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The Karnataka Legislative Assembly passed the Karnataka Apartment (Ownership and Management) Bill, 2026, on Friday, August 21. The Bill creates a common legal framework for apartment ownership, resident associations and common facilities. The Assembly also passed two Bills concerning civic infrastructure in unauthorised layouts and private roads, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular) continued to protest against the re-induction of Minister B Nagendra.
The Apartment Bill seeks to consolidate rules governing ownership, transfer and inheritance of individual apartments, as well as owners’ undivided share in common property. It also lays down provisions for the functioning of apartment associations and the management of common facilities such as roads, open spaces and clubhouses.
The three Bills were passed amid repeated slogans by Opposition members against the Congress government and Rahul Gandhi over Nagendra’s return to the Cabinet. Speaker GS Patil proceeded with the legislative business and later adjourned the Assembly until Monday, August 24.
Introducing the Apartment Bill, Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said rapid urbanisation and increasing land scarcity had created several issues for apartment owners that were not adequately addressed by existing laws.
“Urbanisation is growing quickly in Karnataka. People staying in apartments are facing several issues, including those pertaining to ownership and management of common areas such as roads, clubhouses and open spaces. There is no legal clarity on the reconstruction of older buildings. The 1972 Act and the UPA-era RERA Act are there, but they don’t answer all questions,” he said.
The Bill provides for a common framework for apartment associations, which are currently registered under different laws and authorities. While some are registered under the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act, others have used the Cooperative Societies Act. Under the proposed law, there will be one registered association for each apartment project.
It also provides for competent authorities at the gram panchayat, municipality and municipal corporation levels to address disputes between apartment owners, associations and other parties. Affected parties will be able to approach these authorities, with provisions for appeals against their decisions.
A key provision concerns the redevelopment of ageing apartment buildings. Reconstruction will be possible with the written consent of at least 75% of apartment owners. Owners who do not agree to redevelopment will be entitled to compensation based on the value of their share in the land.
Gowda said the provision was intended to address the growing problem of older apartment buildings requiring reconstruction.
“For those who do not agree, there is a provision to give them compensation,” he said.
The Bill also gives apartment owners the right to transfer, mortgage, lease or gift their individual apartments along with their undivided share in the land and common areas. These rights cannot be separated without the required approval.
Promoters will have to disclose existing mortgages on properties, while individual owners will be able to mortgage their apartments without affecting the rights of other apartment owners. Apartment associations will also be barred from creating mortgages or other encumbrances over individual apartments or common areas after conveyance.
The legislation allows adjoining apartments to be combined for use as a single unit. However, the individual units will retain their separate apartment numbers and their proportionate rights in the land.
It also provides that any additional development rights or built-up area arising from changes in planning or zoning rules will collectively belong to the apartment owners and will be distributed according to the private area of each apartment. Promoters will be required to execute and register the relevant deed of transfer.
Gowda said the government had consulted various stakeholders while drafting the Bill but acknowledged that it may not resolve every issue faced by apartment owners.
“We have framed the Bill after taking various stakeholders into confidence. We cannot say all issues concerning apartments will be resolved. But if any changes are required, we are ready to adopt them. This is a good beginning,” he said.
The second legislation passed by the Assembly was the Karnataka Municipal Corporations (Amendment) Bill, 2026. It seeks to provide a legal mechanism for dealing with roads and drains in unauthorised layouts and converting eligible properties from B-khata to A-khata.
Gowda said unauthorised layouts had expanded across urban Karnataka over several decades, often without adequate roads, drainage, electricity or drinking water infrastructure. Property owners in such areas, he said, had faced difficulties despite not being responsible for the creation of the layouts.
The amendment to Section 284 will allow municipal corporations to formally declare certain privately held streets and drains as public infrastructure if they are in poor condition and pose a threat to public health and safety.
In cases where land used to build roads remains registered in the names of former landowners, the amendment will allow municipal corporations to take steps to recognise the roads as public roads. Eligible properties in such areas could then receive A-khatas.
Gowda said this would provide owners with legally recognised ownership documents and help them access bank loans, obtain building approvals and secure occupancy certificates.
“In 2024, our government took a strong stand and prevented the formation of these layouts, but there are layouts that were formed earlier. We are providing ‘B’ Khata to these properties, but even that is not a perfect document. Why should we leave it at half? We want to give full documents and ‘A’ Khata,” he said.
He added that the measure would benefit lakhs of property owners.
The Assembly also passed the Karnataka Municipalities (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which contains similar provisions for municipalities. It empowers municipal commissioners and chief officers to intervene where private streets and drains are in poor condition and pose a risk to public safety.
The legislation will allow such infrastructure to be taken over and declared public, while preventing former landowners from subsequently seeking compensation or development rights certificates for land used for these public streets.
The government said the provisions were intended to ensure that private ownership disputes did not prevent local bodies from maintaining essential civic infrastructure.
The passage of the three Bills took place as the BJP and JD(S) continued their protest against Nagendra, demanding his removal from the Cabinet over his alleged connection to the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation case.
While the Assembly passed the three Bills, the Legislative Council also cleared three pieces of legislation on Friday.
The Bangalore Development Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026, reduces regularisation charges for 1,11,560 unauthorised houses in BDA layouts by half. It also increases the sanctioning limit of the BDA Commissioner from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 5 crore.
The Council also passed the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Heritage Area Development Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026. The legislation allows the Deputy Chief Minister or Revenue Minister to serve as vice-chairperson of the authority and provides for the inclusion of other ministers and six heritage experts as members.
The Karnataka Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill, 2026, was also passed by the Council. It permits final approval of layouts after imposing a 3% penalty for delayed development works.
The three Bills passed by the Council will now await the Governor’s assent.
