Flat Maintenance Bills in Bangalore: CAM Rates, the Rs. 7,500 GST Rule and Reserve Funds
Long after the last loan instalment is paid, an apartment owner keeps paying maintenance. It is a permanent cost, yet buyers seldom ask about it while negotiating a price. Here we cover how common area maintenance (CAM) is calculated in Bangalore, what it funds and when GST is added. We also separate it from the two reserve funds and end with questions for the developer.
Calculating the Monthly Charge
In most Bangalore projects, maintenance is billed at so many rupees for every sq ft of the flat's super built-up size. Bigger flats therefore pay more, in proportion to their share of the building. Smaller buildings sometimes split the cost equally between flats, and a few blend both approaches.
Take a 1,200 sq ft flat billed at a rate of Rs. 4. Its owner pays Rs. 4,800 each month, or Rs. 57,600 over a year. If the rate were Rs. 6.50 per sq ft, the monthly bill would reach Rs. 7,800, which crosses the GST threshold explained further down.
State law supports charging by area. A 1972 Karnataka statute on apartment ownership splits common expenses in line with the undivided share each flat holds in shared spaces. The state's new apartment management Bill of 2026 wants charges that roughly track super built-up size. It also forbids billing two flats differently when they match in size and purpose.
Where the Money Goes
Each owner looks after the inside of the flat. Everything beyond the front door, from the lobby to the borewell, is run with pooled money. A normal maintenance budget includes:
- Guards and cleaning crews
- Power for pumps, lifts, lobbies, parking levels and outdoor lighting
- Fuel and upkeep for standby generators
- Water bills, tanker deliveries and the STP's operation
- Annual maintenance contracts for lifts, firefighting systems and other machinery
- Landscaping, plus upkeep of the pool, clubhouse and fitness centre
- Insurance cover, auditors and day-to-day administration
Salaries and electricity tend to be the biggest lines. Every extra pool, a bigger clubhouse or more landscaping means more people, more lighting and more repairs, and that pushes the bill up. Read a brochure's amenity list as a preview of what residents will pay to keep running.
The GST Threshold
Tax is added only when a flat crosses two separate limits at once. They work like this:
- Where a flat pays Rs. 7,500 or less monthly, no GST is due
- An association whose yearly turnover is Rs. 20 Lakhs or less stays outside GST, however much each flat pays
- If both limits are exceeded, 18% GST is levied on the entire charge, not merely the amount over Rs. 7,500
- Someone owning two flats has each one tested separately against that Rs. 7,500 figure
The CBIC, India's indirect tax board, clarified these rules in its circular dated 22 July 2019. The jump at the threshold can be steep. A flat billed Rs. 7,200 pays nothing extra, whereas one billed Rs. 8,500 owes Rs. 1,530 in tax and pays Rs. 10,030 in all.
Three Pots of Money
Maintenance, corpus and sinking fund are easy to confuse. Maintenance is the recurring monthly charge for daily operations. The corpus is a lump sum taken once at handover and kept as the building's reserve. The sinking fund grows from regular contributions and pays for big, occasional jobs like waterproofing, a fresh coat of paint or a new lift.
Cheap maintenance paired with a bare reserve only postpones the expense. Sooner or later a major repair arrives, and owners get a special demand to cover it. Ask about the reserve balance at the same time as the monthly rate to see the whole picture.
Who Sets the Rate, and When It Changes
Right after handover, the developer or a facility management firm it hires runs the buildings and fixes the rate. The RERA Act obliges the promoter to provide essential services, for a fair fee, until residents form an association and take over. Many developers ask for a year's or two years' maintenance upfront at the time of possession.
Expect a revision once the association is in control. A starting rate fixed when half the flats were empty rarely reflects what a fully occupied project costs. On the other hand, a diligent committee can cut costs by renegotiating vendor contracts. The association's first audited budget is the best indicator of what owners will pay over time.
Arrears on a Resale
Pending maintenance stays with the apartment, not the person. Before a sale goes through, associations usually insist on full payment and only then hand out a no-dues letter. Under the 2026 Bill, unpaid common expenses turn into a charge on the flat, and the buyer shares liability with the seller for dues until the transfer date.
The Bill restrains associations too. A late-payment penalty may be no more than one month's maintenance. Water, power, lift use and entry to one's home stay protected, whatever the default. These provisions apply from whatever date Karnataka's government notifies.
Questions to Ask the Developer
Asking the right things early reveals the true cost of owning a flat. Work through this list:
- What is today's rate, and what does it come to for this particular flat?
- Is the monthly figure over Rs. 7,500? If it is, what does it become once 18% GST is added?
- Is this a developer's starting rate, or did an association set it from actual expenses?
- How much corpus and advance maintenance will be collected at possession?
- For an occupied project, what do the latest audited accounts show, and how large is the reserve?
- For a resale, has the association issued a no-dues letter that can be seen before the seller is paid?
- How much has the rate moved in each of the last three years?
Put maintenance in the household budget alongside the home loan. Find the instalment with the EMI calculator, then add the maintenance figure to see what holding the flat costs each month.
