Occupancy Certificate Explained
By Accommodation Times News Services
By F B Khan,
Former Deputy
Secretary,Urban Development
Department
It is provided in clause (i) of section 4A,of the Maharashtra Ownership Flats (Regulation of the promotion of construction, sale, management and transfer) Act, 1963 (MOFA) that a promoter (which term includes developer, builder etc.) shall not allow persons to enter into possession until a completion certification where such certificate is required to be given under any law, is duly given by the local authority and no person shall take possession of a flat until such completion certificate has been duly given by the local authority. We can see that these are the binding provisions but specific details thereof are left to the local authority, which means action for fulfillment of this mandatory condition will be governed by the Acts which govern development activities of the municipalities which are local authorities as well as planning authorities.
To take the example of Mumbai, the Development Control Regulations of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation are sanctioned under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act,1966. The provisions of this Act and the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act have many parallel provisions. The section 353A of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act is in regard to completion certificates and permission to occupy or use. This section requires that every developer after completion of the building shall apply to the Commissioner within one month of the completion of construction, accompanied by a certificate in the form Schedule T signed by the person employed under section 344A i.e.qualified architect/surveyor approved by the Commissioner. The concerned engineers of the Corporation make a detailed inspection of the construction and if they are satisfied that the building is constructed as per the plan approved by the Corporation and that the rules, regulations and conditions are complied with, the Commissioner gives permission for the occupation of such building. What is implied in MOFA is this occupancy certificate. Under the Development Control Regulations the proformae of Building Completion Certificate, acceptance thereof and Occupancy Certificate are in Appendix XX,XXI and XXII.
Coming to the reality, there are thousands buildings in Mumbai which have not received Occupancy Certificate (OC). Whether all of them are eligible to be demolished? The answer to this question is generally No. There are various reasons for any building to be called illegal or unauthorized ,and type of action depends upon the nature of illegality or irregularity. A building built without any permission can be straightway demolished. However in case of a building which has built extra floors than permitted. The builder/owner can himself demolish the excess portion and apply for regularization. These were distinct examples. But there could be many other reasons for not getting OC. In the past it was it was found that many buildings have not been given OC for the simple reason after completion, necessary certificate of completion of plumbing work was not given by the approved plumber and that he is now not be found. In such cases where some procedural formalities were remained to be complied with and the buildings were otherwise fit to be given OC the Corporation itself took initiatives, obtained government approval for the action and after waiving minor conditions of procedure issued OCs under amnesty scheme.
What shall the flat owners of buildings without OCs do?
The flat owners of such buildings have no option other than to find out the reasons as to why OC was not given, and then proceed to make good those deficiencies . As aforesaid the Municipal Corporation provides help and guidance if they are approached.
By Accommodation Times News Services
By F B Khan,
Former Deputy
Secretary,Urban Development
Department
It is provided in clause (i) of section 4A,of the Maharashtra Ownership Flats (Regulation of the promotion of construction, sale, management and transfer) Act, 1963 (MOFA) that a promoter (which term includes developer, builder etc.) shall not allow persons to enter into possession until a completion certification where such certificate is required to be given under any law, is duly given by the local authority and no person shall take possession of a flat until such completion certificate has been duly given by the local authority. We can see that these are the binding provisions but specific details thereof are left to the local authority, which means action for fulfillment of this mandatory condition will be governed by the Acts which govern development activities of the municipalities which are local authorities as well as planning authorities.
To take the example of Mumbai, the Development Control Regulations of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation are sanctioned under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act,1966. The provisions of this Act and the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act have many parallel provisions. The section 353A of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act is in regard to completion certificates and permission to occupy or use. This section requires that every developer after completion of the building shall apply to the Commissioner within one month of the completion of construction, accompanied by a certificate in the form Schedule T signed by the person employed under section 344A i.e.qualified architect/surveyor approved by the Commissioner. The concerned engineers of the Corporation make a detailed inspection of the construction and if they are satisfied that the building is constructed as per the plan approved by the Corporation and that the rules, regulations and conditions are complied with, the Commissioner gives permission for the occupation of such building. What is implied in MOFA is this occupancy certificate. Under the Development Control Regulations the proformae of Building Completion Certificate, acceptance thereof and Occupancy Certificate are in Appendix XX,XXI and XXII.
Coming to the reality, there are thousands buildings in Mumbai which have not received Occupancy Certificate (OC). Whether all of them are eligible to be demolished? The answer to this question is generally No. There are various reasons for any building to be called illegal or unauthorized ,and type of action depends upon the nature of illegality or irregularity. A building built without any permission can be straightway demolished. However in case of a building which has built extra floors than permitted. The builder/owner can himself demolish the excess portion and apply for regularization. These were distinct examples. But there could be many other reasons for not getting OC. In the past it was it was found that many buildings have not been given OC for the simple reason after completion, necessary certificate of completion of plumbing work was not given by the approved plumber and that he is now not be found. In such cases where some procedural formalities were remained to be complied with and the buildings were otherwise fit to be given OC the Corporation itself took initiatives, obtained government approval for the action and after waiving minor conditions of procedure issued OCs under amnesty scheme.
What shall the flat owners of buildings without OCs do?
The flat owners of such buildings have no option other than to find out the reasons as to why OC was not given, and then proceed to make good those deficiencies . As aforesaid the Municipal Corporation provides help and guidance if they are approached.
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