Pool drownings to EV fires: Who is liable in Bengaluru apartments?

BENGALURU: Who is responsible if a child drowns in an apartment complex’s swimming pool, if a pet dog attacks a resident, if an unverified delivery worker enters a gated community, or if a fire breaks out in a basement packed with EV batteries and petrol vehicles?The question is whether liability lies with individual residents who trigger the incident or with the apartment complex management committee tasked with enforcing safety and governance.At a ‘Proprietas 2.0’ legal awareness programme on apartment laws and housing governance Saturday, homebuyers, legal experts, and resident representatives flagged legal and operational risks in gated communities. At the event organised by the NLS Legal Aid Society in association with the Bangalore Apartments’ Federation (BAF) at St Joseph’s College of Law, residents called for urgent structural reforms to protect volunteer office-bearers managing these complexes.Legal experts stressed that responsibility is shared between residents and management committees, and cannot be isolated to one party alone. However, they noted that enforcement and clarity remain weak.Ramesh Padmanabhan, BAF governing council member, said: “We buy flats at the lowest cost per square foot, maintain them the same way, and elect a volunteer to run the society for free — giving him no legal protection, no insurance and no clear framework. Then we ignore these issues and wonder why things go wrong. We often arrest the management committee volunteer, not the builder who deviated from safety norms or ourselves. We can land on the moon, but cannot fix our apartment associations. It is time to address this gap urgently.”Beena Pillai of the NLS Legal Aid Society said the solution begins with choosing the correct legal framework. “Once possession is handed over, the association becomes the custodian. The law is clear. What is unclear is why apartment owners still wait for a crisis to understand which law governs their homes and what rights they actually hold,” she said.Officials underlined the need for transparency and time-bound regulatory processes for maintenance, redevelopment and long-term governance.Rakesh Singh, chairman, Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) said: “Once a project is handed over to an association, issues of maintenance, reconstruction and long-term management arise, and Karnataka is still evolving in this area compared to states like Maharashtra. What we need is greater transparency and time-bound, citizen-friendly functioning at the govt, regulatory and promoter levels. These are not very complicated issues. With the govt support, we will push for quick solutions.” NA Haris, chairman of the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) and Shantinagar MLA, said urban living requires clarity on shared responsibility. “Apartments involve individual ownership but collective responsibility. If residents understand this duality, many disputes will be reduced. With Bengaluru moving towards vertical growth, cooperation among residents, developers and associations is essential,” he said.(With inputs from Prapti Idnani)