Did your neighbour do it so you can do it too? Fit safety grills or enclose a balcony? Here’s what the Bombay High Court has to say:

By Bricksnwall | 2026-07-23

Bombay HC directs Maharashtra to formulate guidelines on modifications flat owners can carry out without prior sanction of civic bodies.

Many apartment complex dwellers will often justify their modifications by saying, "Everyone else has done it." Common arguments in renovation disputes are “Everyone has enclosed their balcony” or “Many neighbours have extended their bedrooms”. But one unauthorized change does not legally justify another.

If a flat owner constructs a permanent shade over a balcony, encloses it for additional living space, demolishes partition walls to extend a bedroom, without the approvals required under the sanctioned building plan or municipal laws, such changes are unauthorised even if several other residents have carried out similar works.

Recognising the confusion among homeowners, the Bombay High Court has asked the Maharashtra government to formulate a comprehensive policy that will clearly specify the nature of alterations that flat owners can undertake within their apartments without taking prior permission from municipal authorities.

The step is likely to deliver much-needed clarity to lakhs of flat owners who carry out modest improvements regularly but are often uncertain about the necessity for civic permissions.

What made the Bombay High Court issue the direction?

According to the media reports, a bench of the Bombay High Court stated that in the normal course, most homeowners build safety grills, lightweight protective structures over open terraces, walls with gypsum or wooden panels or rejig utility rooms to their liking. These are generally seen as small adjustments but the lack of clear, uniform guidelines has resulted in uncertainty, clashes with housing societies and builders, and patchy action by municipal authorities.

The judges recognized that the open-to-sky terraces had been enclosed unauthoritatively by the neighbour as well as originally built by the developer. They felt that the continued existence of such unauthorized constructions could not be countenanced and deserved to be removed instantly, LiveLaw said.

Flat owners, often make changes to interior partition walls with wooden or gypsum panels as per their needs, fix safety grills, lightweight sheds over balconies or terraces, a LiveLaw article said. Generally, such adjustments are made after the issuance of an Occupation Certificate (OC). Similar changes before the issuance of the OC might delay the award of the certificate and prohibit the developer from completing the project. It also leads to disagreements and litigation.

What will policy entail?

The proposed framework is expected to reduce disputes and help homeowners understand what they can legally change in their apartments without breaking any municipal regulations.

media reports said the proposed policy would deal with common changes often made in residential buildings such as whether residents can put up safety grills, enclose balconies or put light covers over balconies and terraces, erect or remove non-load bearing partition walls, merge or split rooms with temporary material or reallocate utility areas within their flats. Such clear instructions would assist homeowners and local officials avoid avoidable disputes.

The High Court further highlighted that civic organizations should follow a common strategy while dealing with unlawful renovations and not different approaches in different jurisdictions. The court clarified that while the state has been directed to formulate the policy, the unauthorised constructions will continue to be governed by the existing legal framework and can attract action from the concerned municipal authorities till such guidelines are notified.

Source: Hindustan Times