- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, -(a)"apartment" means a part of the property intended for any type of independent use, including one or more rooms or enclosed spaces located on one or more floors (or part or parts thereof) in a building, intended to be used for residential purposes and with a direct exit to a public street, road or highway or to a common area leading to such street, road or highway;(b)"apartment owner" means the person or persons owning an apartment and an undivided interest in the common areas and facilities in the percentage specified and established in the declaration;(c)"apartment number" means the number, letter or combination thereof designating the apartment in the declaration;(d)"Association of Apartment Owners" means all of the apartment owners acting as a group in accordance with the bye-laws and the declaration:(e)"building" means a building containing two or more apartments and comprising a part of the property;(f)"bye-laws" means the bye-laws of the Association of Apartment Owners;(g)"Common areas and facilities" unless otherwise provided in the declaration or lawful amendments thereto, mean-(i)the land on which the building is located;(ii)the foundations, columns, girders, beams, supports mainwalls, roofs, halls, corridors, lobbies, stairs, stairways, fire-escapes and entrances and exits of the building;(iii)the basements, cellars, yards, gardens, parking areas and storage spaces;(iv)the premises for the lodging of persons employed for the management of the property;(v)installations of central services, such as power, light, gas, hot and cold water, heating, refrigeration, air conditioning and incinerating;(vi)elevators, tanks pumps, motors, fans, compressors, ducts and in general all apparatus and installations existing for common use;(vii)such community and commercial facilities as may be provided or in the declaration; and(viii)all other parts of the property necessary or convenient to its existence, maintenance and safety, or normally in common use;(h)"common expenses" means-(i)all sums lawfully assessed against the apartment owners by the Association of apartment Owners;(ii)expenses of administration, maintenance, repair or replacement of the common areas and facilities;(iii)expenses agreed upon as common expenses by the Association of apartment Owners;(iv)expenses declared as common expenses by the provisions of this Act, or by the declaration or the bye-laws;(i)"common profits" means the balance of all income, rents, profits and revenues from the common areas and facilities remaining after the deduction of the common expenses;(j)"competent authority" means in relation to buildings constructed or to be constructed by the Kerala State Housing Board, the Housing Commissioner, and, in any other case, the person authorised by the Government, by notification in the Gazette, to perform the functions of the competent authority for such area as may be specified in the notification;(k)"declaration" means the instrument by which a property is submitted to the provisions of this Act as hereinafter provided and such declaration as lawfully amended from time to time;(l)"deed of apartment", mans a deed of apartment executed by an apartment owner in pursuance of sub-section (2) of section 5;(m)"Housing Board" means the Kerala State Housing Board constituted under section 4 of the Kerala State Housing Board Act, 1971 (19 of 1971);(n)"Housing Commissioner" means the Housing commissioner to the Government;(o)"Joint family" means an undivided Hindu family, and, in the case of other persons, a group or unit, the members of which are by custom joint in possession or residence;(p)"limited common areas and facilities" means those common areas and facilities designated in the declaration as reserved for use of certain apartment or apartments to the exclusion of the other apartments;(q)"majority" or "Majority of apartment owners" means the apartment owners with fifty-one per cent or more of the votes in accordance with the percentages, assigned in the declaration to the apartments for voting purposes;(r)"Managing Committee" means the Managing Committee of the Association of Apartment Owners;(s)"person" includes a joint family;(t)"prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;(u)"Property" means land, the buildings, improvements and structures thereon, all owned in freehold or held on lease or as occupant under any law for the time being in force and all easement rights and appurtenances belonging thereto, and all articles of personal property intended for use in connection therewith, which have been or are intended to be submitted to the provisions of this Act;(v)"Secretary" means the Secretary of the Managing Committee;(w)"State" means the State of Kerala
