Mumbai Housing Society Queries: What Societies Must Know About Family Occupancy & SGBM Records

Q. A society member has shifted abroad and had requested that his fatherin-law be allowed to stay in his flat and park vehicle in the society for three months. The permission for the same was granted, however, it has been around nine months and the father-in-law has continued to stay in the flat. Is any formality/documentation needs to be done from the society's end? – Vijay Kumar, Khar

A. As the member has informed that his father-inlaw will be occupying the flat and also use the parking, the society cannot take nonoccupancy charges as inlaws are a part of the family. Government order no 1094/15165, dated August 1, 2001, provides that in case, members have given their tenements/flats to their close relatives viz. parents, siblings, children, grandchildren and in-laws, nonoccupancy charges shall not be recovered.

If the father-in-law is still occupying the flat, it is as good as a family member staying there. He is using the parking lot allocated to the member and hence there is no formality required to be fulfilled by the society. For the sake of good order and record, the member should communicate to the society that his father-in-law will continue his stay and utilise parking and other facilities available to the family members. The society should consider taking such a letter from the member. Such a record will be helpful for the occupier, member and the society in case of any unforeseen eventuality

Q. The minutes of the special general body meeting (SGBM) have been kept for viewing in the society office, with an intimation given to all either on a common platform or through email. Would this constitute circulation of minutes? If the minutes are not adopted in the subsequent SGBM/AGM, would the resolutions passed be still valid? – Hema Ray, Powai

A. Bylaw 108 provides for recording the minutes of the general body meeting. The committee is required to finalise the draft minutes of every general meeting, including the SGBM, within three months of the meeting date and circulate it within 15 days of the meeting in which the draft minutes were finalised. The members may communicate to the secretary their observations, if any. The committee at its subsequent meeting shall prepare the final minutes after taking into consideration the observations, if any, and cause them to be recorded in the minute book.

In my view, keeping the draft minutes at the office for viewing of the members will not constitute circulation. The committee is required to handover a hard copy of the draft minutes to each member for giving their observations, if any, and also as a matter of record. With changing times, the draft minutes may also be sent via email or WhatsApp. Bylaw 162 provides the mode of service of notice of every general body meeting and communication of the resolution or decision to the members on their last known addresses; either by hand delivery, despatch through post office or registered post or email.

A copy of such notice/communication of the decision/ resolution shall be displayed on the notice board, after which it is deemed to have been duly given. The complaints received or made that the notice/ communication was not received or was sent to the wrong address will not affect their validity. Your society has communicated that the minutes are available in the office. However, not sharing a copy of the draft minutes amounts to non-compliance with the provisions mentioned above, but the validity of the decision taken thereat will not be impacted.

Adoption of minutes is required at the subsequent general body meeting, including the SGBM. It is necessary for the general body to know the changes made by the committee, pursuant to the inclusion of the observations received from the members, and maintain record.

The questions are answered by Sharmila Ranade, a legal expert associated with Mumbai Grahak Panchayat. The questions, in brief, may be sent to mpanchayat@gmail.com

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Published on: Monday, June 08, 2026, 10:00 AM IST