Q.In a tenant-co-partnership housing society, the ownership of the flat and the building rests with:

The tenant-co-partnership type is defined precisely by where legal ownership lies, which sets it apart from the tenant-ownership type.

The member holds shares and enjoys the right to occupy a flat as a 'tenant-owner', but the land and building remain the property of the society.

In a tenant-co-partnership housing society the society owns both the land and the buildings. The member takes up shares and is allotted the right to occupy a particular flat as a tenant-owner (tenant co-partner), but the legal ownership of the flat and the building stays with the society. This is exactly what distinguishes it from the tenant-ownership type, where the member owns his own house.

Option-by-option analysis:

• (a) The individual member — Wrong. The member only occupies the flat as a tenant-owner; he does not hold legal ownership of it.
• (b) The society — Correct. Both land and buildings are owned by the society.
• (c) The government — Wrong. Government may lend or subsidise but does not own the society's flats.
• (d) The bank that gave the loan — Wrong. A lender may hold a charge as security, but ownership vests in the society, not the bank.

The commonest error is to confuse tenant-co-partnership with tenant-ownership. Remember: in tenant-ownership the member owns his house; in tenant-co-partnership the society owns it and the member is a tenant-owner.