Karnataka Bill Grants Flat Owners Collective Rights Over Common Areas, But Raises RERA Conflict Concerns

The proposed Karnataka Apartment (Ownership and Management) Bill, 2026, seeks to resolve long-standing disputes between flat owners and builders over common spaces by establishing a clear legal framework. The bill defines common areas and facilities, specifies ownership rights, and outlines management procedures.

Under the proposed legislation, every flat owner automatically holds an undivided and non-exclusive ownership right in the land and all common areas of the project. This ownership is inseparable from the flat and transfers with sale, inheritance, or transfer.

While this clarity is welcomed, Dhananjaya Padmanabhachar, convenor of the Karnataka Home Buyers Forum, noted a potential conflict with the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. He pointed out that Section 17 of RERA requires the title of common areas to be transferred to the association of allottees through a conveyance deed. However, the proposed bill holds ownership collectively with individual flat owners, not the association. “For instance, if our land ownership were to be transferred to individual flat owners and if there are five thousand flat owners, how can the government enter five thousand names in land records? It’s practically impossible,” he said.

The bill provides a detailed definition of common areas, expanding beyond traditional spaces like staircases, lifts, and corridors to include staff quarters, drainage, sanitation, and renewable energy installations. Any community or commercial facility, including clubhouses and swimming pools, that consumes the project’s Floor Area Ratio (FAR) will automatically form part of common areas. Builders may retain ownership only if such facilities are on a separate parcel of land, approved in the sanctioned plan, and disclosed to buyers before sale. These privately retained facilities cannot be included in the super built-up area or land share calculations.

This clarification aims to prevent builders from misusing common spaces. Every apartment owner’s undivided share in land and common facilities will be proportional to the flat’s private area relative to the total private area of all apartments in the project. The bill also bars promoters, owners, or any person from retaining exclusive control over common areas, restricting lawful use, or levying unauthorized charges.

Regarding parking, the bill states that open, stilt, basement, and podium parking areas remain part of common areas and cannot be sold as independent property merely because they are demarcated. Only enclosed or separately approved parking units conveyed through a registered document qualify as private parking spaces. V. Srinivas, a member of an apartment association from North Bengaluru, noted the lack of clear demarcation that a parking space should be exclusively used for parking, which could lead to misuse. He emphasized the need for specific definitions in apartment setups.