• Title of society flat

Dear Sir, my Socty. had asked me and my sister (as we are nominated as per nomination form filed as 75% to myself and sister 25%) to become a member soon (due to Redev. process) since my mother passed away in Dec 2021 and they were good enough to wait for my Ideminity Bond IB and application for membership as JOINT Members (as per bye-laws along with any outstanding dues and continued to pay till date) as requested by them which I submitted to them in Dec.2022. Now they are asking after a month for some i) Transfer forms as per bye-laws, ii) LA since we are staying outside the city limits of Mumbai and iii) to pay all due to the Society. Do you think these are prerequisites or need in this case. I have emailed them a letter to ask what "Transfer form" they want me to fill and the LA is not a prerequisite for membership and the dues are paid. Awaiting their reply. Recently, I have been asking about many irregularities in the minutes of meeting (MOM) and others which will mention later. Please give your guidance what is the quickest way to resolve and get our membership in order. Thanks
Asked 3 years ago in Property Law
Religion: Christian

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11 Answers

You are liable to pay outstanding dues before flat is transferred in your names .if all dues have been paid you should not face any problems 

 

2) nominee is only trustee for legal heirs 

 

3) there is no harm in applying from letters of administration from Bombay high court 

 

3) it takes around 6 months 

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
99784 Answers
8145 Consultations

You have to first change name in the mutation paper and municipal corporation records. Before that apply for legal heirs certificate. Do later on nobody in society stop you.

Ganesh Kadam
Advocate, Pune
13008 Answers
267 Consultations

Letters of administration is not mandatory for Christians in Bombay 

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
99784 Answers
8145 Consultations

Instead of LA you can go for legal heirship certificate and in the society you have already noted nomination they can update your name on share certificate and as member.

 

But if you have change title of ownership in the government records. You need to follow first legal heirs certificate and than apply for mutation records of your and siblings name to update.

 

Once all siblings name are updated on mutation records than release deed can be done.

Once all these three - four procedures are done than society will update in all records.

Ganesh Kadam
Advocate, Pune
13008 Answers
267 Consultations

The Supreme Court observed that the mandatory requirement to seek probate or letters of administration for establishing a right as executor or legatee under a Will, is applicable only to Wills made by a Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina within the local limits of the ordinary original civil jurisdiction of certain High Courts

 

According to section 213 of the Indian Succession Act 1925 the probate or letter of administration for a will is not mandatory for the Christians.

your siblings can execute registered release deed or relinquishment deed 

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
99784 Answers
8145 Consultations

If you want the membership transferred to you both as per the nomination form submitted by your deceased mother/erstwhile owner of the flat, you are required to comply with the requisite conditions of the  bylaws of the society.

If you have to submit the application forms in the prescribed format and are required to pay all the outstanding dues as well as other charges prior to your membership and for obtaining membership, which cannot be disputed.

By merely sending an email and sitting tight waiting for the reply may not fetch you the immediate response, you may have to physically follow up with the society and enquire about the formalities to be followed in furtherance.  Your agitations over the irregularities of the society in the meetings may not fetch you the desired result especially if you are yet to become a member, therefore first you get the membership transferred to your names after which you can become eligible to raise objections over the irregular incidents that are taking place in the society. 

You may please note that you cannot become owner of the property just because you are the nominee appointed by the deceased owner, if you are the legal heir then you may have to get the revenue records transferred to your name by following the procedures as prescribed by the revenue department. 

For more proper understanding you may consult an experienced lawyer either in the local or one from this forum too.

 

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
89986 Answers
2493 Consultations

The bylaws what the society is insisting you to comply with are mandatory requirements.

It is not understood that why there is so much fuss to comply with the legal requirements from your side.

If you do not know what form is to be filled up for transfer, you may visit the society office physically, get the template or format or even a photo copy of the same and fill it up and also get the letters of administration granted through a court competent, and observe all the other formalities as prescribed in law for this purpose if you are really serious about getting the membership transferred at the earliest possible. 

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
89986 Answers
2493 Consultations

It is not mandatory to obtain letters of administration or probate of Will under indian Succession act.

You can obtain a legal heirship certificate mentioning the list of class I Legal heirs of  the deceased to succeed to the estates left behind by the deceased.

After obtaining the legal heirship certificate from the revenue department/Tehsildar you  may get a registered release deed duly executed by other legal heirs relinquishing their rights in the property.

Along with the copy of the legal heirship certificate and the registered release deed, an application seeking to transfer the membership, death certificate of the deceased owner and the receipt by which the payment of dues acknowledged by the society are to submitted, so that you can get the desired task completed without any further legal complication. 

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
89986 Answers
2493 Consultations

You can file complaint to dy registrar of coperative societies and also file consumer complaint in court 

Prashant Nayak
Advocate, Mumbai
34520 Answers
249 Consultations

1. if the original member [now deceased] had left a nomination, then LA is not required

2. the society can directly transfer the share certificate to the names of the joint nominees

3. as regards the transfer forms to be submitted, you can ask the society to give you a copy which you can then make on the required stamp paper and submit

4. it needs to be noted that transfer of shares to the name of the nominee would not confer any title in favour of the nominees

5. the nominees would be holding the flat as trustees for the other legal heirs of the deceased member, provided there are any other legal heirs, aside from the children

6. i do not understand the insistence of the society for a LA when there is a nomination registered in respect of the subject flat

7. not having the LA will not come in the way of the redevelopment since transferring the shares to the names of the nominees would not legally affect both the society and the developer who will be redeveloping the property

8. however sooner or later the nominees [provided they are the only surviving legal heirs of the deceased member] would have to apply for a LA so that proper title of the flat in transferred to their names. 

9. release deed will come into play when one legal heir is surrendering or giving up his share and right to other legal heir. In your case from your query, i do not think that is the case 

10. you can also apply for an heirship certificate in lieu of the LA 

Yusuf Rampurawala
Advocate, Mumbai
7899 Answers
79 Consultations

Dear client, 

You should follow the bye-laws of your Society as they define the rules and requirements for membership. It sounds like the Society is asking for the Transfer forms, LA, and payment of dues as per their bye-laws, so it would be best to comply with their request to avoid any delays in becoming a member. You can inquire about the specific Transfer forms they want you to fill out and the purpose of the LA, but ultimately following the Society's rules and requirements is the quickest way to resolve the issue and obtain your membership. If you have concerns about irregularities in the minutes of meetings, it may be a good idea to discuss them with the Society's authorities and seek a resolution.

Anik Miu
Advocate, Bangalore
11014 Answers
125 Consultations

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