The Maharashtra State Co-operative Appellate Court issued an interim order on September 3, 2026, blocking a Phase-1 housing society from revoking parking space GO/26 from two homebuyers. The couple, who purchased their flat directly from the builder in 2009, received an allotment letter dated May 14, 2008, specifically designating that slot. The society later attempted to strip these rights by implementing a 'First come, First Served' system under byelaw No. 78(a) and (b), citing full occupancy of the parking area.
The dispute intensified when the homebuyers painted their allotted numbers on the spaces. The society demanded an explanation, triggering legal action. The complexity lies in the overlapping claims: the Phase-1 society asserts ownership of the area, while the builder argues the space is part of an open area intended for a recreation ground. To make it worse, the Phase-2 society in the same complex claims those 18 slots belong to them, not Phase-1. This three-way tangle left the homebuyers caught in the crossfire.
Aradhana Bhansali, Senior Partner at Rajani Associates, explained that the court’s decision rests on documentary evidence. The society’s own minutes from its General Body Meeting on November 10, 2024, recorded an ongoing dispute with the developer and the Phase-2 society regarding the gate, open area, and parking slots. Since the society acknowledged the 2008 allotment letter but simultaneously contested the underlying ownership of the land, the court found it could not determine at the interim stage that space GO/26 definitively belonged to the society. The conflicting plans presented by the three parties made a definitive ownership call impossible at this preliminary phase.
The ruling does not permanently settle the ownership of the 18 slots. It merely freezes the status quo for the couple. The Phase-1 society is directed not to take any action affecting their parking space until the trial court resolves the fundamental question of whether the area belongs to the society, the developer, or the Phase-2 society. The homebuyers retain their right to park in GO/26 for now, but the broader battle over the complex’s common areas is far from over.