Apartment complex
Bengaluru: Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot on Wednesday put the much-anticipated Karnataka Apartment Ownership and Management Act (KAOMA) Bill, 2026, on hold, seeking clarifications on certain provisions. For ageing buildings, the bill mandates structural stability certificates every five years after a building completes 30 years. It also allows redevelopment with the consent of 75% of apartment owners, with dissenting owners entitled to compensation.
It is not clear what provisions or issues the governor has sought clarification on. The bill seeks to establish that common areas such as land, lobbies, staircases, lifts, corridors, terraces and other shared facilities belong collectively to apartment owners, rather than being owned or controlled by the apartment association.
Some apartment associations and homebuyer groups, including Karnataka Home Buyers Forum, have raised objections, alleging the law does not comply with Section 17 of the central Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA). Section 17 mandates promoters to transfer the title of common areas to the Association of Allottees once it is formed, according to the forum. The forum has alleged that KAOMA 2026, which was passed by the legislature on August 24, does not contain adequate provisions for such transfer of land title. Among objections is the allegation that the Bill curtails citizens’ fundamental right to form cooperative societies, guaranteed under Article 19 and strengthened by the 97th Constitutional Amendment. Federation has argued that RERA 2016 and Karnataka’s rules require a registered body for apartment conveyance, which it contends should be a cooperative society. It has alleged that Karnataka’s continued reliance on associations formed under the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act, 1972, does not adequately address the requirement of land conveyance under RERA. We anticipate that the new Apartment Bill, KAOMA, will be amended to ensure compliance with Section 17 of RERA.
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This, it said, could leave apartment associations unable to secure title to the common land, while allegedly allowing promoters to mortgage such land with banks. Federation of Karnataka Apartment Owners Cooperative Society has posted its letter to the governor on X, flagging “multiple discrepancies” and violation of fundamental rights. Forum convener Dhananjaya Padmanabhachar said, “If the land title is not transferred to the association, the land records continue to reflect the previous landowner’s name.
The proposed law will apply to projects with more than eight units and provides for a dedicated dispute-resolution mechanism under the urban development department. The Federation has cited Supreme Court and Karnataka High Court judgments recognising the right to form, register and autonomously function cooperative societies. This gives promoters an opportunity to mortgage the land with banks, thereby putting flat owners at risk. Download the TOI App.