AOAs raise questions over Noida authority guidelines on structural audit of buildings

NOIDA: The apartment owners’ associations (AOA) in Noida on Sunday raised several questions over the newly-approved structural safety guidelines of residential high-rises

NOIDA: The apartment owners’ associations (AOA) in Noida on Sunday raised several questions over the newly-approved structural safety guidelines of residential high-rises. The Noida authority in its board meeting on Saturday had approved the guidelines defining responsibility of realtors and AOAs in residential buildings.

Noida, India - November 13, 2022: The apartment owners raised several questions over the newly approved structure safety guidelines. The Noida authority approved the guidelines defining the responsibility of realtors and Apartment Owners Association in a building. AoAs said the new guidelines are faulty and needs to be revised, in Noida, India, on Sunday, November 13, 2022. (Photo by Sunil Ghosh/ Hindustan Times) (To go with Vinod’s story) (Hindustan Times)

The AOAs said the new guidelines are faulty and need to be revised as it rids the realtor from the responsibility after a short term of five years from the date when a building obtains occupancy certificate (OC).

The Noida authority argued that in accordance with the Uttar Pradesh Apartment Act, 2010, when the builder obtains an OC for a building after two years, the AOA is responsible for the structural safety of the building and as per the Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Act, 2016, the AOAs are responsible for the structural safety of a building after a period of five years.

“We have written to the Noida authority, demanding that it makes the necessary changes in these guidelines. How can a builder escape responsibility only after five years from the date when the OC is issued. The AOA should be responsible for the structural safety of a building only after 10 years, because the realtor has a bigger role to play since it is responsible for the structure of the entire building. The AOAs with their limited resources cannot bear the cost in case the structure needs to be strengthened. The Noida authority wants AOAs to pay for the structural audit of the buildings, which is not fair,” said Amit Gupta, member of Progressive Community Foundation, a residents’ group.

According to the new guidelines of the Noida authority, the AOA of a building will bear the cost of safety audit of the building structure by roping in an expert agency and also pay for the cost of strengthening the existing structure if the said building is more than five years old.

According to the authority, there are at least 1,200 high-rise residential towers in Noida.

“The five-year term is way too less and it should be increased to 10 years. Also, the cost of safety audit and structure repair should be borne either by the developer or the authority. Why should residents pay for it? Most of the old buildings across Noida need safety audits and strengthening. Asking residents to pay for it is unjustified because they paid for the unit at the time of purchase and now again after five years, they need to pay for its repair,” said Rajiva Singh, president of Noida Federation of Apartment Owners Associations (Nofaa), an umbrella body of AOAs.

The Noida authority officials said that they had proposed that the realtors should be liable for structural defects for a period of 10 years, but the board rejected the proposal because the UP Apartment Act, 2010, fixes responsibility to the builder for a period of two years only.

“The board refused to accept our proposal and we convinced the board for the five-year term. We will write to the UP housing and urban affairs department so that requisite amendments are made in the UP Apartment Act and the realtor becomes liable to repair structural defects even after five years,” said a Noida authority official, requesting anonymity.