Who Inherits the Flat When a Cooperative Society Member Dies in Maharashtra — Nominee or Legal Heir?

The situation

A member of the society passes away. Within weeks, two letters land on the secretary's desk. One is from the person named as nominee, asking to be admitted as a member and have the flat transferred into his name. The other is from the deceased's married daughter, who says she is a legal heir and that no nominee has any right to "inherit" anything. The committee freezes: transfers nothing, waits for a court order, and lets the flat sit unresolved for years. That is the wrong instinct, and it is also not what bye-law 34 asks the committee to do.

Nomination is a fast-track membership mechanism, not a will

Bye-law 32 lets a member nominate, in the prescribed form, the person or persons to whom his shares and interest should be transferred on death. The society charges no fee for the first nomination; every later revision costs Rs. 100. Once the secretary acknowledges the form, that is deemed acceptance — bye-law 32 does not ask the committee to approve it.

Every nomination, or its revocation, must be placed before the committee's next meeting (bye-law 33) and entered in the register of nominations within 7 days of that meeting.

The 2026 amendment rules say the same thing more bluntly: a nomination is not a will and does not confer ownership (Rule 106C-8). It only tells the society who to deal with first while the real question — who actually owns the flat — is settled separately.

The nominee holds the flat "in trust" — not as owner

This is the part committees get wrong most often. Bye-law 34 requires the society to transfer the deceased member's shares and interest to the nominee(s), once the nominee applies for membership within six months of death. But the note appended to bye-law 34 is explicit: a member admitted on the basis of nomination holds the flat "in trust" until all legal heirs are brought on record. He has no right of ownership and cannot create a third-party interest or sell the flat in that capacity.

The 2026 rules track this exactly. Rule 106C-6(1) calls this "provisional membership," and it lasts only until the legal heirs' names are entered on the society's records — at which point it ceases automatically, and the provisional member's name never appears on the share certificate in the meantime.

So a nominee is a caretaker of the membership, appointed to keep the flat administratively current — not an heir declared by the society.

If there is more than one nominee

Bye-law 34 requires all nominees to make one joint application. They must name which one of them should be enrolled as the member; the rest become joint or associate members unless they say otherwise. Whoever is enrolled must also file an indemnity bond protecting the society against later claims from the others.

When there is no nomination at all

If a member dies without nominating anyone, or no nominee comes forward, bye-law 35 puts the burden on the society, not the family. Within six months of learning of the death, the committee must invite claims or objections by a notice on the society board and in at least two local newspapers with wide circulation — the cost is recovered from the value of the deceased's shares. After considering objections, the committee decides who is the heir or legal representative, who must then furnish an indemnity bond before being admitted as a member.

If the committee cannot decide, or rival claimants cannot agree, bye-law 35 requires it to call for a succession certificate from a competent court — the committee should never make that call itself. The 2026 rules mirror this at Rule 106C-6(1)(b): the same two-newspaper notice, the same indemnity bond, and — where claimants disagree — a requirement to produce a legal heirship certificate, succession certificate, or letter of administration.

Cashing out instead of transferring membership

Nomination and heirship do not force anyone into becoming a member. Under bye-law 36, a sole nominee — or under bye-law 37, a sole heir — can instead demand only the value of the shares and interest, which the society must then pay. Where there are multiple nominees or heirs, payment follows the proportion stated in the nomination form, or equally if none is stated.

What your committee should do

1. 1On receiving a nomination or revocation, place it at the next committee meeting and enter it in the register of nominations within 7 days (bye-law 33).
2. 2On a member's death, write to the nominee(s) at once and ask for a membership application within six months (bye-law 34); take an indemnity bond before admitting them.
3. 3Treat the nominee's membership as provisional — record it as held "in trust," and do not let the share certificate or any resolution describe the nominee as owner until the legal heirs are on record (bye-law 34, Rule 106C-6(1)).
4. 4If there is no nomination, publish the notice in two local newspapers and on the notice board within six months of learning of the death (bye-law 35, Rule 106C-6(1)(b)) — do not simply wait for a family member to apply.
5. 5If claimants disagree, stop and ask for a succession certificate or legal heirship certificate from a competent court; do not adjudicate the dispute in committee.
6. 6If a nominee or heir wants cash instead of membership, pay the share value under the bye-laws on valuation rather than forcing a membership transfer nobody asked for.

This is one of the few areas where acting too slowly and acting too fast are both punished — a committee that sits on a nomination for years is in breach of bye-law 33's timelines, and one that hands over full ownership rights to a nominee without waiting for the legal heirs is exposed the day a genuine heir turns up.