The Delhi Apartment Ownership Act, 1986 was enacted on December 23, 1986 in order to recognize the interests of the owners of individual apartments that is build in a multistoried structure and the essential facilities to be given in connection with the apartment. The Act also aims to provide the apartment as well as interests in such apartment heritable and assignable by the owners. For the purpose of achieving the ownership and regulate the material supplies of the society which is allocated to sub serve interest of the society, it is essential to give the ownership of such apartment in the above mentioned manner. Hence the provisions of the legislation came into effect on December 1, 1987 by extending its applicability to the entire Delhi Union Territory. The Act shall be applied to the apartments that are erected for the housing as well as business needs. It shall also consist of other apartment set by group housing co-operative society and prescribed by person prior to or subsequent to the enactment including lease hold land where the period of lease is for 30 years.
All persons who hold an apartment or sell or are assigned to another person by the promoter at the time of or subsequent to the initiation of the enactment shall have the right of ownership wholly and shall own the apartment which is distributed or assigned to him. The person who gets the absolute ownership of such apartment shall have power over of a specified percentage over the complete interest in the portions and the amenities will be prescribed in the Apartment Deed and the percentage will be calculated according to the amount of apartment. Such percentage of interest will be of permanent nature and will not be changed unless there is a written permission of all the owners of the apartment. The apartments in addition to the common interest and also to amenities that are related to the apartment shall for all essentials form inherited and manageable immovable property as provided in any laws and in accordance with that the owner of the apartment shall assign the apartment and interest percentage in the manner specified under the enactment.
When the distribution, sale or assignment of the apartment has effected in accord to the guarantee of payment in the form of consideration, the person who distributes the property will not have the right to ownership and control of the apartment or the interest percentage to the extent of complete payment is made towards consideration. The owner of the apartment will have to obey the bye-laws in addition to the agreements, stipulations and controls made in the Apartment Deed and if he does not comply with the provisions will be a reason for his eviction to collect the amount due towards compensation and also get relief as injunction. It shall be done by the Manager or Board in the name of Apartment Owners Association. Special provision is provided under the Act for the right of the owner of apartment for re-entry within the term specified under the enactment. The person who purchases or leases the apartment from the owner of the apartment shall carry out an undertaking before such purchase or lease, but without affecting the provisions under the Transfer of Property Act of 1882. Where the apartment is purchased through a benami, such person will be deemed to be the true owner of the apartment. But the burden to prove that the apartment was purchased through a benami will lie on the person who raises an allegation in this regard.
In addition, the owner of the apartment is restricted from carrying out any work which is against the protection of the property or that diminishes the value of the apartment or weakens the easement and such other matters specified in the Act. The contents that should be stated in the Apartment deed is mentioned in the Act and such deed shall compulsorily constitute those contents. Such deed should be registered in accordance with the Registration Act, 1908. The Central Government is empowered under the enactment to formulate rules for the effective implementation of Act. To fulfill this objective, the Government had enacted the Delhi Apartment Ownership Rules, 1987.