On November 20, 2025, the XL Additional City Civil & Sessions Court in Bengaluru gave an important judgment. The court said that apartment maintenance charges must be equal for all flats, no matter how big or small they are.
The case started at Purva Seasons apartments in CV Raman Nagar. In July 2020, the owners’ association made a new rule: bigger flats had to pay more money for maintenance than smaller flats. One resident, Arun Kumar Rao (61), felt this was unfair. He argued that all residents use the same facilities — lifts, gardens, security, and parking — so everyone should pay the same amount.
The court agreed with him. It said that charging more just because someone owns a larger flat is not right. Maintenance is about shared facilities, not the size of private property.
This decision is likely to affect many housing societies in Bengaluru, since many of them follow the same “big‑flat, big‑fee” system. For people who own larger flats, this ruling is a relief because they will now pay the same as smaller flat owners. For apartment associations, it means they must change their billing systems to follow the rule of equal contribution.
Experts believe this judgment could become a model for other cities in India too. Apartment communities often fight about maintenance charges, and this ruling makes it clear that fairness and equality should guide how fees are collected.
