Basements, Parking Areas Are Common Amenities, Not Grounds for Society Membership: Bombay High Court

Mumbai, 6th February 2026: In a significant ruling affecting cooperative housing societies, the Bombay High Court has held that basements and parking spaces are common amenities and cannot be treated as independent saleable units or used as a basis for claiming membership in a housing society.

The court upheld an order of the cooperative authorities rejecting a membership claim made by a purchaser who had acquired the entire basement portion of a residential building.

The case arose from a residential project constructed on a CIDCO leasehold plot in Taloja. The building received its Occupancy Certificate in January 2016, and a cooperative housing society was formed in 2019. Subsequently, the developer executed agreements transferring the basement and parking areas to members of a related family.

Based on this transaction, the purchaser sought membership in the cooperative housing society. When the society did not process the request, the buyer approached the Joint Registrar, claiming eligibility.

Although the Joint Registrar initially ruled in the applicant’s favor, the cooperative department later reversed the decision, stating that a basement does not qualify as a “flat” or residential unit under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, and therefore cannot confer membership rights.

Challenging the department’s order, the petitioner moved the High Court. However, Justice Amit Borkar, presiding over a single-judge bench, upheld the rejection of the membership claim.

The court observed that society membership arises from lawful ownership of a valid residential unit as per the sanctioned building plan, not from private transactions involving spaces designated as common facilities.

The judgment relied on the architect’s certification. It approved building plans, which clearly indicated that the basement and parking spaces lay outside the designated carpet area and formed part of the building’s common amenities.

Reiterating established legal principles, the High Court ruled that such areas cannot be converted into independent saleable units through private agreements, nor can ownership of such spaces be used to claim deemed membership in a cooperative housing society.