New Apartment Ownership Bill Passed In Odisha Assembly; Check Details

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Bill, 2023 was passed in the state Assembly on Tuesday, a day after it was introduced in the House.

The new legislation seeks to replace the Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Ordinance. It seeks to safeguard the rights of the owners and ensure proper maintenance as well as effective management of apartments.

It may be noted here that the Odisha Apartment Ownership Act, 1982 was enacted with a view of making provisions for ownership of an individual apartment which came into force on May 1, 1984 and the Odisha Apartment Ownership Rules, 1992 framed thereafter.

In course of administration of the provisions of the Act and Rules, it was experienced that, there were some operational deficiencies. The Acts and Rules did not provide for appropriate definitions, jurisdiction & powers of the Competent Authority. The safeguards were not adequate to fully protect the interest of the apartment owners, Housing and Urban Development Minister Usha Devi had told the House while introducing the Bill.

Moreover, enactment of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, necessiates exhaustive amendments in the Odisha Apartment Ownership Act, 1982. Hence, it was decided by the Govt. to bring new legislation instead of going for exhaustive amendment of the existing Acts and Rules. The Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Bill, 2023 have several progressive & transformative provisions relating to regulation of ownership of an individual apartment and its management.

The Bill intends to achieve the following objectives:

1.To regulate the use of common area in an Apartment

2.To create a common fund to meet the common expenses of an Apartment

3.To create necessary provisions relating to registration of common area in favour of Association of allottees in line with the provisions of RERA Act.

4.To provide for registration of Association of allottees with the Competent Authority to make uniform provisions for registration and its terms and conditions to be provided in the bye-laws

5.To clearly spell out the accountability and responsibility of promoters

6.To provide for Rights and Responsibilities of each apartment owner in relation to the Association of Apartment Owners

7.To provide for formation of Association of Apartment Owners

8.To create provisions for insurance of the Apartment and ensure its structural stability

9.To ensure compliance of the relevant Act, rules and Regulations to effectively safeguard the interest of the apartment owners

The new legislation, which has been drawn up as a part of the 5T initiative, is a reflection of the vision of Chief Minister Naveen Pattnaik. It will conclusively address the issues of ownership of the Apartment and its management and will instil a sense of confidence and an environment of transparency among all the stakeholders.