Pune: Cooperative Societies Struggle with Rising Maintenance Defaults — Legal Recovery Model Offers New Hope

Pune, 14th July 2025: Cooperative housing societies as well as commercial premises societies across Pune are facing an unprecedented crisis: the steady rise of unpaid maintenance dues is threatening basic amenities and exhausting volunteer committee members.

With an estimated 8 out of 10 cooperative housing and commercial premises societies dealing with defaulters who haven’t paid for over 12 months, managing day-to-day operations has become a challenge for even well-run societies. Residents who pay regularly are feeling the pinch.

“We’ve had to cut back on water tankers and delay security payments because of shortfalls caused by defaulters,” shared the treasurer of a Kondhwa society who asked not to be named.

According to data compiled by legal assistance firm Finio, over 15,000 new defaulter cases arise annually in Pune, but fewer than 20% reach the Deputy Registrar’s office for action. And of those, barely 10% follow through to actual recovery. It is estimated that close to 250 crores in unpaid maintenance dues lies pending on society audit records in Pune and PCMC alone.

Two reasons dominate: ● Legal costs that must be paid upfront by societies, and ● The lengthy process which committee members often don’t have time to pursue.

Finio (www.finio.in), a Pune-based legal assistance provider that works on a “No Recovery, No Fee” model — take on the entire recovery process, from notices to court proceedings, as well as working with relevant authorities to execute the recovery order. They even recover legal costs from the defaulter itself as per law. Their No Recovery No Fee model means societies pay nothing unless money is recovered.

“Our goal is to take this burden off managing committees. The law is very clear — under Section 101 and Section 154 B(29) of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, societies can pursue recovery through the Deputy Registrar’s office,” said Murtaza Masalawala, Director at Finio.

“We ensure that societies get their dues and do not rest until we have provided this positive result to them.”

A recent example is the Gagan Lawish Cooperative Housing Society in Pisoli, where unpaid dues had crossed ₹35 lakhs. Within two months of engaging Finio, the society had already recovered upto ₹5 lakhs, with more recoveries in process through legal channels. “We were introduced to Finio through one of our members who used their services elsewhere,” said Ajay Jadhav, Chairman of the society. “They’ve been transparent, proactive, and handled everything. For the first time, we’re seeing actual progress — without spending a rupee upfront.”

With defaulter issues becoming a civic concern that burdens not only societies but also the Deputy Registrar offices, solutions like Finio’s may help bring order to an otherwise stagnant system.