Tenants in several condominiums across the city will now have to pay to move in or out of the society. This new rule is not applicable to flat owners.
Several condominiums across Gurgaon have come up with weird tenant clauses of their own.
According to one such clause, tenants will have to pay the RWA for moving in or out of the society. RWAs of the city maintain that almost every society has been charging tenants for moving in or out for a long time now. The minimum charges prevailing across societies are Rs 5,000 for moving in and Rs 5,000 for moving out.
There are notices displayed at several condominiums informing tenants of these charges. Tenants, unsurprisingly, are not happy with the rule and are calling them unfair, illegal and biased.
In Unitech Fresco, an upscale township in Sector 50 with more than 800 apartments and 600 families, the issue is more than obvious. With most of the residents in its 16 operational residential towers — with 18 floors each — being tenants, the issue can easily become a bone of contention.
For some time now, flat owners in Unitech Fresco had been requesting the RWA to implement these moving-in/moving-out charges. The issue was discussed at the last general body meeting, during which it was decided that these charges would be levied on tenants.
While the builder charges flat owners to cover common-area damages, tenants do not pay anything to this effect to handle such transitions, which can potentially impact common areas and other society elements.
“We have implemented the charges for tenants from February 1," said Nilesh Tandon, RWA president of Unitech Fresco. "The rule is not retrospective, and since the tenants already residing here were not aware of this when they moved in, they will not have to pay the moving-out charges. The charges will be applicable only to new tenants — those that have moved in after February. This amount has been introduced to cover the damage that may be caused to common areas such as lifts, staircases and walls. The amount will also be spent on improving society facilities.”
SC Kumar, RWA president of Park View Residency, in Sector 3, Gurgaon, also has a similar view. “The fund collected from this shall be used for society welfare, which may also include giving it a facelift. To be reasonable to the existing tenants, the rule has been implemented for all new agreements made after February 1.”
The issue was highlighted by a 26-year-old make-up artist living as a tenant at Unitech Fresco, who tweeted her grievance to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Gurgaon police after receiving a WhatsApp message notifying her of the charges in January.
“If the RWA says it is beneficial for the society, then everyone living in the society should contribute to this amount," said Nisha Singh, a tenant who recently moved into a high-rise on Sohna Road. "And if it is to recover any damage caused to common areas while moving in or out, then it applies to all residents. If that is indeed the logic, all residents should be charged."
“Though flat owners are in favour of tenants paying the charges now, I'm sure they will start objecting if the rule applies to them too," said Deepti Negi, an MNC employee living in Unitech Fresco.
