Overview
- The government unveiled the Karnataka Apartment (Ownership and Management) Bill and held stakeholder meetings on July 15 with Chief Minister D K Shivakumar present, and it posted the draft online for comments until August 6.
- The draft would replace two 1972 laws and explicitly vest project land and common areas with apartment owners while limiting associations to management and maintenance roles.
- Redevelopment is given a statutory path that requires written consent from at least 75% of owners and guarantees dissenting owners a monetary settlement of at least twice market value.
- Enforcement and dispute resolution are centralised in the Urban Development Department through a designated competent authority and a two-tier appellate system with powers like a civil court.
- The Bill imposes developer duties such as handing over original project documents and deposits at handover and seeks to reduce long-running title, maintenance and safety disputes in Bengaluru’s tens of thousands of ageing apartment blocks.