A very large part of Karachi sits on land held through cooperative housing societies, and a very large part of the city's property litigation comes from them.

The recurring problems are the same across societies: a member who paid decades ago and was never allotted, a transfer the society will not record, an NOC withheld, a management committee whose term expired years ago, and files sold several times over.

The society is a body governed by its own law

A cooperative housing society is registered under the cooperative societies legislation, supervised by the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, and governed by its own bye-laws.

That has two consequences people find surprising.

Your rights come from membership, not simply from a purchase. Buying a "file" from someone does not make you a member; the society must record the transfer.

Many disputes do not go to the civil court. The cooperative legislation provides for disputes touching the constitution, management or business of the society to be referred to the Registrar for decision or arbitration. A suit filed in the civil court in such a matter is liable to be returned — after months.

Identifying the correct forum at the outset is the single most useful piece of advice in this area.

What to check before buying a society plot or file

  • Membership status of the seller in the society's own record, not just their file
  • Whether the plot is allotted and demarcated, or merely a membership with a future entitlement
  • Whether the society owns the land it is allotting, and holds the necessary approvals for the scheme
  • Dues — outstanding development charges, subscriptions and transfer fees
  • Encumbrances and litigation, including any dispute pending before the Registrar
  • Whether the transfer will require a no-objection certificate, and on what conditions
  • The bye-laws on transfer — some restrict transfer to particular categories of person, or require the committee's approval

Buying on an unverified file is how the same plot ends up with three claimants. See files, plots and developer risk and checking title before buying property in Karachi.

Transfers and NOCs

The commonest complaint is a society that simply will not process a transfer, or that conditions it on payments the bye-laws do not authorise.

A society's discretion is not unlimited. It must act in accordance with its bye-laws and the legislation, and a refusal without lawful basis can be challenged before the Registrar and, where the Registrar does not act, by constitutional petition. See constitutional and writ petitions.

Ask for the refusal, and the basis for it, in writing. Most of these matters turn on the society being unable to identify a bye-law that supports what it is demanding.

Allotment never made

Members who paid full consideration decades ago and were never allotted a plot are a persistent category, particularly where the society's land was reduced or encroached upon.

The remedies depend on the facts: proceedings before the Registrar for allotment, a claim for refund with compensation where allotment has become impossible, and in appropriate cases proceedings against the committee members responsible.

Delay is the enemy here as elsewhere — records disappear and office bearers change.

Management committees and elections

Societies where the committee's term has long expired, accounts have not been audited and general body meetings are not held are extremely common.

Members have rights: to inspect records and accounts, to requisition a general meeting, and to seek the Registrar's intervention including supersession of a committee and the appointment of an administrator where the society is not being run in accordance with law.

These are collective remedies. A group of members acting together achieves far more than an individual complaint, and shares the cost.

Encroachment on society land

Amenity plots converted, open space built on, and society land occupied are all recurring, and they attract the attention of the courts as well as the Registrar.

Where society land is being encroached upon, act quickly and — again — collectively. See someone has occupied your land and building control in Karachi.

For overseas members

Society membership held from abroad is particularly vulnerable: dues go unpaid because notices are sent to an old address, membership is cancelled, or a relative transfers the file.

Keep your correspondence address current with the society, keep dues paid and receipted, obtain a fresh statement of your membership periodically, and give any power of attorney narrowly and specifically. See property disputes from abroad.

How the firm can help

We act for members and for societies: proceedings before the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, transfer and NOC disputes, allotment claims, challenges to committee decisions and elections, and constitutional petitions where a society or the Registrar has acted unlawfully.

We also conduct diligence on society plots and files before purchase — which is where this problem is most cheaply solved.

If a society is refusing a transfer or you are considering buying a file, contact the firm.