New Rules Set Minimum Sinking, Repair and Major Repair Fund Rates for CHS

The Maharashtra Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Rules, 2026, notified on 18 June 2026, fix minimum collection rates for the funds every housing society must maintain. Under the new Chapter XI-B, the Sinking Fund and Repair & Maintenance Fund now carry statutory floors, and a separate Major Repair Fund has been introduced for the first time.

What the minimum rates are

The Sinking Fund, meant to build a corpus for future structural reconstruction, must be collected at not less than 0.25% per annum of each flat's construction cost, as certified by the society's architect at the time of building completion. The Repair & Maintenance Fund, used for routine recurring repairs, carries a higher floor of 0.75% per annum of the same construction cost. The new Major Repair Fund is calculated differently — on the basis of carpet area rather than construction cost — under Bye-law 13, and is meant to cover larger repair cycles such as structural audits, waterproofing, or plumbing overhauls that fall outside routine maintenance.

Why a floor, not a fixed rate

The General Body retains authority to fix the actual rate through a resolution, and can set it higher than the statutory minimum based on the building's age, condition, or a structural auditor's recommendation. What changes is that societies can no longer set rates below these floors, even by unanimous General Body vote — a practice some societies have historically used to keep maintenance bills low in the short term.

What this means for housing societies

• Managing committees preparing the FY2026-27 budget or annual maintenance bill should check that Sinking Fund and Repair & Maintenance Fund rates meet the 0.25% and 0.75% minimums of certified construction cost, respectively.
• Societies that have never charged a separate Major Repair Fund should introduce one, calculated on carpet area under Bye-law 13, and have the General Body approve the applicable rate.
• Where original construction cost records are missing or disputed, the committee should obtain an architect's certified estimate rather than using current market value, which is not the basis these rules use.
• Auditors reviewing FY2025-26 accounts at the AGM may flag fund collections that fall below the new minimums, so committees should be prepared to explain or correct the shortfall going forward.

Registrars are expected to reference these minimum rates when reviewing society budgets and audit reports going forward. Committees still finalising accounts or maintenance bills for the current financial year should confirm their fund rates against the 0.25%, 0.75%, and carpet-area-based Major Repair Fund benchmarks before the figures are placed before the General Body.