Apartment owners can't claim exclusive rights over shared amenities: HC

Karnataka High Court says buyers who agreed to shared amenities in registered sale deeds cannot later claim exclusive rights over them.

A registered sale deed can determine whether apartment owners have exclusive rights over common amenities, the Karnataka High Court has held, in a ruling that carries an important lesson for homebuyers in large, phased housing projects.

 

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 reason: The buyers’ own registered sale deeds expressly allowed these facilities to be shared.

 

In Shailesh B. Charati & Anr. v. M/s Arya Gruha Private Limited & Ors., the court held that the buyers cannot subsequently claim exclusive rights over amenities when the contractual documents they had signed provided otherwise.

 

 

What was the dispute?

Arya Hamsa was developed first, while Arya Hamsa Grande was constructed later on adjoining land by the same developer. Although the projects had separate development agreements and sanction plans, certain facilities were to be shared.

 

Some Arya Hamsa residents challenged this 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. The flat owners then approached the High Court.

 

Why did the homeowners lose?

 

The court’s reasoning centred on the wording of the registered sale deeds.

 

Subrata Mukherjee, partner at law firm SNG & Partners, said the homeowners' claim was not sustainable because the sale deeds themselves contemplated sharing of specified amenities.

 

“The registered sale deed was central to the Karnataka High Court’s decision,” Mukherjee said. According to him, the buyers did not lose their case simply because another project was using the facilities; they lost because they had expressly agreed to that arrangement in their registered documents.

 

The buyers had argued that Section 11 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, prevented such a restriction. The court disagreed. It said the buyers had exclusive ownership of their flats, but did not have an absolute or exclusive proprietary interest in the shared common facilities.

 

Divya Alexander, advocate, D. M. Harish & Co. LLP, said the ruling rested on three principles: Express consent, estoppel and the legal principle of approbate and reprobate. In simple terms, a buyer cannot accept the benefits of an agreement while later rejecting a corresponding obligation contained in the same agreement.

 

RERA cannot simply rewrite the sale deed

 

The homeowners also invoked Section 29 of the Indian Contract Act, arguing that the arrangement was uncertain. The High Court rejected this argument, noting that the registered sale deeds clearly recorded the transaction and the relevant sharing arrangement.

 

Samayra Adlakha, advocate, Delhi High Court, said the case also clarifies the limits of RERA proceedings. According to her, 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.

 

“RERA forums are not intended to reopen or revisit a settled, registered instrument,” Adlakha said.

 

This distinction is important for homebuyers. A dispute over a developer's compliance with RERA obligations is different from an attempt to invalidate a contractual term in a registered property document.

 

What does the ruling mean for homebuyers?

 

Manu Kumar Jha, associate, PSL Advocates & Solicitors, said the judgment shows why buyers should not assume that amenities are exclusively meant for residents of their own project. The actual rights depend on the contractual documents governing the property.

 

B. Shravanth Shanker, managing partner, B. Shanker Advocates LLP, said ownership of an apartment does not automatically create an exclusive right over common amenities where the sale deed expressly provides for shared use.

 

For buyers considering a flat in a multi-phase development, the following documents deserve particular attention:

 

Sale deed: Check clauses relating to common areas, access and shared facilities.

 

Project documents: Establish whether the development forms part of a larger township or phased project.

 

Amenities: Check who is entitled to use the clubhouse, roads, parking areas, recreational facilities and accessways.

 

RERA disclosures: Compare the promised facilities with the project's registered documents.

 

Development structure: Find out whether adjoining phases have separate land parcels, associations or approvals but share infrastructure.

 

Shashank Agarwal, Founder, Legum Solis, said buyers should conduct legal due diligence not only on the flat itself but also on the declaration and other project documents. A project that appears to have exclusive amenities may, in its legal documents, provide access to residents of another phase.

 

Ishita Singh, partner, S&M Advocates, said the ruling also establishes that an association or management decision cannot subsequently override rights already created through registered sale deeds. Where documents provide for shared access, the rights of both sets of residents have to be assessed from those documents.

 

The personal finance lesson

 

For a homebuyer, the case is less about one Bengaluru housing project and more about what property ownership actually covers.

 

A flat purchase does not necessarily mean exclusive control over every facility within the project's boundary. If the sale deed expressly provides for shared use, that term can materially affect the value, convenience and future enjoyment of the property.

 

Do not rely only on the brochure, sales pitch or what existing residents tell you about amenities. Read the registered sale deed and project documents before buying.

 

Once a buyer signs and registers a document containing a clear sharing arrangement, changing that position later can become considerably more difficult.