The Karnataka Apartment (Ownership and Management) Bill, 2026, seeks to resolve long-standing conflicts between flat owners and developers regarding common spaces. It sets out clear rules on what counts as shared areas and facilities, who holds ownership, and how they must be administered.
Flat owners noted that further refinements are still needed, particularly around management procedures. The draft law specifies that each owner automatically receives an undivided, non-exclusive stake in the project land and all common facilities. This interest stays tied to the apartment and transfers automatically on sale, inheritance, or other conveyance.
Dhananjaya Padmanabhachar of the Karnataka Home Buyers Forum observed that the transfer provisions may clash with Section 17 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, which requires conveyance of common-area title to the association of allottees. Under the proposed bill, ownership remains with the owners collectively rather than the association.
He questioned the practicality of recording thousands of individual names in land records if ownership were fragmented.
The legislation expands the definition of common areas to include staff quarters, drainage systems, sanitation infrastructure, and renewable-energy installations, in addition to conventional spaces such as staircases and lifts. Any clubhouse, pool, or recreational amenity built within the project using its sanctioned Floor Area Ratio is also classified as common.
Developers may keep ownership of such facilities only if they stand on a separate land parcel shown in the approved plan and disclosed to buyers beforehand. These retained facilities cannot be counted toward owners’ super built-up area or land share.
Each owner’s undivided interest in land and common facilities is calculated according to the ratio of the individual flat’s private area to the total private area of all units. The bill prohibits promoters or owners from exercising exclusive control over common areas or imposing unauthorized charges.
Open, stilt, basement, and podium parking remain common property and cannot be sold separately merely because they are marked. Only enclosed or specially approved parking units transferred by registered deed qualify as private. Apartment association member V. Srivinivas called for clearer rules ensuring parking is used solely for its intended purpose to prevent misuse.
