Gurgaon: New tenants at Fresco in Sector 50 to pay move-in/out charges from Feb 1

Fresco in Nirvana Country, an upscale community located in Sector 50, has come up with a new clause whereby the tenants shall move-in and out of the society after paying ‘move-in and move-out charges’.

Fresco in Nirvana Country, an upscale community located in Sector 50, has come up with a new clause whereby the tenants shall move-in and out of the society after paying ‘move-in and move-out charges’. The charges will be levied on the basis of the terms and conditions set by the society. The tenants will be charged ₹5,000 for moving in or out of the society.

Tenants at Fresco, Nirvana Country, read the notice issued to them on the new charges. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Fresco is home to more than 600 families, mostly tenants. There are 16 operational residential towers and each has 18 floors. The move to levy charges for moving in or out has not gone down too well with them.

Mitali Khakhar, a 26-year old tenant at the society, tweeted her displeasure to chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and the Gurgaon police after receiving a message on WhatsApp on Saturday detailing the new levies. She also briefed them about a recent notice put up at her condominium on the clause.

Khakhar, a make-up artist, opposed the move and said the charges are unfair, illegal and biased. “If the RWA (residents welfare association) says that the charges will benefit the entire society in the long run, then everyone living here has to contribute . And if this is a way to cover for damage caused to areas common to all residents while moving furniture at the time of checking in or shifting out, then the charge should be imposed on the permanent residents as well. I don’t understand why the tenants are being singled out.”

The RWA of the society, however, maintains that almost every society in the vicinity has been imposing such charges on tenants for long. He said the building owners residing here had proposed the levy on tenants a while back. The issue came up during the last general body meeting and after extensive discussions, the owners decided to impose move-in and move-out charges on the tenants.

“From February 1, we will implement the new clause. The rule is not retrospective and since the tenants residing here were not aware of this when they moved in, we are not charging them for the month of January. It will only apply from February. The reason why this amount is being charged is that while moving in or out, there is a risk of damage to the common areas such as lifts, staircase etc and the damage will be covered by the money raised from the levy. It will also be spent on improving the facilities of the society,” Nilesh Tandon, president of the RWA at Fresco, said.

“The fund collected shall be used in society welfare matters including giving a facelift to the society. The rule is being implemented for all new agreements that shall be made post February 1,” Supriyo Das Gupta, secretary, RWA, said.

According to the office of the district registrar, the law doesn’t stipulate a transfer fee on tenants.

“While RWAs say that the clause pertaining to transfer fee was agreed upon at the general body meeting, it is just a ploy to put more money into their accounts and use it for the benefit of residents,” an official in the district registrar’s office said..