The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Add to it, maintenance charge

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 28, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Add to it, maintenance charge

V.S. Palaniappan

Photo: M. Periasamy

COSTLY COMFORTs: More the facilities, more will be the maintenance charge one has to pay. –

For those who have taken out apartments on rent has more miseries in store in the form of maintenance charges.

Charges collected from residents in apartments are proving to be inadequate to ensure even minimum maintenance because of soaring costs.

“Any effort to increase the maintenance charges will meet with resistance,” says secretary of a middle income group apartment in Ramanathapuram.

The maintenance charges collected in various apartments in the city is anywhere between Rs. 500 and Rs. 2,000 depending on the facilities offered such as guest rooms, servants’ rest room and toilet, walker’s track, swimming pool, club house and so on.

The rise in maintenance charge is attributed mainly to the rise in salary of sweepers and security guards.

Small or medium sized apartments have two security guards coming for duty on rotation basis.

In addition to this, apartments have to give tips to corporation conservancy staff and those who clean the open storm water and waste water drains.

Elevators, security systems and intercom phones means more expenses. “For facilities one has to pay some price” is the justification offered by a secretary of an apartment on Tiruchi Road.

“If I have to pay to more than Rs. 1,000 every month, then there is no point in owning an apartment. I have to repay the housing loan too”, says a resident.

Water consumption has gone up and the water charges collected by the civic body too. Use of motor pumps and elevators have affected the electricity bills.

Says treasurer of one of the apartments in Ramanathapuram: “We have 24 units and we collect Rs. 600 each a month. The salaries, batta and tea allowance for security guards will come to 6,500 and Rs. 3,000 for sweeper. With the remaining, the association has to take care of conservancy staff, power consumption charges and water consumption charges.

Small repairs and replacements have to be carried out as and when required.

It has become impossible to set apart a sum for capital expenditures such as painting the building or other civil works.”

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu