Formation of a Co-operative Housing Society

The registration of a Society is a mandatory procedure as only on the registration does a Society become a legal entity. Formation of Cooperative Housing Society can be done either by a Builder or flat purchaser who may put up a proposal for the registration of a Cooperative Society.

To form a Cooperative Housing Society, the prospective members should come together and decide to complete the required formalities. These prospective members are called the Promoters of the Society.

The following steps are to be followed for the registration of a Society:

1. Meeting of the prospective members: The members who intend to form a Cooperative Housing Society should organize a meeting. The minimum number of members to form a Cooperative society is only 5. There is no upper limit. These 5 members should be adults and from independent families.
2. Appointment of Chief Promoter: The promoters in the first meeting are required to pass and adopt three resolutions.
   1. To form a Cooperative Housing Society.
   2. To elect the Chief Promoter for the formation of a housing society.
   3. To select a name for the Society with two alternatives.

READ MORE: Roles and Responsibilities of RWA Managing Committee and Members

The resolution should be proposed and seconded by one of the members present in the meeting. This type of meeting is called the Meeting of Promoters of the proposed Society.

1. Application to the Registrar for name reservation: The next step would be to apply to the registration authority for reservation of the name. For the purpose of granting permission to open an account in the bank and reservation of name of the proposed tenant co-partnership housing society or premises society, an application shall be made to the Registrar in the prescribed format and shall be accompanied by the copies of commencement certificate or the building completion certificate given by the Architect and the copy of resolution of promoters electing chief promoter and authorizing him to make such application and on receipt of such application, the Registrar shall dispose of it within a period of 30 days from the state of its receipt.
2. To open a bank account: After receiving the approval of the name from the Registrar, the Chief Promoter and promoters would open an account in the bank in the name of the proposed Society. The bank account opening form should be accompanied by the letter reserving the name received from the registering authority. The promoters should deposit the share capital money, the entrance fee and the amount recovered from the builder in the account. It is essential to obtain a certificate from the bank in respect of such deposits. As per the registering authority, it is advisable to open the bank account with the District Central Cooperative Bank or the Urban Cooperative Bank.
3. To deposit the Society Registration fee: The society needs to deposit the registration fee with the Reserve Bank of India and receive a challan, in turn. The registration fee for a housing society is Rs. 2500/.
4. Proposal for Registration of Society: An application for registration of the Cooperative Housing Society is to be submitted to the Registrar in Form ‘A’. The application has to be signed in quadruplicate (4 couples) by at least 51% of the promoter members and their signatures, to be attested by the Chief Promoter.

The following documents should be attached to the proposal registration:

1. Name Reservation letter
2. ‘A’ and ‘B’ statement – 2 sets
3. ‘C’ form – 1 form
4. Bye-Laws – 2 copies
5. ‘Y’ form – Affidavit from Chief Promoter
6. Vakalatnama
7. Challan of Rs. 2500/- as registration fees paid to RBI/SBI.
8. Bank balance certificate stating the credit balance in the account of the proposed society.
9. Receipt and payment statement.
10. The scheme showing how economically well the society shall function.
11. Commencement certificate
12. Title certificate
13. Occupation certificate
14. Annexure ‘E’- with receipt of stamp duty and registration fees.
15. A true copy of the ‘Agreement of sale’ of flat and Development Agreement
16. Copy of building Plan

After submission of these documents, scrutiny is done by the office of Deputy Registrar. In case any more documents are required then the society is asked to submit the same.

1. Issuance of Registration Certificate: If the Registrar is satisfied that the proposed Society has completed all formalities and submitted all documents duly filled as per the provisions of the Act and Rules and the proposed bye-laws of the Society are not contrary to the MCS Act and Rules, then the Registrar shall, within two months from the date of receipt of the application, register the Society and its bye-laws. Approved bye-laws will govern the relationship between the Society and its members. In case the registering authority fails to register the Society within a period of two months, then the registering authority refers to the application to the next higher officer. If the higher officer also fails to dispose of the application for registration of the Society, in that case, the society shall be deemed to have been registered along with its Bye-laws and after that, the Registrar shall issue a Certificate of Registration within a period of 15 days.

A society which is registered in Maharashtra shall become an affiliated member of the Housing Federation of the District.

1. First General Meeting: During the  Formation of Cooperative Housing Society within three months of the date of registration of the Society, it is the responsibility of the Chief Promoter to convene a meeting of all the promoters who have signed the application for the registration of the Society. This meeting is called the First General Meeting.
2. If the Chief Promoter falls to convene the First General Meeting within the prescribed period, then the said meeting shall be called by the person authorized by the Registrar.
3. The Chief Promoter shall give 14 clear days’ notice of the meeting (the day of sending the notice and the day of the meeting to be excluded from the period of 14 days) to the promoter members who have signed the application for registration.

The following business is mainly transacted in the First General Body Meeting. Detailed information is provided on the ‘First General Body Meeting’ in this book under a separate chapter.

1. To elect the President for the purpose of conducting the meeting.
2. To admit persons to membership.
3. To elect a Provisional Committee.
4. To authorize the Committee to complete the Conveyance of building and land.
5. To consider any other important matter with the permission of the Chairman. All the forms and annexure mentioned in this chapter are readily available at the Federation Office for the convenience of the societies.

Important note

1. No tenant co-partnership housing society shall be registered under this Act unless it consists of at least five persons (each of such persons being a Member of the different family) or at least 51 percent. (of the total number of flats as per sanctioned plan) flat purchasers or intending Members and who are qualified to become a member under this Act, whichever is higher, joins the registration proposal of the housing society to be registered.
2. No tenant ownership housing society shall be registered under this Act unless it consists of at least five persons (each of such persons being a Member of the different family) or at least 51 percent. (of the total number of plots as per proposed or sanctioned layout) plot purchasers and who are qualified to become Member under this Act, whichever is higher, joins the registration proposal of the housing, society to be registered.
3. No Association of the society shall be registered unless it has at least five housing societies as its Members.
4. No Co-operative Housing Association shall be registered unless it has at least two housing societies or other legal bodies as its Members.
5. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect the registration of any society made before the commencement of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2019.
6. The word “limited” or “unlimited” shall be the last word in the name of every society with limited or unlimited liability, as the case may be, which is registered or deemed to be registered under this Act.

Explanation For the purpose of this section, the expression “Member of a family” means a wife, husband, father, mother, the dependent son or unmarried dependent daughter.

A Cooperative Housing Society runs smoothly only when the managing committee members take complete responsibility of the Society administration.

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