The Karnataka High Court has ruled that apartment owners cannot claim exclusive rights over shared amenities when their registered sale deeds expressly allow such facilities to be shared. According to reports from Business Standard, the court dismissed an appeal by two flat owners of Arya Hamsa, a Bengaluru housing project, who objected to residents of the adjoining Arya Hamsa Grande project using facilities such as the clubhouse, roads, pathways and entrance and exit gates. The court held that buyers cannot subsequently claim exclusive rights over amenities when their contractual documents provided otherwise.
As reported by Business Standard, Arya Hamsa was developed first, while Arya Hamsa Grande was constructed later on adjoining land by the same developer. Some Arya Hamsa residents challenged the arrangement before the Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), arguing that the common facilities had originally been intended for their project and that allowing residents of another project to use them affected their rights. Their complaint was rejected by Karnataka RERA and subsequently by the RERA Appellate Tribunal, leading the flat owners to approach the High Court.
According to Business Standard, Subrata Mukherjee, partner at law firm SNG & Partners, explained that the homeowners' claim was not sustainable because the sale deeds themselves contemplated sharing of specified amenities. The buyers had argued that Section 11 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, prevented such restrictions, but the court disagreed. Divya Alexander, advocate at D. M. Harish & Co. LLP, said the ruling rested on three principles: express consent, estoppel and the legal principle of approbate and reprobate.
As reported by Business Standard, Samayra Adlakha, advocate at Delhi High Court, noted that the case clarifies the limits of RERA proceedings. She explained that the buyers were effectively seeking to challenge or alter the terms of a registered sale deed without first challenging the document before a civil court. Samayra Adlakha emphasized that RERA forums are not intended to reopen or revisit a settled, registered instrument, distinguishing disputes over RERA compliance from attempts to invalidate contractual terms in registered property documents.
According to Business Standard, Manu Kumar Jha, associate at PSL Advocates & Solicitors, said the judgment shows why buyers should not assume that amenities are exclusively meant for residents of their own project. B. Shravanth Shanker, managing partner at B. Shanker Advocates LLP, noted that ownership of an apartment does not automatically create an exclusive right over common amenities where the sale deed expressly provides for shared use. Legal experts emphasize that buyers should conduct thorough legal due diligence on registered sale deeds, project documents, and RERA disclosures before purchasing flats in multi-phase developments.
