MUMBAI: Ruling in favour of a housing society in south Mumbai, a civil court recently ordered flat owners to hand over a garage they had claimed to have “purchased” from the earlier owners. The court held that the previous owners had no right to sell it when it was just allotted to them at the time they purchased the flat in 1972.
“...Parking space or garage comes within the purview of common areas and facilities. Builder or developer has no right to sell parking space or garage. The promoter or builder has no right to sell any portion of such building which is not ‘flat’...” the court said. It held that the only right that remains with the promoter is to sell unsold flats.
Asiatic Co-operative Housing Society Ltd moved court in 2013 after it found that the new flat owners Sanjay and Samprati Doshi had “taken possession” of the garage and encroached upon the 95-sq-ft common passage between the ground floor flat and the garage by erecting a brick wall.
“..The defendants [Doshis] encroached on the suit premises on the basis of illegal deed of transfer... Hence, possession of defendants in the suit garage is unlawful. Plaintiff [housing society] is legally entitled for possession of the suit garage and its allotment...,” the court said.
The Doshis claimed the society was issuing separate maintenance receipts to the original owner, The court referred to the original allotment letter which said that the garage shall only be used for personal use and parking car and shall not be sub-let without written permission of the society.
