Singling out singles Being single is the biggest disadvantage if you are looking to rent a house in the metros. This is because most housing societies disallow their members from leasing their properties to bachelors, say real estate experts. So, even if the owner wants to give it on rent to a group of singles, the housing society won't give him a no-objection certificate (NOC). Bachelors typically don't stick to a place for long and this doesn't provide stability in rental income compared with that from families, says Ramesh Prabhu, chairman of Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association.

Maharashtra Cooperative Housing Society, Act means the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act; (MCS Act) 1960; Bye-laws means the registered bye-laws of.

How strong are these laws? The guidelines are typically framed under the Co-operative Societies Act, which is a Central Act. This provides specific guidelines for a society to be registered with the municipal corporations, its governance structures, common area maintenance rights, dos & don'ts, accounting practices. The Act also offers a degree of flexibility to societies to add regulations of their own, say experts. Example: If the housing society has made a rule for tenants, according to which they cannot park their vehicles in the parking slots allotted to members, then they have every right to enforce it. Can the bye-laws be challenged?

Vinod Sampat, president, Cooperative Societies Residential Users Association, and a real estate lawyer, explains that any regulation which infringes on the fundamental rights of an individual can be challenged in the court of law. The housing society regulations don't have the same stature as that of a law.

Every Indian citizen has the right to reside anywhere in the country and discrimination is not allowed on the basis of religion, caste, sex, eating habits or marital status.