Tamil Nadu Apartment Ownership Act, 2022: Your Owners' Association, Maintenance Charges and Redevelopment Rules

In short: if your building has four or more flats, the Tamil Nadu Apartment Ownership Act, 2022 applies. The builder (or a majority of owners) must file a declaration with the District Registrar within 365 days of the completion certificate; the owners then register bye-laws and form one association. Maintenance is shared in proportion to each flat's undivided share, late dues carry interest, and an old building can be redeveloped with the consent of two-thirds of the owners.

Which buildings the Act covers

The Act defines a building as one containing four or more apartments, and it applies across Tamil Nadu. It replaced the Tamil Nadu Apartment Ownership Act, 1994, and came into force on 6 March 2024. The detailed procedures are in the Tamil Nadu Apartment Ownership Rules, 2024, notified on 24 September 2024.

Your flat and its undivided interest in the common areas (the land, staircases, lifts, terrace and so on) go together. The Act says this interest cannot be separated from the flat or partitioned. Our UDS guide explains how the undivided share is worked out when you buy.

Step 1: the declaration (Form A)

The promoter, or a majority of the apartment owners, must submit a declaration for the building to the competent authority. The government has named the District Registrars of the Registration Department as competent authorities. The Rules set the declaration fee by size:

The Act originally gave 90 days from the completion certificate to file. A government order of 24 September 2024 extended this to 365 days. For buildings that already existed when the Act came into force, the window was also extended to 365 days from that date.

Buying a flat in a new project? Ask the builder whether the Form A declaration has been filed and accepted. The completion certificate starts this clock, so it is worth checking at handover alongside our possession checklist.

Step 2: bye-laws and the association

Once the declaration is accepted, the owners register bye-laws with the competent authority and form one association for the building. The Rules include model bye-laws to start from. Key points from the Rules:

• At least four apartment owners are needed to form an association. Someone who owns more than one flat counts as one owner for this.
• The association elects a Board of Managers: one-third of the number of owners, up to a maximum of 21.
• Accounts must be audited by a practising chartered accountant, and the audited accounts filed with the competent authority within six months after 31 March each year.
• Under the model bye-laws, the first annual general meeting is held within 60 days of registering the bye-laws.
• Where a property has two or more associations or societies, for example separate phases, they must form a federation.

Already have a society? An association registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act or the Co-operative Societies Act before the Act came in is recognised. If it is the only association for the building, it is treated as the association under the new Act, and its executive committee is treated as the Board of Managers.

Maintenance: how common expenses are shared

Under section 18 of the Act, common expenses are charged to owners according to their percentage of undivided interest, not equally per flat. A few rules buyers and owners should know:

• If the owner doesn't live in the flat, the association can recover the dues from whoever occupies it.
• Late payment carries interest at SBI's highest marginal cost of lending rate plus 2% (Rule 18).
• Unpaid dues become a charge on the flat (section 19), after the claims of the government, local bodies and mortgage lenders.
• Under the model bye-laws, dues are paid in equal monthly or quarterly instalments, as the association decides.

Buying a resale flat? Ask the seller for a no-dues letter from the association before you register. A law firm's summary of the Act notes that when a flat is sold, the seller and buyer are jointly liable for any unpaid common expenses up to the date of sale.

Redeveloping an old building

Section 13 allows redevelopment either with the consent of at least two-thirds of the apartment owners, or where the planning authority certifies the building as ruinous or dangerous to its occupants. The Rules set out the process:

• The Board calls a special general meeting, on its own or at the request of one-fourth of the owners. Two-thirds of owners must attend for a quorum.
• The association then collects written consent from at least two-thirds of owners and files it with the planning authority.
• An owner who disagrees can object within 30 days of being told.
• Before the redevelopment agreement with a builder is signed, two-thirds written consent is needed again.
• For counting consent, each flat counts separately, even if one person owns several.

If you are a landowner or an association weighing a redevelopment offer, our joint development agreement guide covers how builder deals are usually structured, and our joint development page explains how we help.