A couple buying a spacious flat in Sarjapur had budgeted their loan and their registration cost down to the rupee, and then the builder handed over a possession sheet with two numbers they had never planned for: a large one time corpus contribution, and a monthly maintenance figure that pushed their outflow well beyond the EMI. They could afford the flat. What almost tripped them was the cost of living in it. Maintenance charges and the sinking fund are the running costs of an apartment, and they are exactly the numbers glossy brochures leave out.

The short answer. Owning an apartment carries two ongoing costs beyond the loan: a monthly maintenance charge, usually calculated per square foot, and a one time corpus or sinking fund collected at possession for future major repairs. If monthly maintenance exceeds 7,500 rupees per flat and the association's annual collection crosses 20 lakh, 18 percent GST applies to the maintenance, with both conditions needing to be met. The trade off is that these are unavoidable costs of ownership, so a buyer who budgets only for the EMI has planned for half the picture.

What is the difference between maintenance, corpus and sinking fund?

They are different pots of money for different purposes, and confusing them leads to budgeting mistakes. The monthly maintenance charge pays for the day to day running of the building, the security, the cleaning, the common area electricity, the lifts and the routine upkeep. It is recurring and it is what keeps the building functioning month to month.

The corpus or sinking fund is a separate, larger pool, usually collected once at possession, and set aside for planned or unforeseen capital expenses in the future. Repainting the exterior, replacing a lift or a generator, and major structural repairs come out of this fund rather than the monthly collection. It is maintained separately from regular maintenance precisely because it is meant to be there years later when a big bill lands. Advance maintenance, a few months of the monthly charge collected up front, is different again from this one time corpus.

How is the monthly maintenance charge calculated?

Most Bengaluru apartments calculate maintenance on a per square foot basis, which spreads the cost in proportion to the size of each flat. A larger flat pays more than a smaller one for the same shared services, which is generally considered the more equitable model because bigger homes are treated as consuming a larger share of the common infrastructure. The rate per square foot times your flat's area gives your monthly figure.

This is worth checking before you buy, because a low headline price can sit alongside a high per square foot maintenance rate, especially in amenity heavy projects with pools, clubhouses and extensive landscaping. Those amenities are lovely, but somebody pays to run them every month, and that somebody is the owners. Ask for the per square foot rate and multiply it out for your flat, so the monthly cost is a known number rather than a surprise on your first bill.

It is also worth asking how long the builder will run the maintenance before handing it to the residents association, and at what rate. In the early years, a developer often manages the maintenance and may keep the charge low to make the project attractive, only for the real cost to surface once the association takes over and starts running the building on true numbers. A maintenance figure that looks comfortable at handover can rise noticeably a year or two later. Asking about that transition, and about how the sinking fund is being built up in the meantime, tells you whether the running cost you are quoted is the real one or a temporary one designed to reassure you.

When does GST apply to maintenance charges?

GST applies to the monthly maintenance only when two conditions are both met. The maintenance must exceed 7,500 rupees per month per flat, and the association's annual collection must cross 20 lakh. When both are true, 18 percent GST applies to the maintenance component. If either condition is not met, for example a flat whose maintenance is below 7,500 rupees a month, the GST does not apply to that maintenance.

An important nuance is that the 7,500 rupee exemption applies to regular monthly maintenance, and not automatically to one time contributions like the corpus or sinking fund. The tax treatment of corpus and sinking funds has been the subject of differing rulings, with some authorities holding that GST is payable on sinking or corpus funds collected for future services. Because this area carries genuine complexity, treat the tax on one time contributions as a point to confirm rather than assume, and factor a possible GST component into your budget for those large payments.

How do these costs compare for a buyer?

Laying the costs side by side shows why the EMI is only part of the monthly picture.

Seen together, these are the true cost of living in the flat, on top of the loan. They are also governed, not arbitrary, since apartment maintenance in Bengaluru falls mainly under the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act and related law, and the owners association is meant to manage the funds transparently. Our guide on the apartment owners association explains how that governance works.

Why does this matter when you are buying?

Because these costs decide whether a flat you can afford to buy is a flat you can afford to keep. A high monthly maintenance charge is a permanent addition to your cost of living, and a large corpus demand at possession is a lump sum you need on hand exactly when your registration and moving costs are also due. Buyers who discover these late either scramble for cash or feel misled, and both are avoidable by asking early.

There is also a diligence angle for resale buyers. Ask whether maintenance dues and the corpus are paid up for the flat you are buying, because unpaid dues to the association are the kind of liability that can follow the flat. Our resale flat NOC and dues checklist covers how to confirm the association account is clean. A project like Total Environment Tangled Up in Green is the kind of amenity rich development where understanding the running cost matters as much as the sticker price.

How should a Bengaluru buyer plan for these costs?

Plan for them as fixed parts of your budget, not afterthoughts. Ask the builder or association for the per square foot maintenance rate, the expected corpus or sinking fund amount, and whether GST will apply, all in writing before you commit. Then add the monthly maintenance to your EMI to see your real monthly outflow, and keep the corpus amount aside as part of your possession costs. A flat is affordable only if you can carry its running costs comfortably over the long term, not just meet its one time purchase price.

A useful mental exercise is to imagine the flat ten years out, not just on possession day. Over a decade, the monthly maintenance is a large cumulative figure in its own right, and the sinking fund is what stands between you and a sudden special assessment when the lifts or the generator finally need replacing. A building with a healthy, well managed sinking fund is quietly a better place to own a flat than one where every big repair triggers an emergency collection from residents who never planned for it. When you evaluate a project, the strength of its reserve planning is as much a part of its quality as the marble in the lobby.

Your seven step maintenance and fund checklist

1. Ask for the per square foot monthly maintenance rate and multiply it for your flat.
2. Add that monthly maintenance to your EMI to see your true monthly outflow.
3. Ask the amount of the one time corpus or sinking fund due at possession.
4. Confirm whether 18 percent GST applies, which needs both thresholds to be met.
5. Keep the corpus amount aside as part of your possession and moving budget.
6. For a resale, confirm maintenance dues and corpus are paid up for the flat.
7. Check that the association manages the funds under the applicable ownership law.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between maintenance and a sinking fund? Monthly maintenance pays for the day to day running of the building, such as security, cleaning and lifts. A corpus or sinking fund is a separate, usually one time pool collected at possession for future major repairs like exterior painting or replacing a lift. The sinking fund is kept apart from regular maintenance for exactly those large future costs.

When is GST charged on apartment maintenance? GST of 18 percent applies to monthly maintenance only when two conditions are both met, the maintenance exceeds 7,500 rupees per month per flat and the association's annual collection crosses 20 lakh. If either condition is not met, GST does not apply to that maintenance. The 7,500 rupee exemption covers regular monthly maintenance.

How is maintenance calculated in Bengaluru apartments? Most Bengaluru apartments use a per square foot model, so a larger flat pays proportionally more than a smaller one for the same shared services. Multiply the per square foot rate by your flat's area to estimate the monthly charge. Amenity heavy projects tend to have higher per square foot maintenance because more common facilities cost more to run.

Do I have to pay a corpus fund when I buy? A one time corpus or sinking fund is commonly collected at possession to build a reserve for future capital expenses. It is separate from the monthly maintenance and from any advance maintenance collected up front. Ask for the corpus amount in writing before you commit, and keep it aside as part of your possession costs.

Last updated 2026-08-27. PropNewz Team.