Seller Left Maintenance Unpaid? Section 22 of Tamil Nadu's Apartment Law for Chennai Resale Buyers

Rs 36,000. That is what eight months of unpaid maintenance comes to at Rs 4,500 a month, a figure we have chosen for illustration. In a Chennai resale purchase, a sum like that is easy to miss on the day the sale deed is signed, and under Tamil Nadu's apartment law it does not simply stay with the seller.

Section 22 of the Tamil Nadu Apartment Ownership Act, 2022, as published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette on 23 December 2022, makes the buyer of an apartment jointly and severally liable with the seller for the seller's unpaid share of common expenses up to the date of sale. The same section gives the buyer a tool to cap that exposure: a statement from the association.

The short answer. If you buy a resale flat in a Chennai building covered by the 2022 Act, you can be held liable, along with the seller, for maintenance the seller left unpaid up to the sale. You keep the right to recover what you pay from the seller. You are entitled to a statement from the association setting out the seller's unpaid assessment, and you are not liable for pre-sale dues above the amount in that statement. Section 19 also makes assessed common expenses a charge on the flat, behind the Government's land revenue claims, local authority taxes and the mortgage. The trade-off: asking for the statement adds a step and some days before registration, but skipping it leaves the arrears figure open.

What does section 22 actually say?

Section 22 says that where any apartment has been sold or transferred, the purchaser or transferee is jointly and severally liable with the vendor or transferor for all unpaid assessments against the vendor towards the vendor's share of the common expenses up to the time of sale or transfer.

The section adds that this is without prejudice to the purchaser's right to recover from the vendor any amount the purchaser pays. It then says the purchaser is entitled to a statement from the association setting out the amount of unpaid assessment against the vendor, and that the purchaser shall not be liable for, nor shall the apartment be subject to a charge for, any unpaid share of common expenses accrued before the sale in excess of the amount set out in that statement.

In plain terms: the association can look to you as well as the seller for pre-sale arrears, but only up to the figure it certified to you.

Is the Act in force, and who runs it?

The Act received the President's assent on 15 December 2022 and was published in the Gazette on 23 December 2022. Section 1(3) left the commencement date to a State Government notification. DT Next reported in September 2024 that the Act came into effect from 6 March and that the Tamil Nadu Apartment Ownership Rules, 2024 were notified on 24 September. The same report said district registrars of the registration department were appointed as competent authorities and jurisdictional Deputy Inspector Generals of Registration as appellate authorities.

The Act repealed the Tamil Nadu Apartment Ownership Act, 1994, and section 31 says anything done under the old Act is deemed done under the new one. Section 2(f) defines a building as one containing four or more apartments.

Why does the charge in section 19 matter?

Section 19 says that all sums assessed by the association as the share of common expenses chargeable to any apartment constitute a charge on that apartment. That charge is subject to the prior claim, if any, of the Government for land revenue or money recoverable as land revenue, of any local authority for tax or other assessment, and of the mortgage for all sums unpaid.

For a buyer, a charge attached to the flat is different from a personal debt of the seller. It is why section 22's statement is valuable: it fixes the pre-sale figure, and section 22 says the flat is not subject to a charge for pre-sale arrears above it. We discussed how bye-laws govern use and charges in a Chennai building in our report on the Madras High Court's Greams Dugar ruling.

How are maintenance charges split, and who pays them?

Section 18 says common profits are distributed, and common expenses charged, according to each owner's percentage of undivided interest in the common areas and facilities. Section 8 fixes that undivided interest in proportion to the carpet area of the apartment to the total carpet area of the project.

Section 18 adds three points a resale buyer should know. An owner is liable for common expenses even if the owner waives use of the common areas and facilities. Where the owner is not in occupation, the common expenses may be recovered from the person in occupation. And the owner is liable to pay interest, at a rate to be prescribed, for delay in payment. If the flat you are buying is let out, ask whether the tenant or the owner has been paying, because the arrears question covers both.

What else binds a resale buyer under the Act?

Section 9(3) says that, notwithstanding the Transfer of Property Act or any other law, a subsequent apartment owner is bound by the declaration and the bye-laws. Section 2(aa) defines a subsequent apartment owner to include a person acquiring an apartment by purchase.

The declaration is the document the promoter or majority of owners submits to the competent authority under section 4, within ninety days from the completion certificate. Section 8 says the undivided interest cannot be separated from the apartment or partitioned, and is deemed to be conveyed or encumbered with it. Section 20 says each apartment and its undivided interest is assessed to property tax as a separate property, and the common areas are not taxed separately.

If you are comparing a resale flat with a new one in a project such as Prestige Park Street in Velachery, ask how the declaration and bye-laws will be handled once the building is completed, since section 4 ties the declaration to the completion certificate.

What happens if rules are broken, or the association fails?

Section 24 says whoever contravenes the Act, rules, orders, directions or bye-laws is, on conviction, liable to a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh, and for continuing contravention to an additional fine of up to Rs 500 for every day after conviction. Section 25 lets the competent authority give directions on a complaint if the board of managers fails to perform, and in some cases remove a manager or supersede the board and appoint an administrator for up to six months at a time, with a three-year aggregate cap.

For a buyer, the more useful provision is section 21: every association must keep proper books, prepare a receipts and expenditure account and balance sheet each financial year, and have them audited within three months. Asking for the latest audited accounts tells you whether the association is functioning before you rely on its statement.

What should a Chennai resale buyer check before registration?

Build these steps into your timeline alongside the title and loan checks we listed for resale flats and home loans in Chennai:

1. Ask the association, in writing, for a statement of the seller's unpaid assessment under section 22 of the 2022 Act.
2. Get the statement dated close to the registration date, so little can accrue between the statement and the sale.
3. Settle the stated arrears through the sale consideration or before registration, and keep the association's receipt.
4. Ask for copies of the declaration and the registered bye-laws, since section 9(3) binds you to both.
5. Match the undivided share in the sale deed with the share in the declaration.
6. If the flat is let out, confirm who has been paying maintenance, since section 18 allows recovery from the occupant.
7. Request the association's latest audited accounts, which section 21 requires within three months of the financial year end.

Frequently asked questions

Is a resale flat buyer in Chennai liable for the seller's unpaid maintenance?

Section 22 of the Tamil Nadu Apartment Ownership Act, 2022 makes the purchaser jointly and severally liable with the seller for the seller's unpaid share of common expenses up to the time of sale, without prejudice to the buyer's right to recover any amount paid from the seller.

How can a buyer limit liability for the seller's maintenance arrears?

Section 22 entitles the purchaser to a statement from the association setting out the seller's unpaid assessment. The purchaser is not liable, and the flat is not subject to a charge, for unpaid common expenses accrued before the sale in excess of the amount set out in that statement.

Are unpaid maintenance dues a charge on a Chennai flat?

Yes, under section 19 of the 2022 Act, sums assessed by the association as an apartment's share of common expenses constitute a charge on that apartment, subject to any prior claim of the Government for land revenue, of a local authority for tax, and of the mortgage for sums unpaid.

When did the Tamil Nadu Apartment Ownership Act 2022 come into force?

The Act received the President's assent on 15 December 2022 and was published in the Gazette on 23 December 2022. DT Next reported in September 2024 that it came into effect from 6 March 2024 and that the Apartment Ownership Rules, 2024 were notified on 24 September 2024.

This article summarises the Tamil Nadu Apartment Ownership Act, 2022 as published in the Gazette, and press reporting on its rules, for information. The rupee figures are illustrative. It is not legal advice; consult a lawyer and your association on your own purchase.

Last updated 2026-11-12. PropNewz Team.