment not paid by the member within the period as prescribed under bye-law no.70. If the defaulted member fails to settle the dues, with in time period specified, post issue of the final notice, the Society apply to the Deputy Registrar for initiating the recovery of dues. The Deputy Registrar then issue a Recovery Certificate for the amount due, after making a hearing and a summary inquiry on the basis of the affidavits filed by both parties. On receipt of the Recovery Certificate, the Recovery Officer shall prepare demand notice for being sent to the Sale-Officer for attaching the movable property of the member concerned. Apart from this, a defaulted member cannot contest the election to be held for the post of Committee Members and a persistent defaulter can be expelled by the society. If the member is expelled and the same is approved by the registrar and other higher authorities, the concerned member can even be evicted from the premises for his failure to pay society’s dues. A defaulter member cannot sub-let or sell his/ her flat unless and until he/she clears-off the dues to the Society as the Society would refuse the NOC unless & until the dues are cleared. Given the proposition of relevant law, if the action of the Society appears to you unjustified or discriminatory, you can escalate your grievance before the Registrar or Dy. Registrar of the Cooperative Societies seeking appropriate relief in the matter. Bye Law No 172, 173, and 174 of the Model Bye-Laws of Cooperative Housing Society deal with the redressal of complaints of a member of a society registered under the Maharashtra Co-operative Society Act, 1960.