Housing society maintenance in Maharashtra: sinking fund, non-occupancy charges and how to challenge a bill

Rules and rates as of 12 October 2026.

Your society's maintenance bill is not a number the committee can set however it likes. In Maharashtra, the law now says which charges a cooperative housing society may levy, how each is split between flats, the minimum it must put aside every year, and the most it can charge you in interest if you pay late. Those rules changed in June 2026, and many bills and bye-laws have not caught up.

Where the rules come from

Three layers decide what you pay.

• The Act. The Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 has had a separate chapter for housing societies, Chapter XIII-B, since the 2019 amendment (Maharashtra Act No. XXIII of 2019, deemed in force from 9 March 2019). Section 154B-15 says every society shall create the funds that are "prescribed", and section 154B-16 says it shall levy charges "as prescribed" towards them. Prescribed means: set by the Rules.
• The Rules. The Maharashtra Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Rules, 2026, dated 18 June 2026 and published in the Government Gazette on 22 June 2026, added a new Chapter XI-B for housing societies. Rule 106C-11 covers funds and Rule 106C-12 covers charges and how they are shared.
• The bye-laws. Many societies run on the state's 2014 model bye-laws. The cooperation department put revised draft model bye-laws for housing societies up for comments in August 2026; they are not final yet.

Where your bye-laws and the 2026 Rules say different things, the Rules are the newer, higher-level text. A lawyer can tell you how that plays out for your society.

What goes into a maintenance bill

Rule 106C-12 lists what a society may charge: service charges, property tax, water charges, lift costs, parking, interest on overdue charges, loan instalments, non-occupancy charges, insurance, lease rent, non-agricultural tax, contributions to the society's funds, and any other charge the general body approves that does not conflict with the Act or Rules.

"Service charges" is the running cost of the building: staff and security salaries, common electricity, audit fees, federation subscriptions, meeting costs, stationery and similar items.

The way each item is shared matters as much as the item. The Rules fix the basis:

Charge	How it is shared (Rule 106C-12)	Example flat: 1,000 sq ft, 40-flat society
Service charges	Equally among all flats, whatever their size	₹3,000 a month (₹1,20,000 ÷ 40)
Sinking fund	By each flat's construction cost, at least 0.25% a year	At least ₹6,250 a year (₹521 a month)
Repair and maintenance fund	By each flat's construction cost, at least 0.75% a year	At least ₹18,750 a year (₹1,563 a month)
Property tax, insurance, lease rent	By carpet area	Depends on the municipal bill and policy
Lift	Equally among flats in buildings with a lift	Depends on contract
Non-occupancy charge	10% of that flat's service charge	₹300 a month, only if let out
Interest on overdue dues	Rate set by general body, not above 12% simple a year	₹900 on ₹15,000 unpaid for six months

So a bigger flat should not pay more for the security guard's salary, and a smaller one should not pay the same property tax share as a penthouse.

The sinking fund and the repairs fund

These are the two contributions people most often question, because they feel like money paid for nothing.

The sinking fund is a savings pot for major repairs and eventual reconstruction. Rule 106C-11(2) sets the minimum at 0.25% a year of each flat's construction cost, as certified by an architect. The 2014 model bye-law 13(c) adds that the base excludes the proportionate cost of land. So the charge is linked to what it cost to build your flat, not its market price.

The repair and maintenance fund pays for routine, recurring repairs. Rule 106C-11(3) sets the minimum at 0.75% a year of the same certified construction cost, at a rate the general body fixes. A separate major repair fund can be raised by carpet area when the general body decides it is needed.

One wrinkle: the Marathi text of Rule 106C-11(2) says the sinking-fund rate is fixed at a meeting of the board, while the table in Rule 106C-12 says the general body fixes it. If your society changes this rate, ask which meeting approved it and get the minutes.

Worked example

Take a 1,000 sq ft flat in a 40-flat society. We assume an architect-certified construction cost of ₹2,500 per sq ft (an illustration, not a market figure; your society's certificate decides it), and total monthly service expenses of ₹1,20,000.

• Construction cost of the flat = 1,000 × ₹2,500 = ₹25,00,000.
• Minimum sinking fund = 0.25% × ₹25,00,000 = ₹6,250 a year, or about ₹521 a month.
• Minimum repairs fund = 0.75% × ₹25,00,000 = ₹18,750 a year, or about ₹1,563 a month.
• Service charge = ₹1,20,000 ÷ 40 = ₹3,000 a month.
• Non-occupancy cap if the flat is rented out = 10% × ₹3,000 = ₹300 a month (₹3,600 a year). Anything above that is more than the Rule allows.
• Monthly bill from these items = ₹3,000 + ₹521 + ₹1,563 = about ₹5,083, or about ₹5,383 with the non-occupancy charge.
• Late payment: ₹15,000 overdue for six months at the 12% cap = ₹15,000 × 12% × 6/12 = ₹900. The 2014 model bye-law 70 allowed up to 21%, which would have been ₹1,575.

Does GST apply?

Under CBIC Circular No. 109/28/2019-GST dated 22 July 2019, a society's charges are exempt up to ₹7,500 per member per month, under entry 77(c) of Notification 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate). GST applies only when both conditions hold: a member's charge exceeds ₹7,500 a month, and the society's annual turnover is ₹20 lakh or more. Someone who owns two flats is treated separately for each flat.

In our example, the society collects about 40 × ₹5,083 × 12 = ₹24.4 lakh a year, above ₹20 lakh. But each flat pays about ₹5,083 a month, below ₹7,500, so no GST is due on these bills.

Sources conflict on what happens above ₹7,500. The circular says the entire amount becomes taxable: on a ₹9,000 bill, 18% of ₹9,000 = ₹1,620. In July 2021 the Madras High Court (Greenwood Owners Association v. Union of India) held that only the excess is taxable, 18% of ₹1,500 = ₹270, and quashed that part of the circular. That ruling came from a court outside Maharashtra and may have been appealed, so a CA should confirm which view applies to your society today.

How to challenge a charge

1. Ask in writing. Write to the secretary asking for the resolution that approved the charge, the basis of apportionment, and, for the two funds, the architect's construction-cost certificate. The 2014 model bye-laws ask the committee to dispose of members' applications within three months and to communicate decisions within 15 days.
2. Take it to the general body. Under Rule 106C-13, the general body is the society's highest decision-making authority and its decisions bind the committee. A charge split by area when the Rule says equal shares, or a non-occupancy charge above 10%, is a point to raise with the Rule number in hand.
3. Go to the Registrar. The cooperation department's registrar office for your area can, under section 154B-27(1), direct a society to act where it has not.
4. A dispute before the Co-operative Court. Section 91 of the Act, the general disputes provision, still applies to housing societies under section 154B(1), and section 91A sets up the Co-operative Courts. Whether a quarrel over charges belongs there is a question for a lawyer.

Keep paying the undisputed part. If the society applies for a recovery certificate under section 154B-29, Rule 106C-14 lets you file a written statement before the Registrar. The certificate, once issued, is recoverable as arrears of land revenue and the route to challenge it is a revision under section 154.