The Delhi Apartment Ownership Act, 1986

(1) This Act may be called the Delhi ApartmentOwnership Act, 1986. (2) It extends to the whole of the Union territory of Delhi. (3) It shall come into force on such date as the Administrator may, by notification in the OfficialGazette, appoint.

The provisions of this Act shall apply to every apartment in a multi-storeyedbuilding which was constructed mainly for residential or commercial or such other purposes as may beprescribed, by-- (a) any group housing co-operative society; or (b) any other person or authority, before or after the commencement of this Act and on a free hold land, or a lease hold land, if the lease forsuch land is for a period of thirty years or more: Provided that, where a building constructed, whether before or after the commencement of this Act,on any land contains only two or three apartments, the owner of such building may, by a declaration dulyexecuted and registered under the provisions of the Registration Act, 1908 (16 of 1908), indicate hisintention to make the provisions of this Act applicable to such building, and on such declaration beingmade, such owner shall execute and register a Deed of Apartment in accordance with the provisions ofthis Act, as if such owner were the promoter in relation to such building.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "Administrator" means the Administrator of the Union territory of Delhi appointed by thePresident under article 239 of the Constitution; (b) "allottee", in relation to an apartment, means the person to whom such apartment has beenallotted, sold or otherwise transferred by the promoter; (c) "apartment" means a part of any property, intended for any type of independent use, includingone or more rooms or enclosed spaces located on one or more floors or any part or parts thereof, in amulti-storeyed building to be used for residence or office or for the practice of any profession, or forthe carrying on of any occupation, trade or business or for such other type of independent use as maybe prescribed, and with a direct exit to a public street, road or highway, or to a common area leadingto such street, road or highway, and includes any garage or room (whether or not adjacent to themulti-storeyed building in which such apartment is located) provided by the promoter for use by the owner of such apartment for parking any vehicle or, as the case may be, for the residence of anydomestic aide employed in such apartment; (d) "apartment number" means the number, letter or combination thereof, designating anapartment; (e) "apartment owner" means the person or persons owning an apartment and an undividedinterest in the common areas and facilities appurtenant to such apartment in the percentage specifiedin the Deed of Apartment; (f) "Association of Apartment Owners",-- (i) in relation to a multi-storeyed building not falling within sub-clause (ii), means all theowners of the apartments therein; (ii) in the case of the multi-storeyed buildings in any area, designated as a block, pocket orotherwise, means all the owners of the apartments in such block, pocket or other designated area, acting as a group in accordance with the bye-laws; (g) "authority" includes any authority constituted or established by or under any law for the timebeing in force; (h) "Board" means the Board of Management of an Association of Apartment Owners elected byits members under the bye-laws; (i) "bye-laws" means the bye-laws made under this Act; (j) "common areas and facilities", in relation to a multi-storeyed building, means-- (i) the land on which such building is located and all easements, rights and appurtenancesbelonging to the land and the building; (ii) the foundations, columns, girders, beams, supports, main walls, roofs, halls, corridors,lobbies, stairs, stairways, fire-escapes and entrances and exits of the building; (iii) the basements, cellars, yards, gardens, parking areas, shopping centers, schools andstorage spaces; (iv) the premises for the lodging of janitors or persons employed for the management of theproperty; (v) installations of central services, such as, power, light, gas, hot and cold water, heating,refrigeration, air conditioning, incinerating and sewerage; (vi) the elevators, tanks, pumps, motors, fans, compressors, ducts and in general all apparatusand installations existing for common use; (vii) such other community and commercial facilities as may be prescribed; and (viii) all other parts of the property necessary or convenient to its existence, maintenance andsafety, or normally in common use; (k) "common expenses" means-- (i) all sums lawfully assessed against the apartment owners by the Association of ApartmentOwners for meeting the expenses of administration, maintenance, repair or replacement of thecommon areas and facilities; (ii) expenses declared as common expenses by the provisions of this Act or by the bye-laws,or agreed upon by the Association of Apartment Owners; (l) "common profits" means the balance of all income, rents, profits and revenues from thecommon areas and facilities remaining after the deduction of the common expenses; (m) "competent authority" means,-- (i) a Secretary in the Delhi Administration, or (ii) the Vice-Chairman of the Delhi Development Authority, or (iii) the Land and Development Officer of the Central Government,who may be authorised by the Administrator, by notification in the Official Gazette, to perform thefunctions of the competent authority under this Act; (n) "Deed of Apartment" means the Deed of Apartment referred to in section 13; (o) "Delhi" means the Union territory of Delhi; (p) "joint family" means a Hindu undivided family, and in the case of other persons, a group orunit, the members of which are by custom, joint in possession or residence; (q) "limited common areas and facilities" means those common areas and facilities which aredesignated in writing by the promoter before the allotment, sale or other transfer of any apartment asreserved for use of certain apartment or apartments to the exclusion of the other apartments; (r) "Manager" means the Manager of an Association of Apartment Owners appointed under thebye-laws; (s) "multi-storeyed building" means a building constructed on any land, containing four or moreapartments, or two or more buildings in any area designated as a block, pocket or otherwise, eachcontaining two or more apartments, with a total of four or more apartments in all such buildings, andincludes a building containing two or three apartments in respect of which a declaration has beenmade under the proviso to section 2; (t) "owner", in relation to an apartment, includes, for the purposes of this Act, a lessee of the landon which the building containing such apartment has been constructed, where the lease of such land isfor a period of thirty years or more; (u) "person" includes a firm and a joint family, and also includes a group housing co-operativesociety; (v) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (w) "promoter" means the authority, person or co-operative society, as the case may be, by which,or by whom, any multi-storeyed building has been constructed; (x) "property" means the land, the multi-storeyed building, all improvement and structuresthereon, and all easements, rights and appurtenances belonging thereto, and all articles of personalproperty intended for use in connection therewith.

(1) Every person to whom any apartment is allotted, sold orotherwise transferred by the promoter, on or after the commencement of this Act, shall, save as otherwiseprovided in section 6, and subject to the other provisions of this Act, be entitled to the exclusiveownership and possession of the apartment so allotted, sold or otherwise transferred to him. (2) Every person to whom any apartment was allotted, sold or otherwise transferred by the promoterbefore the commencement of this Act shall, save as otherwise provided under section 6 and subject to theother provisions of this Act, be entitled, on and from such commencement, to the exclusive ownershipand possession of the apartment so allotted, sold or otherwise transferred to him. (3) Every person who becomes entitled to the exclusive ownership and possession of an apartmentunder sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) shall be entitled to such percentage of undivided interest in thecommon areas and facilities as may be specified in the Deed of Apartment and such percentage shall becomputed by taking, as a basis, the value of the apartment in relation to the value of the property. (4) (a) The percentage of the undivided interest of each apartment owner in the common areas andfacilities shall have a permanent character, and shall not be altered without the written consent of all theapartment owners. (b) The percentage of the undivided interest in the common areas and facilities shall not be separatedfrom the apartment to which it appertains and shall be deemed to be conveyed or encumbered with theapartment, even though such interest is not expressly mentioned in the conveyance or other instrument. (5) The common areas and facilities shall remain undivided and no apartment owner or any otherperson shall bring any action for partition or division of any part thereof, and any covenant to the contraryshall be void. (6) Each apartment owner may use the common areas and facilities in accordance with the purposesfor which they are intended without hindering or encroaching upon the lawful rights of the otherapartment owners. (7) The necessary work relating to maintenance, repair and replacement of the common areas andfacilities and the making of any additions or improvements thereto, shall be carried out only inaccordance with the provisions of this Act and the bye-laws. (8) The Association of Apartment Owners shall have the irrevocable right, to be exercised by theBoard or Manager, to have access to each apartment from time to time during reasonable hours for themaintenance, repairs or replacement of any of the common areas or facilities therein, or accessibletherefrom, or for making emergency repairs therein necessary to prevent damage to the common areasand facilities or to any other apartment or apartments.

Subject to the provisions of section 6, eachapartment, together with the undivided interest in the common areas and facilities appurtenant to suchapartment, shall, for all purposes constitute as a heritable and transferable immovable property within themeaning of any law for the time being in force, and accordingly, an apartment owner may transfer hisapartment and the percentage of undivided interest in the common areas and facilities appurtenant to suchapartment by way of sale, mortgage, lease, gift, exchange or in any other manner whatsoever in the samemanner, to the same extent and subject to the same rights, privileges, obligations, liabilities,investigations, legal proceedings, remedy and to penalty, forfeiture or punishment as any otherimmovable property or make a bequest of the same under the law applicable to the transfer andsuccession of immovable property: Provided that where the allotment, sale or other transfer of any apartment has been made by anygroup housing co-operative society in favour of any member thereof, the transferability of such apartmentand all other matters shall be regulated by the law applicable to such group housing co-operative society.