Punjab RERA: Owners Must Pay Maintenance Even Without a Separate Maintenance Agreement

Under a buyer's agreement dated 7 November 2017, the owners of a three-bedroom, roughly 1,800 sq ft flat in Victoria Heights at Peer Muchalla, Mohali agreed to pay maintenance of Rs 3,564 a month plus taxes, rising 15 percent a year. The developer said they did not pay after receiving possession. Their defence was that the service was poor and that they had never signed a separate maintenance agreement. In a ruling reported on 16 October 2026, the Punjab Real Estate Regulatory Authority ordered them to pay Rs 2,85,472.

The order, in Fortune Multitech Pvt. Ltd. v. Rajat Kumar & Rohtash Singh, GC No. 0236/2021, was passed by Chairman Rakesh Kumar Goyal and reported by LiveLaw. It comes from another state's regulator, so treat it as a guide rather than a rule for K-RERA, but the issue it decides, whether owners can withhold maintenance over service complaints, is one many Bengaluru apartment buyers face in the months after handover. This is buyer guidance on a reported order, not legal advice.

The short answer. Punjab RERA held that the liability to pay maintenance flows from the buyer's agreement itself, and that Section 19(6) of the RERA Act requires an allottee to make necessary payments, including maintenance charges. Not signing a separate maintenance agreement did not excuse payment. It worked out dues of Rs 2,10,600 plus Rs 74,872 interest to 30 September 2026, payable within 90 days. It also told the developer to keep rates uniform, provide audited accounts and help form an owners' association. The trade-off: withholding maintenance can feel like leverage over poor service, but it can leave you owing interest, so dispute service in writing and through the association while paying what the agreement requires.

What did Punjab RERA decide?

That the owners must pay. As quoted in the report, the Chairman said: "The liability to pay maintenance charges flows from the Buyers Agreement itself signed between the parties. Further, Section 19(6) of the RERD Act, 2016 also requires an allottee to make necessary payments, including maintenance charges. Merely, because a separate maintenance agreement was not executed does not mean that the respondents can avoid payment of maintenance charges."

The report says the authority observed that owners were required to pay maintenance charges even if they genuinely believed the charges were excessive, and noted that non-payment created difficulties in maintaining the premises.

One detail is easy to miss. The complaint here was filed by the developer, not by the buyers, under Section 31 of the Act. Buyers often think of RERA as a forum only for their own complaints, but this case shows a promoter using it to recover dues from allottees. According to the report, Advocate Shivam Grover appeared for the developer and Advocate Parbeen Dharwal for the owners, and the case is cited as 2026 LLBiz RERA (PB) 151.

How much was claimed and how much was ordered?

Less than the developer asked for. According to the report, the developer claimed Rs 4,17,767, including interest and taxes, up to 1 March 2021, and filed its complaint under Section 31 of the Act on 4 June 2021. The authority calculated outstanding maintenance at Rs 2,10,600 and interest at Rs 74,872 up to 30 September 2026, a total of Rs 2,85,472.

By our arithmetic, a 15 percent annual escalation takes Rs 3,564 a month to about Rs 4,099 in the second year and about Rs 4,713 in the third. That is an illustration of how the clause compounds, not a figure from the order.

What did the owners argue?

Poor service and no separate contract. The report says the owners alleged deficient maintenance services, inadequate manpower and failure to disclose maintenance accounts, and argued that no separate maintenance agreement had been executed. The authority did not accept that these allegations allowed them to stop paying. Instead, it addressed the service concerns through directions to the developer.

What did the authority require of the developer?

Transparency and a handover path. According to the report, it directed the developer to maintain uniform maintenance rates, provide audited accounts and facilitate the formation of an apartment owners' association. It also said: "The maintenance of the project is not the primary work of the promoter after it is completed. It should construct and hand over the possession and move further for another construction of a project and let the residents be responsible for the maintenance of completed projects."

The report does not say whether the authority found the owners' service complaints to be true or false. It dealt with them by giving the developer obligations going forward, rather than by reducing the dues on that ground. A buyer who wants service problems reflected in the bill would need to raise them through the proper process and with evidence, not simply by stopping payment.

For buyers, that is the constructive route. The order gives owners grounds to ask for audited accounts and uniform rates, and to push for an association that can take over maintenance, rather than relying on non-payment.

What happens if the owners do not pay?

Recovery. The report says the owners were directed to pay within 90 days of receiving the order, with further interest of Rs 1,895 a month from 1 October 2026 until realisation, in addition to interest at 10.80 percent on the outstanding principal as specified in the order. If payment is not made in time, a debt recovery certificate will be issued to start recovery proceedings.

The interest figures matter. The authority's interest of Rs 74,872 to 30 September 2026 is more than a third of the Rs 2,10,600 in maintenance it found due. A dispute that runs for years can add substantially to what was originally owed, which is another reason to pay undisputed amounts as they fall due.

How fast does a 15 percent escalation add up?

Quickly. Using only the figures in the agreement as reported, and leaving out taxes, Rs 3,564 a month is Rs 42,768 in the first year. With a 15 percent rise each year, the annual bill becomes about Rs 49,183 in the second year and about Rs 56,561 in the third, a three-year total of about Rs 1,48,512. By the fifth year, the monthly charge would be about Rs 6,233, and the five-year total about Rs 2,88,358. These are our illustrations of how the clause compounds, not figures from the order, and the actual bill also depends on taxes and on what the authority accepts as payable.

The point for a buyer is that an escalation clause that looks small at signing can make maintenance a significant monthly cost a few years after possession. It is worth asking, before you sign, whether the escalation is fixed, capped or linked to actual costs, and whether audited accounts will be shared. In this case, the authority directed audited accounts and uniform rates only after a dispute reached it.

What does this mean for Bengaluru apartment buyers?

Read the maintenance clause before you sign, and treat it as binding. Check the monthly charge, the escalation rate, what taxes are added and when maintenance starts. If service is poor after handover, raise it in writing, ask for audited accounts, and work through the owners' association. A Karnataka tribunal ruling we covered today also pointed common amenity grievances towards the association; see our report on the ALN Arambh ruling. For what to check before accepting possession in the first place, see our guide to the three tests for a valid possession offer.

Whether a K-RERA forum would reach the same result on your facts depends on your agreement and the evidence. But the reasoning here is simple: the obligation came from the agreement the owners signed, and service complaints were dealt with by directions to the developer rather than by excusing payment.

A seven-point checklist on maintenance charges

1. Find the maintenance clause in your agreement and note the monthly charge.
2. Note the escalation rate and how it compounds each year.
3. Check which taxes are added and from what date maintenance starts.
4. Pay what the agreement requires while you dispute service in writing.
5. Ask the developer for audited maintenance accounts.
6. Push for the owners' association to be formed and to take over maintenance.
7. Keep receipts for every maintenance payment you make.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to pay maintenance if I never signed a maintenance agreement?

In this Punjab RERA case, yes. The authority said liability to pay maintenance flows from the buyer's agreement itself, and Section 19(6) of the RERA Act requires an allottee to make necessary payments, including maintenance charges, so the absence of a separate maintenance agreement was no excuse.

Can owners withhold maintenance because service is poor?

The authority did not accept that. It said owners were required to pay maintenance charges even if they genuinely believed them excessive, and instead directed the developer to keep uniform rates, provide audited accounts and facilitate an apartment owners' association.

How much did Punjab RERA order the owners to pay?

Rs 2,10,600 in maintenance and Rs 74,872 interest up to 30 September 2026, a total of Rs 2,85,472, within 90 days of receiving the order, with further interest of Rs 1,895 a month from 1 October 2026 and a debt recovery certificate if unpaid.

Does this Punjab ruling apply in Bengaluru?

It comes from another state's regulator, so treat it as a guide rather than a rule for K-RERA. Its practical lesson still applies: read the maintenance and escalation clauses before signing, pay what the agreement requires, and press service concerns through audited accounts and the association.

Last updated 2026-11-04. PropNewz Team.