Short Answer

No, a complaint filed by a tenant against a society is not treated as a member complaint.

Detailed Explanation

Section 2(19) of the Gujarat Cooperative Societies Act, 1961 defines a "member" as a person joining in the application for the registration of a cooperative society and subsequently admitted to membership. This means that for a person to be considered a member of a cooperative society, they must have gone through the formal process of application and admission as per the Act.

In practice, when a tenant files a complaint against a society, they are not considered a member under the Act unless they have fulfilled the criteria for membership as defined in Section 2(19). Therefore, the complaint is treated separately from a member complaint and is addressed based on the relevant provisions for tenants or occupants in the cooperative society.

Real-world Scenarios

• Scenario 1: A tenant in a cooperative housing society raises a complaint regarding the maintenance of common areas. Since the tenant is not a registered member of the society, the complaint is handled as a tenant grievance rather than a member complaint.

• Scenario 2: A tenant disputes the increase in maintenance charges imposed by the society. The dispute resolution process for tenants, as per the Act, is followed to address the complaint separately from member-related issues.

Reference

• Section 2(19) of the Gujarat Cooperative Societies Act, 1961: Official PDF