Gandhinagar: There are more than 30,000 housing and housing service societies in Gujarat, managed under the Cooperative Act. When a person purchases a house in these societies, the society collects a transfer fee. The state government had been receiving complaints that societies were arbitrarily charging high transfer fees due to the lack of specific provisions in cooperative laws and rules, said Cooperation Minister Jagdish Vishwakarma.

Minister Vishwakarma stated that to prevent such issues, the state government decided to introduce necessary laws and rules related to transfer fees, leading to an amendment in the Cooperative Act in 2024.

As per the new rules established under the amended Cooperative Act, no housing or housing service society can charge a transfer fee exceeding 0.5% of the total consideration amount or a maximum of ₹1 lakh at the time of purchase or sale of a house.

The minister clarified that this is the upper limit, and societies can reduce the amount through their bye-laws, but they cannot charge more than the prescribed limit.

He further stated that individuals will now get significant relief from arbitrary transfer fee collections by society presidents, ministers, and committee members.

Additionally, as per the new rules, if a property is transferred to a legal heir without monetary consideration, no transfer fee will be charged. Societies are also prohibited from collecting any amount under the guise of development charges, donations, or any other name at the time of transfer.

This decision by the state government is expected to bring greater transparency and fairness in the functioning of housing societies, benefiting lakhs of members. Minister Vishwakarma added that the move is being widely welcomed. DeshGujarat