Society maintenance charges calculator
Work out what each flat should pay, using whichever method your association actually applies. Free, nothing to sign up for, and it explains which method your state's law allows — which is where most societies get this wrong.
The society's monthly budget split in proportion to each flat's area. This is what the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act requires, and it is the fairest of the four in most buildings.
Everything you spend in a month: salaries, power, water, lifts, AMCs, housekeeping, repairs.
Used to derive the total area. If flats vary a lot, use the real total ÷ number of flats.
₹3,130 / month
Per year
₹37,565
Effective rate
₹2.61 / sq ft
Society collects
₹3,60,000 / month
Splitting it equally is usually the wrong answer
Search for how maintenance is calculated in India and almost everything you find describes Maharashtra, whose model bye-laws allow several heads to be charged equally per flat. Karnataka has no state model bye-law and a different statute.
Section 10 of the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act 1972 provides that common expenses are borne by apartment owners in proportion to their percentage of undivided interest in the common areas — which follows the size of the apartment, not a flat headcount. A Bengaluru association that charges every flat the same amount is apportioning against the Act that binds it, and a 2BHK owner subsidising a 4BHK has a real grievance.
This is worth checking even in a long-settled society. It is one of the most common findings when a committee reads its own Declaration for the first time.
The four methods, and when each is right
Area-proportional (undivided share)
The society's monthly budget split in proportion to each flat's area. This is what the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act requires, and it is the fairest of the four in most buildings.
Per square foot
A fixed rate multiplied by your flat's area. Simple and the most common builder-set method — but the rate is usually inherited from the builder rather than derived from what the society actually spends.
Equal split per flat
The budget divided equally between flats regardless of size. Simple, and defensible only where flats are near-identical — a small flat otherwise subsidises a large one.
Hybrid (part equal, part by area)
Service costs that every household consumes equally — security, housekeeping, the water bill — shared per flat; area-driven costs shared by area. Closest to how a building actually incurs cost.
Maintenance charges, answered
How are society maintenance charges calculated in India?
Four methods are in common use. Per square foot multiplies your flat's area by a rate. Equal split divides the society's monthly budget equally between flats. Area-proportional (undivided share) divides it in proportion to each flat's area. Hybrid splits the budget in two — service costs shared equally, area-driven costs shared by area. Which one you may use is not purely a committee choice; it depends on your state's law and your registered bye-laws or Declaration.
Can a Karnataka association charge every flat the same maintenance?
Generally no. Section 10 of the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act 1972 provides that common expenses are charged in proportion to each apartment owner's percentage of undivided interest in the common areas — which tracks the size of the apartment, not a flat headcount. An equal-per-flat split makes a small flat subsidise a large one and is open to challenge. This is one of the most common mistakes in Bengaluru, largely because most guidance online describes Maharashtra, where the model bye-laws differ.
What is a normal maintenance rate per square foot?
Published ranges for Indian cities run roughly ₹2 to ₹25 per square foot per month, and the spread is real — a society with a clubhouse, lifts, a diesel generator, an STP and 24×7 security costs several times more per foot to run than a walk-up block with a single guard. The rate is an output of your budget, not an input: total your actual annual running cost, divide by the total area, and compare that against what you currently charge.
Is GST payable on maintenance charges?
Only when both tests are met: the charge exceeds ₹7,500 per member per month, and the association's annual turnover exceeds ₹20 lakh. Fail either and it is exempt. Note that CBIC's Circular 109/28/2019 takes GST on the whole amount once the threshold is crossed, while the Madras High Court in Greenwood Owners Association (2021) held it applies only to the excess. Take a CA's view before deciding which position to adopt.
Should the sinking fund be included in the monthly charge?
It should be collected, but accounted for separately. A sinking fund is a reserve for major future works — lift replacement, painting, waterproofing — not a running expense. Keep it as its own line on the bill and its own fund schedule in the accounts, so the general body can see the reserve building and an auditor can trace it.
Stop doing this in a spreadsheet
Societly applies whichever method your bye-laws require, raises the bills, collects by UPI into your society's own bank account, and chases the arrears for you. Free for societies up to 25 units.