Bengaluru: The Bangalore Apartments Federation (BAF), representing more than 1,400 Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) and nearly 1.5 million apartment residents, has delivered a strong ultimatum to the Karnataka Government—table and pass the long-pending Karnataka Apartment Ownership and Management Act (KAOMA) in the upcoming Belagavi Assembly Session, without further delay.
Calling the existing Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act, 1972, “archaic” and “dysfunctional,” BAF warned that Bengaluru’s apartment ecosystem is currently stuck in a “legislative vacuum” that has resulted in administrative confusion, severe governance gaps, and a surge in litigation due to unclear rules on ownership, association formation, and property rights.
Speaking at a press conference in Bengaluru, BAF President Satish Mallya said that the demand for a modern, comprehensive law has been pending for years, despite repeated assurances from governments across party lines.
“Implementing a comprehensive legal framework for apartment owners has been BAF’s primary demand for years — a commitment included in both Congress and BJP manifestos. Two and a half years have passed since the Congress Government took office. This is no longer a request; it is an urgent legislative necessity,”
Mallya said, adding that lakhs of homeowners continue to suffer due to the lack of legal clarity.
BAF’s non-negotiable demands in the proposed KAOMA
The federation’s proposal lists multiple mandatory reforms that the new KAOMA must incorporate:
- Clear and enforceable transfer of property rights and Undivided Share (UDS) from builders/promoters to apartment owners.
- Legally strengthened Owners’ Associations, including transparent rules for formation, registration, and governance.
- Time-bound dispute resolution mechanisms for owner-builder and owner-association conflicts.
- Legal provisions for amalgamation, redevelopment, and rebuilding ageing apartment complexes.
- Unified governance under one Act, replacing the current fragmented system reliant on multiple laws and departments.
BAF leaders stressed that the absence of a single, comprehensive regulatory framework has made Bengaluru’s apartment residents vulnerable to exploitation by builders, erratic maintenance systems, and legal ambiguity.
“Two years after D.K. Shivakumar’s assurance — still no movement”
BAF General Secretary K. Arun Kumar reminded that nearly two years have passed since Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who oversees Bengaluru development, assured the Assembly that a new, modern apartment law was being drafted and would be tabled soon.
“There has been no concrete progress since the Minister’s assurance. Lakhs of apartment owners cannot be left in uncertainty any longer,”
Arun Kumar said.
With the Belagavi Session approaching, BAF has made it clear that the government must act immediately and provide long-awaited legal protection to Bengaluru’s apartment community, which constitutes one of the largest urban resident groups in the state.
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