Begin typing your search...
Resident Welfare Association rules suffocate residents
Without a comprehensive bylaw that can help avoid friction, several residents in Chennai, especially tenants, have to bear with rules laid down by their apartments’ resident welfare associations. From ‘no pets’ to ‘no unmarried couples’, the list runs long.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
When their relatives came visiting with their new pet dog, the Krishnans had least expected a commotion to erupt outside their apartment. “The neighbours had lined up outside our house and began to demand that the guests leave. It was extremely embarrassing, but we could do nothing.
Because, according to the rules framed by the resident welfare association’s bylaws, we cannot have pets in our house,” said Vanitha Krishnan, a resident of Medavakkam.
While the Krishnans had to make peace with the no-pets rule, Jennifer Jacob and her husband have moved to an independent flat in ECR, after several run-ins with their earlier neighbours. “I had issues at all the apartments I stayed in earlier. From foul smell to problems with our pet dog using the lift, there were all kinds of issues being raised by the resident welfare association members. Each time, they would send a circular and we had to send a polite reply. But we had enough, so decided to move into an independent flat for the sake of our pets – and peace of mind.”
For Asha G, a resident of Saligramam, there are endless fights with the residents’ welfare association in the colony for having guests over. “They keep telling me that since I am a single woman staying in the apartment, I cannot have guests as they might end up consuming more water than usual.”
The interference by the associations doesn’t end there, as talking to several people reveal. At an apartment complex in Thiruvanmyur, the association had barred Julie and her flatmate from having male visitors.
“They insist on us not having male visitors, even if they are brothers,” she said. Asha’s list of complaints is endless.
“They have a problem if I have guests visiting me. I can’t play music or even have a session of banter with my friends.”
Registered under the Society Registration Act, 1860, Resident Welfare Associations are formed to act as a self-governing body with 10 or more members. Explaining the legal sanctity of the bylaws formed by the RWAs, Richardson Wilson, advocate, Madras High Court, said, “These can govern procedures concerning elections.
If, however, there is a clause in the bylaw that goes against an individual’s constitutional right, it will be null and void.” He added that with respect to the restrictions on having pets, the Delhi High Court has upheld the individual’s Right to have pets in a similar case. “The moral policing about no access after a particular time in the night cannot be enforced,” he said.
But, residents said that there have been several instances when the RWAs have overstepped the limits. Indrajit Banerjee, a resident of Kolkata who recently shifted to Chennai, was appalled when his owner sent a notice saying that he cannot bring even garlic into the flat. “In fact, he told me that he has a person who will keep him informed if I go against the rules. He says it hurts his religious beliefs,” said Banerjee.
There have been a number of instances when owners of flats and apartments have put up a clause saying that members from another community other than theirs cannot rent the homes.
The grey area
While the tussle between RWAs and residents is about an individual’s right versus collective rights, there is never a clear solution. Wilson said that when the clauses impinge on the individual’s right or the other way around, both can take the legal recourse. He added that most cases landing at the court are the ones concerning maintenance.
However, he added that there are examples when there is no clear answer. “If a person develops a society of flats exclusive to one community and the sale deed says this property is being bought with the understanding that it cannot be sold to someone from outside community, going against the condition can hurt the other owners.
In such cases, one right over collective right is not an easy decision to arrive at,” he said.
LG Sahadevan, an advocate, points to the thin line between mutual understanding and discrimination.
“When I have a restriction about food being cooked in the house I own, and you accept the condition before renting it, can you complain about it later? It is an internal arrangement between A and B about food or religious practice.
It becomes discrimination only when you bring to a public forum,” he said.
To resolve the issues, RWAS are bringing in an arbitrary clause, especially when there are 100- 200 flats as part of the association.
“This saves them the time and money on taking the matter to court,” said Wilson. Ways to resolve R Gopalan, president of the welfare association that comprises of more than 750 flats in Mantri Synergy in Padur, said that the unwanted rules and guidelines should be kept out of the rule book.
“You cannot restrict personal freedom and choices. These include the food they want to eat and the time they return home. However, while we follow that, we only tell our residents to ensure that they dispose the remains of non-vegetarian meals properly.
But we have strict rules regarding parking and the members of the association have danglers and stickers on their vehicles that indicate they belong to the gated community. This helps the security to allow their free passage even in the night, irrespective of the time,” he said.
A comprehensive bylaw can help avoid frictions within the community, said Jayashree, a resident of Palikaranai who has been part of a group that framed bylaws for the welfare association she is part of. “From maintenance to installing CCTVs and conducting elections, we covered everything under the sun. However, we have had problems with people who wanted to run commercial establishments in the community that is against our rules. They reason out saying that they will be spending as much water or electricity as any seven-member family does. We are yet to arrive at a consensus over that,” she said.
Vandana Krishna, a resident of a housing society in Perumbakkam that is awaiting the formation of its RWA, said that she is already seeing signs of trouble among members. “Just the other day, there was a huge argument between two parties on the WhatsApp group for residents. A couple had put up an advertisement for a playschool they are running inside the complex. One of the residents objected saying that the notice board is for important announcements and decisions. We already know how the RWA is going to pan out,” Krishna said.
Ban on guests of opposite sex in Gurugram
Last year, the residents’ welfare association in one of Gurugram’s oldest residential societies, Essel Tower, banned the entry of guests of the opposite gender to flats where single tenants stay. The apartment complex is home to thousands of families and the ban was introduced to “maintain peace and order” claimed the association even when it was not ratified by all residents. The Gurgaon Police too said that the RWA is clearly overstepping and violating residents’ rights. The matter was resolved when the police commissioner intervened and arranged a mediation. The RWA agreed to release new guidelines without “any kind of guest restrictions related to time, gender and/or marital status”.
SC ruling backed housing societies’ right to restrict
In 2005, the Supreme Court upheld the right of Zoroastrian Co-operative Housing Society from Ahmedabad to restrict its membership to within their community. The apex court ruled that since the Parsis — an admittedly minority community —had come together to form the co-operative society, they
could aspire to keep it exclusive.
Guidelines set by Animal Welfare Board of India
- Pet owners rightly consider their pets as family members. A pet is akin to a perennial toddler and therefore deserves the same attention throughout its life as a human toddler during infancy. But, pet owners are advised to ensure that their pets are not a source of nuisance to others.
- Barking is a natural form of expression for a dog and must be tolerated. However, incessant barking can disturb neighbours so pet owners should try to keep their dogs quiet, especially during the night.
- Pet owners should ensure that their dogs are healthy and clean. They should be vaccinated and sterilisation is advised.
- They are also entrusted to clean up in case the dogs defecate in public.
- Pet owners are advised to keep their dogs on leash in public areas.
- While RWA cannot debar you from using lifts, it is advisable to use alternative lifts if you are asked to, if there is more than one working elevator in the building.
- The board also stated that RWA cannot introduce any sort of ban on keeping pet animals even if they have the consensus of a majority of the residents. Such a “ban” does not have the sanction of law.
- It said that if RWA tries to ban pets or limit their number then it will be equivalent to the association interefering with a fundamental freedom guaranteed to the citizens of India i.e. the freedom to choose the life they wish to live.
Visit news.dtnext.in to explore our interactive epaper!
Download the DT Next app for more exciting features!
Click here for iOS
Click here for Android
Next Story
