Chennai is home to countless apartment complexes, many of which are in dire need of redevelopment. While the city has seen a surge in new constructions, older buildings often require attention. So, what should you do if your apartment is showing its age and you are considering redevelopment?
Two years after the Tamil Nadu Apartment Ownership (TNAO) Act of 2022 came into effect, the Tamil Nadu Housing and Urban Development Department introduced the TNAO Rules, 2024 recently, which include specific guidelines for redeveloping ageing apartment buildings.
A little background on TNAO Rules, 2024
KP Subramanian, a retired Professor of Urban Engineering from Anna University, explains that the TNAO Act, 2022 and the TNAO Rules, 2024 replace the TNAO Act, 1994 and the TNAO Rules, 1997. “The competent authorities under the 1994 Act and 1997 Rules were not notified, which is why they didn’t come into effect for decades,” he says.
The TNAO Act, 2022 defines an apartment as a separate and self-contained part of any property located on one or more floors, to be used for residential or commercial purposes. The act broadly indicates various provisions and the rules describe the operational and working process. “An important provision of the new act is redevelopment which the old act didn’t provide. Section 13 of the act provides for the redevelopment of the apartment buildings and details the conditions and requirements for redevelopment,” he notes.
“The redevelopment concept involves demolishing existing apartment buildings and constructing new ones according to current regulations. This allows for increased floor area and more storeys, thanks to the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules of 2019. Therefore, the demand for redevelopment is much higher now compared to 1994, and the act addresses this need accordingly,” he adds.
These rules not only provide clear guidelines for redeveloping old apartments but also for fixing buildings that may be a safety risk. Here is a simple guide to the new rules introduced by the State government.
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First step for redevelopment: Form an association
Before going into redeveloping the apartment, the rules mandate the apartment owners to form an association. The apartment owners should designate a board of managers that has one-third of the number of apartment owners but not exceeding 21 members. Then, they must make by-laws on the lines of the model by-laws mentioned in the regulations and submit them for registration of association with the competent authority.
In the case of an existing association/society, the executive members will constitute the board. One-third of the members must attend, for the meeting of the board managers to proceed.
The board of managers is responsible for the overall asset management of the association and the operation and management of the common areas.
Process of redeveloping your apartment
- The board of managers, either suo-moto or on request from one-fourth of the apartment owners, must convene a special general meeting and pass a resolution on the in-principle decision taken about the redevelopment of the apartment.
- They should get written consent from at least two-thirds of the apartment owners and intimate the concerned officials such as the Chief Planner of the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), if the building is in the Chennai Metropolitan Planning Area.
- Within 10 days of intimating the concerned official, the association should send a written intimation to all the apartment owners.
- The association should then engage a promoter/consultant to prepare a detailed redevelopment report. This report should be approved by the association.
What if the building needs immediate attention?
If the appropriate authority has certified that the building is dilapidated or it may endanger the lives of the occupants, the association should convene a special general meeting and pass a resolution to engage a promoter/consultant to prepare a detailed redevelopment report. This report should be approved by the association.
Once the association approves the redevelopment plan, it should finalise the terms of the agreement for redevelopment with the promoter and circulate the same to all apartment owners. The association must get written consent from at least two-thirds of the apartment owners to confirm the agreement terms and acknowledge their authority to sign the agreement for the redevelopment scheme.
Here is what the redevelopment scheme must include
Within 30 days of obtaining the authentication from the authority for the redevelopment scheme, the association should issue a notice to all apartment owners/occupants to hand over the vacant apartment to the promoter. When the apartment is redeveloped, the promoter should hand over the apartments to the respective owners with a ‘handover certificate.’
For more details, the Tamil Nadu Apartment Ownership Rules (TNAO), 2024 an be downloaded here.
What to do if you have an objection?
If any of the apartment owners are not happy about how consent for redevelopment was obtained, they can send the objection to the concerned authority (depending on where the apartment is) within 30 days from the date of receiving the intimation letter. The concerned authority shall then send a notice to the parties, conduct an inquiry and pass directions accordingly.
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What do experts say?
While the process looks simple, experts have their concerns.
The redevelopment of the apartment building can be undertaken with the consent of not less than two-thirds of the owners of the building or if the appropriate authority certifies that the building is in a state of ruin.
“The either-or condition is a ticklish one. When the building is dilapidated, it has to be demolished as it poses a danger to public safety. It is a mandatory requirement as per the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998. Therefore, only the consent of two-thirds of owners is valid. However, this may pose a risk of pulling down new buildings for profiteering, because redevelopment enables higher floor area under the TNCDBR, 2019. That can be unproductive and a waste of scarce resources. Therefore, imposing a rider on the apartment building’s age would be ideal,” says Subramanian.
There are other issues too. Some builders may get approval for only 1 FSI (floor space index) but have built the buildings for above 2 FSI. “In these cases, the apartment owners are divided into two categories within the same complex — those who own the apartments built as per the approved plan, and those whose buildings are unapproved and in violation of the law. When it comes to redevelopment, there is no clarity on how to approach such cases,” notes M Sadhanandh, a Town Planning and Development Consultant.
He says that the government should provide a faster grievance redressal mechanism. “In many cases, we have seen the apartment owners approaching the court for legal remedy and it takes years to resolve the case. A mechanism to resolve such complaints faster is necessary.”
He suggests that the government conduct a stakeholders meeting to clarify the rules and listen to the issues faced on the ground.