What does the Odisha apartment ownership law say about flat owners' rights, associations and common areas?

Which law applies: the 1982 Act and the 2023 Act

Many people still search for the Odisha Apartment Ownership Act of 1982. That Act, and its 2015 amendment, have been repealed. The Odisha apartment ownership law today is the Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Act, 2023 (Odisha Act 8 of 2023), which first came as an ordinance and is deemed to have come into force on 28 June 2023. It is written to work alongside the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA), which governs projects and promoters.

The Act covers apartments in buildings on freehold land, or on leasehold land with a lease of 30 years or more, whether used for homes, offices or business. It does not apply to government buildings, or to a building owned and used by one owner or let out by that owner.

Your flat and your share of the common areas

• Ownership. Each apartment owner owns their flat outright and holds an undivided interest in the common areas and facilities, worked out on the built-up area of the flat compared with the whole building.
• What is common. The project land, staircases, lifts, entrances, basements, terraces, parking areas, water tanks and central services are common areas.
• Title to the common areas goes to the association of allottees, and benefits from any additional built-up area also go to the association, not the promoter.
• No partition. A flat and its undivided interest cannot be partitioned or sub-divided, and any agreement to the contrary is void.
• Changing shares. An owner's undivided interest can be changed only with the consent of two-thirds of the owners, through an amended and registered declaration.

The declaration (what the 1982 Act called the deed of declaration)

Under Section 9, the promoter must file a declaration with the Competent Authority within 30 days of the occupancy certificate. It describes the land and its title, the approved plan, the building, each apartment and its undivided interest, the common areas, a statement that there are no encumbrances, the permitted uses, and a person to receive notices. The Competent Authority enters it in a register. Where flats were handed over before the Act and the promoter does not file, the Competent Authority can allow the association to file it.

The deed of transfer for each flat

Under Section 8, the promoter executes a deed of transfer in the buyer's name, together with the transfer of the undivided title in the common areas to the association. It is due within three months of the occupancy certificate. The deed goes to the Competent Authority within 15 days of execution for endorsement, and it must be registered under the Registration Act. The documents required include the occupancy certificate, the Odisha RERA registration where it applies, the association's registration and the registered declaration. No deed may be executed before the association is registered.

Older flats caused trouble because those papers often do not exist. The State has issued exemptions under Section 35:

• Resale of older flats. A Special Order of 3 December 2025 exempts resale deeds where the first sale was registered before 5 October 2016 (the cut-off date the State uses for the start of RERA) from the Section 8(2) documents. The resale deed must state that the undivided interest in the common areas passes with the flat and that title to the common areas is with the association.
• Unsold flats in older projects. A Special Order of 12 June 2026 allows first sale of unsold flats in projects completed before RERA, if at least half the units were sold by deed on or before 5 October 2016, the flat is in the original approved plan, the plan is displayed in the project, and the association gives a no-objection certificate.

Neither order regularises building violations. In June 2026 the Revenue Department also issued a standard operating procedure for registering apartment deeds; see sale deed registration for the general registration steps.

Flat owners' association registration

Under Sections 14 and 15, the promoter and buyers must form an association of allottees once flats are allotted to 50 per cent of the buyers or to seven buyers, whichever is lower. The promoter must help with the application, and the Competent Authority is to register the association within 60 days of receiving it. There is usually one association per project. The association is a body corporate, and each allottee has one vote however many flats they hold.

An association formed earlier under another law, such as a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, is treated as valid under the 2023 Act only after it adopts bye-laws in line with the model bye-laws. Bye-laws must provide for an executive committee, meetings and quorum, a secretary and treasurer, an association fund and maintenance. Amendments need two-thirds of the members and the Competent Authority's approval, and the association's money must be kept in a scheduled bank account in its name.

Maintenance charges and unpaid dues

• Until the association is formed, the promoter maintains the common areas and may charge a proportionate amount.
• No owner can avoid paying common expenses by not using the common areas or by leaving the flat empty. Owners who let out their flat and their occupants are jointly liable.
• Unpaid common expenses are a charge on the flat, and a buyer of a flat becomes liable for the seller's unpaid dues. Ask for a no-dues letter from the association before buying a resale flat.
• Dues unpaid for a year can be recovered as arrears of land revenue under the Odisha Public Demands Recovery Act, 1962.
• For defaults of over three months, the association can cut off common services only after at least seven days' notice, with copies to the owner and the Competent Authority, and after a further 15 days. The owner can appeal to the Competent Authority within 30 days.

Who is the Competent Authority, and how complaints work

The Competent Authority is an officer not below the rank of Deputy Collector. Under the State's notifications, it is the Deputy Commissioner (Legal), Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation in the BMC area, the Secretary of the development authority in development authority areas (for example the BDA or CDA), and the Sub-Collector of the revenue sub-division elsewhere. It registers associations and declarations, endorses deeds and decides disputes under the Act.

1. Write first. Raise the issue in writing with the promoter or association and keep copies.
2. Apply to the Competent Authority with the deed, declaration (if any), bye-laws and correspondence.
3. Appeal to the Appellate Authority within 30 days of the order. The appeal is to be decided within 90 days.
4. Civil suit. Section 5 lets the association or an aggrieved owner sue for damages or an injunction for breach of the Act, the declaration or the bye-laws. See injunction suits.

A promoter who fails to file the declaration, form the association, execute deeds, or obtain an occupancy certificate before handing over can be fined up to Rs 5 lakh on conviction, with up to Rs 2,000 for each day the failure continues. Other breaches by promoters, associations or owners can attract a penalty of up to Rs 20,000 plus up to Rs 1,000 a day after a show-cause notice.

Complaints about delay in possession, refunds or the promoter's obligations under RERA go to the Odisha Real Estate Regulatory Authority; see ORERA complaints. Construction without approval is a planning matter; see building plan approval.

Checks before buying a flat in Odisha

• Occupancy certificate and the approved plan; ORERA registration for projects that need it.
• Whether the association is registered and the Section 9 declaration filed.
• The chain of deeds, an encumbrance certificate and the RoR of the land.
• For a resale flat: the association's no-dues letter and holding tax receipts.

Related work handled is described under land and property, and the offices are listed on the courts page.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Act, 2023 (PRS copy of Odisha Act 8 of 2023)
• H&UD Department Special Order, 3 December 2025 (resale of pre-2016 flats)
• H&UD Department Special Order, 12 June 2026 (unsold flats in pre-RERA projects)
• Revenue & Disaster Management Department: SOP for registration of apartments (June 2026)
• Odisha Real Estate Regulatory Authority

General information, not legal advice. Every matter turns on its own facts and documents, and the law and official procedures change. Check the current position with the concerned office, or take advice on your own facts, before acting.