New MCS Rules Force Equal Maintenance Billing, Cap Dues Interest at 12%

Three billing provisions inside the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Rules 2026 — notified 18 June 2026 and effective from 30 June — are now forcing managing committees across the state to rework their maintenance bills. The rules require equal service charges per flat, cap interest on overdue maintenance, and limit non-occupancy charges, regardless of what a society's existing bye-laws or past practice say.

What changed in the billing formula

Previously, many societies split service charges — items like watchman salary, lift maintenance, and common electricity — proportionate to a flat's carpet area, so a larger flat paid more. Under the new rules, this component must now be divided equally among all flats, irrespective of size. Charges that are genuinely tied to consumption or area, such as property tax reimbursement or water charges metered per flat, are unaffected and can still vary. Separately, interest charged on overdue maintenance is now capped at 12% per annum, calculated on a simple (not compound) basis, and non-occupancy charges — levied when a flat is rented out or lying vacant — cannot exceed 10% of the regular service charge for that flat.

What this means for housing societies

• Committees must recompute the service-charge component of their maintenance bill on an equal-per-flat basis before the next billing cycle, and pass a resolution updating the bye-laws or the applicable schedule if it conflicts with the new formula.
• Any society bye-law or past AGM resolution charging interest above 12% simple, or compounding interest on arrears, is no longer enforceable and must be revised — recovery notices citing higher rates can be challenged.
• Non-occupancy charge circulars or resolutions fixing a flat rate above 10% of service charges need to be revised; over-collection from tenanted or vacant flats should be adjusted against future dues.
• Societies still recovering old dues under Section 154B-29 should recompute interest using the new 12% cap for any period after 30 June 2026, even if the original demand was raised earlier.

There is no fixed grace period specified for adopting the new billing formula, so committees are advised to implement the equal-charge, capped-interest structure from the next maintenance bill onward and record the change through a committee or general body resolution to avoid member disputes.