The draft Revised Model Bye-laws for Tenant Co-partnership Co-operative Housing Societies has been published, inviting suggestions and objections from housing societies and stakeholders.
The draft defines Tenant Co-partnership Housing Societies as those where land and buildings are held by the society, while members hold shares along with occupancy rights in allotted flats/units.
It proposes a detailed framework for redevelopment, requiring societies to assess structural condition, repair costs, redevelopment feasibility, self-redevelopment and developer-led redevelopment before taking a decision.
The draft also covers parking allotment and charges, with one parking space ordinarily allotted per flat/unit, subject to availability.
For EV charging, General Body approval is not required for installation of a private charging facility, subject to applicable legal and safety requirements.
A formal grievance redressal mechanism has also been proposed, including complaint acknowledgment within three days and defined disposal timelines.
Suggestions and objections can be submitted by August 27, 2026, at 5:00 PM at coophsgmodelbyelaws@gmail.com.
For the detailed draft: https://sahakarayukta.maharashtra.gov.in/site/upload/documents/Draft_Housing%20_TC_Byelaws_.pdf
There should be a format indicating the asset side and debit side of the proposed redevelopment.The members are requested to add comment and suggestion to avoid dis agreement between the members .
Please make it mandatory to adopt the Revised Bye-laws within a stipulated time ( within 6 months)
Parking rules guidelines must be framed by each society and submittes to ragistar. (As many societies have unwritten guidelines )
REFUGEE AREA should be close and keys to be kept near it for emergeny opening. Guideliens penalties and Restricted entry like Displays should be their. ( As many society members misuse it even after syrict society guidleines)
Keeping in mind the deadline for sending in public feedback to the Bye-Law Amendment Committee, I sent the following email yday. i.e. 25.08.2026:
To: coophsgmodelbyelaws@gmail.com
Cc: shekharh6401@yahoo.com shaila.shyla@gmail.com
Date: 25 August 2026
Subject: Public Feedback – One OBJECTION and One SUGGESTION re Housing Society Bye-Laws
Dear Madam/Sir,
I am Adv Shekhar V Hattangadi, Chief Promoter and Member of Green Meadows Building No.5/6 Co-Operative Housing Society Ltd located at Lokhandwala Township, Kandivali East, Mumbai-400101.
I believe that, having been my CHS’s Chief Promoter, it is my moral responsibility, and being its long-standing Member, it is my legal responsibility to point out and highlight the misdeeds of successive Managing Committees of the above-mentioned CHS. Over the years (our CHS was registered in 2000-2001), there have been several such misdeeds — a more recent one being the siphoning off of Society funds for the private birthday celebrations of Managing Committee members: see Attachment One.
I also have reason to believe that my revelations of such misdeeds have antagonized the corrupt elements in those successive Managing Committees to a point where I am regularly heckled at AGMs and SGMs, and my suggestions for improvements in CHS governance have been routinely sidelined and ignored.
The latest example is a Notice for SGM that was circulated among members a couple of weeks ago: see Attachment Two. It spoke of an online SGM to reduce penal interest on outstanding maintenance dues.
In response to the SGM Notice, I posted the following on the Society WhatsApp group so that it would be available to a large number of CHS members. My post in Green Meadows 5/6 WhatsApp Group, dated Wednesday, 12.08.2026:
Dear Friends,
At least two reasons to question the proposal to reduce the interest percentage on outstanding maintenance dues.
The first reason is its INTENT. The SGM Notice gives us no idea at all about what is behind this proposed move. Is the objective simply to give relief to defaulters? If so, then this is absolutely contradictory to the Society Management’s long-established and continuing practice of charging them penal interest to the extent allowable as per the Society Byelaws, and of revealing their names in AGM documents circulated among members. This is the correct practice because, apart from ensuring transparency, it pressurizes (at least to some extent) those defaulters into paying up the accumulated arrears. Isn’t reducing the legitimate – and legally sanctioned – interest percentage on such dues effectively telling the defaulters that their defaulting is not such a big deal? And would that not encourage them to default even further? Are we headed towards becoming a Society where the silent majority consistently accepts its responsibility of maintaining the Society and therefore dutifully pays the monthly maintenance dues without fail, while the laggards merrily enjoy the illicit licence of irresponsibly disregarding their duty as Society members so that the potential shortfall is made up by payments from regular and diligent payers? Is that fair? Think about it.
The second reason has to do with its TIMING. What is the great hurry in rushing through this proposal through an extra-ordinary Special General-Body Meeting convened at short notice? This is particularly glaring in light of the fact that an AGM, where the attendance of members is known to be much larger than at SGMs, is scheduled to be held in the very next month – or even earlier! Is this proposed reduction of penal interest a matter of such pressing urgency that it cannot wait a few weeks, and that it has to be hustled through without adequate deliberation by a large majority of members? Or, is the Society Management actually worried about involving a larger number of members in the discussion, and therefore thinks that a smaller number of attendees would be easier to manage – and somehow persuade?
Prior commitments might prevent me from attending the SGM called at such a short notice, but it is hoped that there will be sufficient numbers of right-thinking members to question – and to oppose – this questionable move.
Adv Shekhar Hattangadi
6/401 Green Meadows
Mob: 9820601784
There were two responses to my post. The first was from CHS Member Mr Rakesh Kumar Yadav who, on the same day, wrote:
I completely agree with you, Sir.
You have raised some very genuine and important concerns. If members are regularly paying their maintenance on time, it is only fair that the Society also takes a firm and consistent approach towards outstanding dues.
Before reducing the penal interest, the MC Committee should clearly explain why this proposal is being brought, what benefit it will actually give to the Society, and why there is such urgency when the AGM is so close.
It is not about being against helping genuine members facing difficulties. But any concession should be transparent, properly justified and fair to those members who have been paying their dues regularly.
The MC Committee should not rush such an important financial decision without proper discussion and without giving members complete details.
I fully support the concerns raised by Adv Shekhar Hattangadi and strongly feel that the MC Committee must answer these questions openly before expecting members to approve the proposal.
Fairness, transparency and accountability should come first.
In the same WhatsApp group, another CHS Member Ms Godafried Zak uploaded on Friday, 14.08.2026 a video clip from “Property Coach” Nitin Sonawane titled: “Maharashtra Housing Society New Rules 2026 / Maintenance Rules Badal Gaye!”
My response to Ms Zak’s post:
Dear Friends,
Nobody is denying that there is a proposal to change/modify the existing Cooperative Housing Society (CHS) byelaws. But it would be wholly PREMATURE and clearly INCOMPLETE on the part of any CHS to proceed at this stage to go ahead and “APPROVE” any single one of the proposals as today’s SGM is planning to do. As the most recent news report (dated 14 August 2026; link reproduced below) indicates, the drafters are still awaiting responses/inputs from the public at large (public feedback) to be submitted by late August. Better therefore to utilize the time till then to discuss the merits and demerits of ALL the proposed changes — not just an isolated one — at an SGM if the AGM is not convened before the deadline date of feedback submission.
Posted/uploaded along with above post: News Report titled “Maha Housing Co-ops: Bye-laws draft seeks suggestions” dated 14 August 2026 and published on INDIAN COOPERATIVE website. The link: https://www.indiancooperative.com/co-op-news-snippets/maha-housing-co-ops-bye-laws-draft-seeks-suggestions
Despite all of the above, the Managing Committee totally disregarded the reasoned suggestions put forth by CHS members, went ahead with the online SGM and passed a resolution “to charge simple interest at 12% per annum on defaulted maintenance charges, effective from 1st August 2026,” citing notification dated 18th June 2026 under the MCS Act: see Attachment Three.
In light of these developments, I have no other recourse but to write to you directly and place on record my OBJECTION and my SUGGESTION re the upcoming amendments to Housing Society Bye-Laws:
My OBJECTION to the proposed reduction in percentage of penal interest on outstanding Society dues is largely covered in the highlighted (bolded) sections of my WhatsApp communications to my fellow Society members and also Mr Yadav’s response reproduced above. Quite simply, this proposed reduction will incentivize further defaults, and will effectively penalize the diligent members who pay their dues regularly and on time.
My SUGGESTION is to insert a bye-law which bans/prohibits the use of Society funds for any festival of any religion. Not being part of any religious trust or organization, our CHSs contain a rich mix of different communities and their managements are therefore beholden to respect this diversity and thus uphold the non-sectarian character of our Republic along with the robust secular values of our Constitution. The Maharashtra Housing Society bye-law drafters may or may not be aware that CHS managements across the state — and my own CHS managing committee would probably be among the foremost in this regard — rampantly utilize Society funds for religious festival celebrations, either openly or under the guise of “Cultural” events. Note that I am NOT against religious celebrations per se. My objection is to the expenditure for celebrating a religious or communal festival from a collective corpus of funds, when that corpus has been built up with contributions from members who do not belong to that religion or community. And so I have NO issues with members spending their own monies for such celebrations. But Society funds should not be made available for these events. These funds can, at the most, be used to celebrate our two national holidays: INDEPENDENCE DAY and REPUBLIC DAY.
Attachment One: News Report of Misuse of Society Funds for Birthday Celebration
Attachment Two: SGM Notice
Attachment Three: Minutes of SGM
p.s. My Yahoomail account is temporarily not functioning, so best to contact me — if and when necessary — via WhatsApp on 9820601784.
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Regret my inability to upload the Attachments in the absence of any facility providing for the same.