Can the housing society disallow their members from leasing their properties?
If you thought finding a rented accommodation was only about convincing the landlord, think again. There have been a number of cases in the recent past where property owners have been disallowed by the housing societies to rent out their properties to certain individuals who do not fulfill the basic criteria of the housing society rules. The most severely affected potential tenants are usually unmarried and single individuals.
Most housing societies feel that unmarried young men and women are more likely create a fuss with their friends and can harm the overall pace and serenity of the area. It can be a tad harsh but the fact is that housing societies are well within their limit to create a set of society bye-laws that all property owners must comply with.
Renting Woes for Tenants: While housing society laws are different for different regions and cities some sections of society are more prone for rejection. These include single unmarried individuals as well as people with pets. Sometimes there have been cases that people with a preferred meal preference have also been denied accommodation in a housing society. There have also been some cases reported from metropolitan centers where people belonging to certain religion and caste were also being denied by the housing society as potential tenants.
Correlation between Property Owner and Housing Society: The relationship between a property owner and the housing society is intrinsically correlated. Every land owner who wants to rent out his property to a tenant needs a no objection certificate from the housing society.
If the tenant is not fulfilling the minimum norms of the housing society, the no objection certificate can be lawfully denied. Most housing societies draft their bye-laws after thorough discussions with the society residents. Once formed, the bye-laws passed by the housing society come under the Co-operative Societies Act, which is a Central Act as per the legal jurisdiction. As rule passed by the housing society for the tenants applies equally to all residents and property owners in the society.
Free Will Vs Society bye Laws: It is the fundamental right for a citizen of India to rent out his or her property according to his or her wish. The situation gets confusing when both the society bye-laws and individual free will clashes in certain cases. While the best way to resolve the deadlock is to get the society to amend its bye-laws to allow certain setoff people as tenants. Usually societies bye-laws for tenants are made to provide an added layer to security for its residents.
People with pets are denied as pets can be a threat to the kids and the elderly. Similarly unmarried tenants are more prone to changing their residents too quickly leaving the landlord the dilemma of financial stability. If a landlord is being genuinely denied a chance to rent out his or her property the best thing is to approach the housing society for an amendment in the bye-laws. In most server cases, when there is no resolution between the property owner and the housing society, the property owner can approach the court of law for the resolution of his or her case.
The landlord deserves the right to keep a tenant according to his likes and dislikes. While society bye-laws are essential as living in a community means a more society centric approach than purely an individual resident, there have been cases where the law has ruled in favor of the landlord to allow tenants of his choice.
