A Bengaluru buyer closed on a resale flat in a large gated community, pleased with the price, and only later learned what the community itself would cost him. There was a monthly maintenance charge he had budgeted for, but also a one time corpus contribution the seller had never fully explained, a sinking fund building quietly in the background, and, it turned out, several months of unpaid dues that the association now expected the new owner to settle. None of it was hidden, exactly; it was simply never asked about. The flat had a price, but the community around it had costs of its own, and a buyer who looks only at the sticker meets the rest of them after moving in.

The short answer. Living in an apartment community brings three separate charges beyond the price of the flat. Maintenance is the recurring monthly cost of running the common areas; the corpus fund is a one time amount usually collected at handover to seed the association's finances; and the sinking fund is a reserve built up over time for major future repairs and replacement. Maintenance can attract eighteen percent GST, but only where it exceeds seven and a half thousand rupees a month per flat and the association's annual collection crosses twenty lakh. The corpus and sinking funds belong to the owners collectively through the association, not to a departing seller. The trade off is diligence: unpaid dues follow the flat, so a buyer should confirm the charges and clear the arrears before buying.

What are maintenance, corpus and sinking funds?

They are three distinct pots of money that keep an apartment community running, and confusing them is where buyers lose track. Maintenance is the regular charge, usually monthly, that pays for the day to day upkeep of shared spaces, security, lifts, common lighting, water and the like, and it is the cost you meet every month for as long as you own the flat. The corpus fund is a larger, one time sum, commonly collected by the builder around handover, that gives the residents association an opening reserve to draw on. The sinking fund is a reserve accumulated gradually, set aside for the big, infrequent expenses that a building eventually faces, such as major structural repairs, repainting or replacing lifts. Together they cover the community across three time horizons: this month, the start, and the distant future. Knowing which is which lets a buyer understand both the recurring cost and the one time outlay a flat carries. The maintenance rate itself is usually worked out either per square foot of your flat or as a flat amount per unit, so a larger flat often carries a proportionately larger monthly charge, which is worth confirming for your specific unit rather than reading a community average.

Which of these is recurring and which is one time?

The three charges differ in timing and purpose, which is exactly what a buyer needs to separate. The table below sets them out.

Read this way, the maintenance charge is your ongoing monthly commitment, the corpus is an entry cost that may already have been paid, and the sinking fund is a slow build for later. The last two rows are the ones that catch buyers out, so they deserve a closer look before you commit.

When does GST apply to my maintenance?

GST at eighteen percent applies to apartment maintenance only when two conditions are met together, so most modest maintenance is outside it. The charge attracts GST where the monthly maintenance exceeds seven and a half thousand rupees per flat and the association's annual collection crosses twenty lakh rupees, and both of those must be true. If your monthly maintenance is at or below the seven and a half thousand rupee mark, it does not attract GST regardless of the association's size, and if the association is small enough to fall under the turnover threshold, the same follows. This matters to a buyer because a high maintenance charge in a large community can carry GST on top, lifting the real monthly cost above the headline figure. When you ask what maintenance costs in a building, ask whether GST applies to it as well, so the number you budget is the number you will actually pay.

Do the corpus and sinking funds belong to me?

The corpus and sinking funds belong to the owners collectively through the residents association, not to any individual seller, and they are meant to stay with the building. These funds are the residents' money, held for the community's future needs, and the framework expects a builder to hand the accumulated balance over to the association rather than treat it as income. Because they are attached to the community rather than to a person, a departing seller does not usually get to withdraw their corpus or sinking contribution and walk away with it; the money stays to serve the flat and the building. For a buyer, the practical point is that you are stepping into a community whose reserves you now share in and contribute to, so it is worth asking whether the corpus was actually collected and handed over, and whether a sinking fund exists and is healthy, because a community with thin reserves may face special levies when a big repair falls due. It is also worth knowing that whether GST applies to the corpus and sinking contributions themselves has been the subject of differing rulings, with some treating them as capital receipts outside GST and more recent decisions holding that money collected for future services can be taxed, so this is an area where the position can shift and a professional view is sensible for a large contribution.

Do I inherit the previous owner's unpaid dues?

In practice unpaid maintenance and related dues attach to the flat, so they become the new owner's problem unless they are cleared first. Associations generally look to the flat and its current owner for arrears, which means charges the seller left unpaid can land on you after you move in, and can even affect your standing in the community until they are settled. The clean way to handle this is to obtain a no dues certificate, or its equivalent, from the association before completing the purchase, confirming that maintenance, corpus and any other dues are fully paid up to date. Make clearing any arrears the seller's responsibility as a condition of the sale, and get it in writing. A short confirmation from the association is far cheaper than discovering, after registration, that you have inherited someone else's backlog of charges along with the flat.

What should a buyer check about these charges?

Ask about the community's costs as carefully as the flat's price, before you commit.

1. Ask the monthly maintenance charge and how it is calculated for your flat.
2. Check whether GST applies, given the seven and a half thousand and twenty lakh thresholds.
3. Confirm whether the one time corpus fund was collected and handed to the association.
4. Ask whether a sinking fund exists and whether the reserves look healthy.
5. Obtain a no dues certificate from the association before completing the purchase.
6. Make the seller clear any arrears in writing as a condition of the sale.
7. Confirm how association membership transfers into your name after you buy.

How does this fit the other costs and the common areas?

Maintenance and the funds are the running cost of the very common areas you already pay for in the price of the flat, so they connect to a couple of things a Bengaluru buyer should already understand. Our guide to carpet area versus super built up area explains how you pay for a share of the common spaces up front, and the maintenance charge is what keeps those same spaces running month after month. And because GST can attach to maintenance, our guide to GST on an under construction flat covers the wider way this tax touches a home. If you are weighing a flat in a large community such as Sobha Manhattan Towers on Hosur Road, add the monthly maintenance, any GST and the one time corpus to your sums, and confirm there are no dues outstanding. The price buys the flat; these charges are the cost of living in the community around it.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between maintenance, corpus and sinking funds? Maintenance is the recurring monthly charge for running the common areas. The corpus fund is a one time amount, usually collected at handover, that seeds the residents association's reserves. The sinking fund is a reserve built up gradually for major future repairs and replacement. Together they cover the community month to month, at the start, and over the long term.

When does GST apply to apartment maintenance? Only when two conditions are met together: the monthly maintenance exceeds seven and a half thousand rupees per flat and the association's annual collection crosses twenty lakh rupees. If either is not met, the maintenance does not attract the eighteen percent GST. So ask whether GST applies, since it can lift the real monthly cost.

Do I get my corpus and sinking fund money back when I sell? Generally no. The corpus and sinking funds belong to the owners collectively through the association and stay with the building to meet its future needs, rather than being refundable to a departing seller. As a buyer you step into a community whose reserves you share in, so it is worth confirming those reserves exist and are healthy before you buy.

Do unpaid maintenance dues pass to the buyer? In practice yes, because associations look to the flat and its current owner for arrears, so unpaid dues left by a seller can become yours after you move in. Obtain a no dues certificate from the association before completing, and make clearing any arrears the seller's responsibility in writing, so you do not inherit a backlog of charges.

Last updated 2026-08-30. PropNewz Team.