All About Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act - From Its Existence (1960) to Its Latest Amends

Maharashtra is the second most populated state in India, and therefore, a Maharashtra Cooperatives Society Act is just the right fit for the state. With its population, it is not a shock that there are over 5 crore members to the existing nearly two lakh cooperative societies. Cooperative housing societies are a part of the cooperative societies and are governed by the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act 1960 (latest Maharashtra cooperative Societies Act 2019).  The MCS Act 1960 was brought into action on 26 January 1962. A few amends were made to the Maharashtra Cooperative Housing Society Act (as the centre mandated) on 13 February 2013. The amends of the Maharashtra Cooperative Society rules came into action the very next day i.e., 14 February 2013.

Key Features of the MCS Act

The Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act or the Maharashtra Housing Society Act 1960 states its key features based on better housing plans for its people. It provides an inclusive and easy registration system, membership perks and includes the privileges and duties offered all over Maharashtra. The Maharashtra Cooperative Act aims to provide a fair system and solutions in Maharashtra for cooperative societies.

What Is a Cooperative Housing Society?

Under the Maharashtra Cooperative Housing Society Act 1960, the main purpose is to offer/provide its members with better housing opportunities such as open flats, apartments, and plots. In addition to this, it also aims at providing its members with the luxury of basic amenities.

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Sections That Apply to Housing Societies Under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act (1960)

It is important to understand that the Maharashtra State Cooperative Societies Act is not just meant for housing societies and covers a lot of various other factors. Listed below are the sections that apply to the Maharashtra Housing Society Act-

• Section 1, clauses (5), (6), (7), (8), (10), (10-ai), (10-aii), (10-aiii), (13), (14), (16), (17), (18), (20-A), (21), (24), (26), (27), (28), (29), (29A) and (31)
• Section 2
• Sections 3, 3A, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 20A, 21, 21A, 22, 23, 25, 25A, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41 and 42
• Section 50
• Section 62
• Sections 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 71A, 72, 73, 73ID, 73C, 73CB, 73CC, 73F, 73I, 75, 76, 77, 77A and 78A
• Section 79, 79A and 79AA
• Section 80 to 89A
• Section 91 to 100
• Section 102 to 110
• Section 145 to 148A
• Section 149 to 154
• Section 154A
• Section 155 to 168

Types Of Housing Societies Under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act

The Maharashtra cooperative societies act 1960 has set clear criteria for the housing societies that enjoy the membership perks. The three types are listed below:

• Tenant Ownership Housing Societies: According to the Maharashtra co-op Society Act these are housing societies whose aim is to allot plots or flats on a parcel of land that the society owns either on a leasehold or freehold basis, while the members own the houses.
• Tenant Co-partnership Housing Society: Maharashtra cooperative housing society rules that the objective of these housing societies is to provide flats to their members where the society owns both the land and the building, either freehold or leasehold.
• Other Housing Societies: House mortgage cooperative societies, house construction cooperative housing societies and foundations cooperative societies with all units being offices or commercial establishments are examples of these.

Section 22 of the Maharashtra cooperative societies act makes it clear that if a person meets all eligibility criteria, then the person cannot be denied membership.  Section 79 of the Maharashtra cooperative societies act states that all transactions - money exchange, receipts and expenditure have to be legally documented and stored for verification. While Section 91 of the Maharashtra cooperative societies act takes care of any dispute that might occur in the authorship of the property. The Indian law system makes the membership of the MCS a safe and fair process.

Different Terms Used in Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act

The Maharashtra co-op housing society act uses its own set of terms for smooth functioning and aims to provide better services to its members. Below are a few terms along with their definitions that the Maharashtra co-op society act uses.

• Central Bank: Any cooperative bank established with the goal of creating capital to be loaned to other societies is referred to as a central bank.
• Bonus: As per the Maharashtra cooperative act 1960, the term "bonus" refers to any payment made in cash or kind from the society's revenues to a member or non-member. This does not, however, include any amount paid to any society employee under the 1965 Bonus Act.
• Cooperative Bank: Cooperative banks are defined as a company conducting banking business under the guidelines of the Banking Supervision Act of 1949.
• Cooperative Appellate Court: The Cooperative Court of Appeal is defined as the Maharashtra Cooperative Appeal Court established under the Companies Act 1960 Maharashtra State Cooperatives. 

• Member: Anyone who joins the cooperative following the bylaws and submits an application for registration will become a member upon acceptance. 
• Dividend: Dividends refer to any amount paid to its members with the profits of a corporation, and the amount is proportional to the shares it owns.
• Officer: A person appointed or elected to public office by any society per the bylaws is termed as officer. The president, vice president, president and general secretary of the society are all subordinate to the cadres.
• Committee: A committee is defined as a board of directors or any management committee that manages the daily affairs of the company by the law drawn up in article 73 of the law. 
• Working Capital: Any socially available fund, including paid-in capital, earnings, and 
• other funds raised or borrowed, are included in the definition of working capital. 
• Bye laws: The Maharashtra cooperative housing society bye laws states that all social laws registered under the Maharashtra Cooperatives Societies Act 1960, including amendments thereto, fall within the scope of the constitution.

Rules for Registration of Cooperative Housing Societies as per Maharashtra Housing Societies Act

It is not possible to register a housing society under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act unless at least five members of different families or at least half of the total number of flats that qualify for membership under this Act agree to the housing society's registration proposal.

Transfer of Share, Right, Title and Interest in Cooperative Housing Societies as per Maharashtra Housing Societies Act

Cooperative housing society members in Maharashtra are allowed to transfer their ownership stake in their property by using registered documents.

Amendment of Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960

The changes became effective on February 14th, 2013. The Maharashtra assembly later introduced and approved amending legislation to the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960.  Cooperative housing society act (Maharashtra) was revised to include the following provisions:

• A co-operative housing society's members must attend at least one General Body Meeting every five years and use the services specified in the society's By-laws. If a member fails to do so, he or she will be marked as inactive and will be unable to vote. If the non-active member passes the eligibility requirements, they may be reclassified as an active member.
• Members of the Management Committee and its Office Bearers will be elected for a five-year term.
• There will be no more than 21 members on the Management Committee, with two seats reserved for women, one for tribes and Vimukta Jati, one for SC, and one for other backward groups.
• The State Cooperative Election Authority should be established by the State Government to oversee, elect, and manage the electoral rolls and its preparation for all society elections.
• After the fiscal year's conclusion, the General Body meeting must convene its functioning within 6 months.

Limit of Memberships in Cooperative Housing Societies as per Maharashtra Housing Societies Act

A housing society should not allow more members than there are flats or plots available. However, if the plot owner built and sold apartments in accordance with the laws at the time, they might replace the original plot owner member and allow an organisation of flat buyers to join the cooperative housing society.

Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960: Latest News

Cooperative organisations cannot bar entry to single women, members of specific communities, or anyone who consumes a particular diet: 

Nov. 20, 2021: According to the Supreme Court, cooperative societies cannot bar entry to unmarried women, members of particular communities, or those who consume particular types of food. The supreme court made this comment in its ruling on a distinct dispute involving the validity of the Maharashtra Co-Operative Societies Act.

According to the Apartment Act, maintenance fees will be based on a flat area 

July 15, 2021: Under the Maharashtra Apartment Owners Act, maintenance fees are based on the size of a flat. The deputy registrar of cooperative societies, Pune city zone, has decided that the same restriction does not apply to housing society flats that are registered under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act.

Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act 1960 modification approved by cabinet

May 6, 2021: A proposal to alter the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960, has been approved by the Maharashtra government in order to prevent cooperative society members from losing their ability to vote in the upcoming elections. A member is required by law to attend at least one cooperative society meeting every five years; otherwise, he is deemed "inactive" and loses his voting privileges. 

This is so that all members, regardless of the size of their apartments, share equally in the maintenance costs in cooperative housing organisations, since the land and the building are under the society's ownership.

Members of cooperative housing societies are "jointly and severally" liable for any MC decisions.

January 2021: In January 2021, the Maharashtra government issued a notice requiring all elected managing committee (MC) members of cooperative housing societies created under the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960, to sign a bond holding them "jointly and severally" accountable for all decisions the committee makes. A new form, M-20, has been added to the MCS (Amendment) Rules, 2002, requiring elected members of the managing committee to declare that they are jointly and severally liable for all acts and omissions that are harmful to the interests of the society.

The housing society cannot be ordered by the registrar to grant NOCs to its members: HC Bombay

July 2019: In July 2019, the Bombay High Court declared that a deputy registrar of cooperative societies does not have the authority to order a cooperative housing society to provide one of its members a no-objection certificate (NOC) for improvements to and a change in the use of his premises. On July 9, 2019, in response to a member's complaint, the deputy registrar ordered a Mumbai housing society to provide the member with the requisite NOCs for merging four tenements and changing the use of the property from residential to commercial. The HC stated that the disagreement "obviously involves a member and the society and would require resolution before any other forum."

The Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act has been critical to the state's social and economic growth, especially in rural areas. Although this movement began with an emphasis on agricultural loans, it quickly expanded to include agro-processing, agro-marketing, rural industries, consumer stores, social services, and other areas. Are you looking for a house and are confused about how to get about it? Head to NoBroker to find the house of your dreams at a minimal cost. Click on the link below.

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