The Apartment Association After an Auction Purchase: Membership, Transfer Charges and Maintenance Arrears

Why the association’s record does not change by itself

An apartment association keeps its own register of owners and its own maintenance accounts. When you buy at a bank auction, the papers travel elsewhere: the Authorised Officer issues the sale certificate, a copy is filed with the sub-registrar (Registration Act s.89(4)), and you apply separately for the municipal record and the utility names. None of these steps sends anything to the association.

So the association learns of the sale from you. Until it does, its records still show the previous owner, its maintenance demands may still go to that name, and it may not recognise you at a general body meeting or for parking and amenity allotments. The fix is a short, complete letter, covered below. Settling who owes any old arrears is a separate question, and it is better answered before the bid than at the association office.

Which law governs your association

Start by finding out what kind of body the association is, because the rules on membership and dues follow from that.

Ask the association, or the bank, which may hold a copy among the title documents, for the registered Declaration or deed of declaration and the current bye-laws. The deed of declaration also shows the apartment’s share in the common areas, which sets its share of common expenses.

Old maintenance arrears: what decides who pays

There is no single answer for every auction flat, and no Supreme Court ruling on association arrears and SARFAESI buyers was found for this guide. Three things decide it, read together.

1. 1

   The apartment ownership law, where it applies

   In Karnataka, unpaid common expenses are a charge on the apartment, behind only government and municipal taxes and a first mortgage (s.19). On a sale, the purchaser is jointly and severally liable with the vendor for unpaid assessments up to the sale, with a right to recover from the vendor. A purchaser who obtains a statement of the unpaid amount from the secretary or board of managers is not liable for more than that statement shows (s.20). The 1987 Act in Telangana has the same charge and joint liability (ss.20, 22), but no clause limiting liability to a statement.

   Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act ss.19–20; 1987 Act ss.20, 22

2. 2

   The bye-laws

   Bye-laws commonly say how arrears are collected and what follows if they stay unpaid. Where the building is not under the apartment ownership law, the bye-laws and the society’s registration law are the main rules. Read the actual clause rather than relying on what the office says.

   Bye-laws

3. 3

   The sale notice

   The notice must describe the encumbrances known to the bank (Rule 8(7)(a)), and most notices add a clause putting statutory dues and outgoings on the buyer. The Supreme Court has held that “as is where is” puts every bidder on notice that the seller takes no responsibility for dues such as service charges (Supreme Court, 2023, Civil Appeals 2109–2110 of 2004, para 328(i)). That case was about electricity arrears; its use for association dues is by analogy only.

   Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules, Rule 8(7)

The same judgment said it is for the intending purchaser to satisfy themselves about title, encumbrances and pending dues before buying (para 141). That is the practical point: the arrears question is answered by documents collected before the EMD, not argued afterwards.

Finding out before you bid

The pre-bid check of every due that can follow the property, including tax, power and water, is set out in our guide to dues that travel with the property. For the association, three requests cover it.

1. A signed, dated statement of unpaid maintenance and any other sums due on the flat, from the secretary or managing committee. In Karnataka, where the Act applies, ask for it as the statement under s.20(2).
2. The bye-law clauses on arrears, on transfer of a flat, and on any transfer or admission charge.
3. From the Authorised Officer, in writing: the dues known to the bank and the notice clause on who bears them.

Count any arrears quoted as part of the all-in cost. A statement is correct only on its date, since maintenance keeps accruing, so ask for a fresh one after the win.

Transfer and admission charges

Some associations levy a charge when a flat changes hands, or ask a new owner to pay a deposit or a share of a sinking fund. Neither the Karnataka Act nor the 1987 Act, in the provisions read for this guide, sets such a charge or its amount. Whether one is payable, and how much, depends on the bye-laws.

This guide gives no figure, because there is no common one. Ask for the clause that authorises the charge and a written statement of the amount, and add it to your costs.

Getting on the record after the win

1. 1

   Write to the association

   Send a letter to the secretary or managing committee stating that you have bought the flat at a bank auction, and asking to be recorded as owner and member and for the maintenance account to be moved to your name from the date of the sale.

2. 2

   Attach the papers

   A copy of the sale certificate; proof of the sub-registrar record (the Book 1 entry or the registered document); the bank’s confirmation of sale; your ID and contact details.

3. 3

   Settle what is due, in writing

   Ask for a current statement of what the association says is payable, and on what basis. Pay what you accept is yours against a receipt; where you dispute an amount, say so in writing and keep the reply.

4. 4

   Ask for the confirmation

   Ask for a written confirmation that you are on the register, and keep it with your sale papers. Lenders and a future buyer’s lawyer may ask for it.

If possession is still symbolic, ask the association in writing how it will treat maintenance for the period before the flat is handed over. The Karnataka Act does not let an owner avoid common expenses by not using the common areas (s.17), so plan on maintenance running from the sale.

Questions buyers ask

Sources

Statutes, rules and judgments first. Checked as of 17 October 2026; the law and portal practice change, so confirm against the source before relying on a detail.

1. StatuteKarnataka Apartment Ownership Act, 1972 — ss.2, 3, 13, 16, 17, 19, 20 (text via Casemine)
2. StatuteApartments (Promotion of Construction and Ownership) Act, 1987 (Andhra Pradesh Act 29 of 1987, continued in Telangana) — ss.2, 18, 20, 22 (text via Casemine)
3. JudgmentSupreme Court, 19 May 2023, Civil Appeals 2109–2110 of 2004 — paras 141, 328(i)
4. RulesSecurity Interest (Enforcement) Rules, 2002 — Rule 8(7) (sale notice, known encumbrances)
5. StatuteRegistration Act, 1908 — s.89(4)
6. SecondaryKing Stubb & Kasiva, “Karnataka Apartment Bill 2026” (11 Sep 2026) — status of the 2026 Bill