Condo upkeep bills set to go up with labour code’s higher wages mandate

Noida: In a season of rising costs, your monthly maintenance bill could be the next one to go up.

This has nothing to do with the US-Iran conflict, but the newly implemented labour code. Across condominiums and gated societies, where most of the urban population in NCR lives, maintenance budgets are being reworked because of higher minimum wages that the new labour code stipulates. The expected increase in the bill, according to society managers, is around 20-30%, depending on the kind of staff employed.

For most societies, manpower — security guards, housekeeping workers, horticulture staff, electricians, plumbers, and lift operators — accounts for 70-85% of the maintenance budget, making the pay revision the single biggest cost escalation RWAs and AOAs have faced in years. Rising cost of diesel, on which power backup that societies need runs, has reduced elbow room.

Some societies have already revised CAM (common area maintenance) charges. At Emaar Palm Gardens in Gurgaon, the decision came after a general body meeting last week. “The revised wages increased our manpower costs by around 35%. We increased CAM charges from Rs 3.15 per square foot to Rs 4.37 per sq ft,” said Sunil Sharma, RWA president. For residents, the revision translates to an additional Rs 2,500-3,000 per month.

At Prateek Wisteria in Noida’s Sector 77, charges have already been revised upward by 60 paise over the existing rate of Rs 2.7 per sq ft.

In Ghaziabad, Orange County in Indirapuram circulated a note to residents on Monday explaining that maintenance charges had remained unchanged for nearly 17 years. “Compliance with revised statutory wages is not optional but a legal obligation. The association has explored all possible ways to minimise the burden on residents, including reassessing vendor quotations, negotiating service charges, and reviewing PF and ESI components,” the note read. The society has not yet revised the charges.

At Skytech Magadh in Vaishali, where charges have been frozen at Rs 2 per sq ft since 2012, the AOA is considering a hike to Rs 3 per sq ft, subject to resident approval at a general body meeting later this month.

Several other AOAs said they are looking at cost-cutting options and assessing their workforce to bring down costs. “While some upward revision is likely, our objective is to arrive at the most optimised and resident-friendly solution. We will place our recommendations before residents in the coming months,” said Kavita Kumar Rajesh, AOA president of Exotica Fresco in Noida’s Sector 137.

Eventually, AOA and RWA members say, they might have no other option but to increase CAM. At Gurgaon One, former RWA president Saket Singh said a hike was inevitable, with the impact in his society working out to nearly Re 1 per sq ft — charges had to move from around Rs 4 per sq ft to nearly Rs 5 per sq ft. Most RWAs, he said, had already exhausted conventional cost-cutting options. “Most have shifted to LED lighting and optimised electricity consumption. There is very little room left for further cuts without affecting services. You cannot compromise on safety, housekeeping or essential maintenance,” he said.

In Greater Noida West, Arihant Arden is looking to offset electricity costs in common areas by commissioning a 500 KWp (kilowatt peak) solar system this week — touted as the first of its capacity in a residential society in NCR. “The estimated additional monthly burden after the wage hike for maintenance staff is approximately Rs 5.31 lakh — Rs 2.97 lakh for security services and Rs 3.34 lakh for housekeeping. While we have called a general body meeting and will seek approval to increase maintenance by 25 paise per sq ft. The solar panels are expected to help cut electricity costs,” said AOA president Nishith Chaturvedi.

According to Praveen Malik, RWA president of Gurgaon’s Rising Homes, the cost burden becomes clearer when broken down by society size. “A society with 700-800 flats could easily employ around 100 workers. So, if a security guard’s salary has increased by around Rs 3,000 per month, in societies employing 50 guards, the additional expenditure alone can run into nearly Rs 1.5 lakh every month,” he said.

Manoj Prasad, former AOA president of Logix Blossom County, Sector 137, Noida, added that the extent of the impact would also depend on each society’s existing cost structure. “Some key considerations include whether the present CAM collection is sufficient to absorb the wage increase, whether any surplus can be utilised to offset the hike, and if not, what additional amount may need to be collected from residents,” he said. With CAM charges at Rs 1.83 per sq ft, unchanged since 2018, Prasad said manpower optimisation and staffing rationalisation remained viable alternatives before costs were passed on to residents.

At Gaur Grandeur, Sector 119, and RG Residency, Sector 120, the AOAs are holding off for now. “We are exploring options to absorb the new minimum wage costs. Only 10 paise was increased in the last eight years,” said Ashutosh Rai, AOA secretary of Gaur Grandeur.

Residents push back

Not all residents are willing to accept revised bills without scrutiny. At Supertech Eco Village 1, Greater Noida West — still under builder management — residents staged a protest on Sunday against a proposed hike from Rs 2.36 per sq ft to Rs 3.25 per sq ft. “This marks a significant increase and imposes an undue financial burden, especially in the absence of transparency or visible improvement in services,” said resident Ranjana Suri Bhardwaj. Similar protests were held at Tata Eureka Park, Sector 150, and Crest Villa, Godrej Golf Links, Sector 27, Greater Noida.

At BPTP Astaire Gardens in Gurgaon, resident Debojit Hore said CAM charges had nearly doubled over the past 18 months — from Rs 2.95 per sq ft to over Rs 4.35 per sq ft. “Maintenance agencies are using the wage revision to justify increases across their entire cost structure. Residents have very little visibility into how these calculations are being made,” he said. Hore also flagged the absence of GST input credit benefits being passed on to residents. “Societies and maintenance agencies receive GST credits from vendors, but residents rarely see those benefits reflected in their bills.”

At Antriksh Golf View 2, Sector 78, Noida, residents are questioning the frequency of revisions. “A proposal has been circulated seeking an increase of 30 paise per sq ft in CAM charges, along with a revision in DG charges from Rs 16 to Rs 27 per unit — barely six months after the previous revision,” said resident Ranjan Samantaray.

Puneet Sharma, president of the Noida Federation of Apartment Owners Associations (NOFAA), which represents over 120 highrises, described the situation as a convergence of pressures. “It’s a three-pronged hit: revised minimum wages, increased fuel costs, and the upcoming electricity rate hike in UP — all three will dwindle the household budget,” he said. NOFAA secretary general Surojit Dasgupta added that AOAs were simultaneously facing rising compliance obligations around GST, income tax, labour laws, fire and electrical NOCs, lift act requirements, and STP and WTP operations. “Managing these compliances requires both financial resources and skilled manpower, making residential community management more complex than ever before,” he said.

RWAs are also seeking government relief, with some calling for a higher GST exemption threshold on maintenance charges, rebates for residential societies, or offsets through property tax and municipal levies. “The entire burden of the wage revision is ultimately falling on residents. There should be a mechanism to cushion them from a sudden spike,” said Sharma of Emaar Palm Gardens.