2 weeks ago
Gurugram flat owners fight for RWA membership rights
Many people in Gurugram, a city in India, buy apartments in big housing societies.
When you buy an apartment, you usually get to join a group called the Residents' Welfare Association, or RWA.
This group helps manage the society, like taking care of parks and deciding how money is spent.
But some apartment owners say they cannot become members, even though they own their homes.
Without membership, they cannot vote or complain about problems.
Some residents have been waiting for years to get membership.
They say builders and the RWA do not want to give them membership.
One woman, Ritu Singh, finally got membership after asking the government office for help.
The residents hope the government will fix the rules so this problem goes away.
Gurugram apartment owners face years-long delays in getting RWA/AOA membership, leaving them without voting rights in their societies.
Rishi Shukla of ROF Ananda Society, Sector 95, paid ₹1,188 in membership fees but discovered an RWA had been registered in 2023 without residents' knowledge.
At Urban Homes 2, Sector 86, 1,045 apartment owners have awaited membership since 2021, with the matter now before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Residents say authorities direct them back to the same RWAs they accuse of blocking membership, creating a vicious cycle.
Ritu Singh of Rising Homes Society, Sector 92, won her membership fight after the District Registrar directed the RWA to grant her membership.
Residents allege a nexus between RWAs and builders, including charges for parking and increased electricity units, while RWA officials deny the allegations.
- Who
- Apartment owners in Gurugram, including Rishi Shukla, Satyanand Shukla, Rajesh Kumar Jain and Ritu Singh, along with RWAs, builders and government authorities.
- What
- A dispute over RWA/AOA membership that leaves flat owners without voting and decision-making rights in their societies.
- Where
- Gurugram, Haryana, India, including Sector 95, Sector 86 and Sector 92.
- When
- Ongoing since 2021-2022; Ritu Singh's membership was granted after a September 2025 inquiry.
- Why
- Overlapping housing laws and builder-influenced RWAs leave no clear path for apartment owners to obtain membership.
Residents
RWA and Builder
Membership notices
Residents
Residents say no membership notices are posted or sent on the society app.
RWA and Builder
RWA state manager Saurabh Pratap Singh says membership campaigns are held monthly and a notice was posted in July.
RWA conduct
Residents
Residents allege the RWA is a 'money-making machine' that denies rights and behaves like dictators.
RWA and Builder
RWA denies the allegations and says it follows proper membership procedures.
Cause of delays
Residents
Residents blame builders and authorities for the membership delays and say authorities direct them back to the same RWA.
RWA and Builder
Authorities direct homeowners to the RWA for mutual settlement, and the RWA says it is not willing to lose its rights.
Key facts
- City
- Gurugram, Haryana, India
- Membership fee paid by Rishi Shukla
- ₹1,188
- Owners waiting at Urban Homes 2
- 1,045
- Membership fee at Rising Homes
- ₹500
- Homeowners who applied in 2025
- 132
- Governing law
- Haryana Registration and Regulation of Societies Act, 2012
- RWA registered at ROF Ananda
- 2023
- Ritu Singh's membership granted
- September 2025
Quotes
Rishi Shukla
Homeowner in ROF Ananda Society, Gurugram, contesting RWA membership
“"In Gurugram, the difficulty many apartment owners face in becoming members of an RWA or AOA is not merely an administrative problem. It is largely a consequence of the way Haryana has allowed apartment ownership laws, society laws, RERA provisions and builder-controlled maintenance arrangements to overlap, without a clear statutory framework."”
theprint.in
“"We thought it was a minor issue and that an RWA would soon be formed, after which, we would get membership — an apartment owner’s right. But it turned into a fight that continues even today."”
theprint.in
Sources
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