Rita Deo

10 Not so popular rights of a tenant As a tenant of an apartment you may be paying rent on a regular basis but if the rent contract is renewable every year then the fear of being evicted and rent increase is constantly at the back of the mind. It is true that now there are strong rules for protection of tenant rights but as these cases if submitted in court take around 10 or more years for settlement people generally try to sort it out between themselves. While a house-owner has every right to evict a tenant that is not paying rent or time or using the house for illegal activities there are some laws in place that make it extremely tough sometimes wrest back an accommodation from a tenant intent on staying at an accommodation forcing the owner to take legal recourse. Here are some of the unpopular laws that make landlords look for a water-tight agreement while renting out their premises to tenants – 1. Restriction of essential services – If a landlord disconnects access to essential amenities like water, electricity or common areas like terrace, lawn etc., to recover rental dues or force the tenant to pay higher rent then the landlord can be taken to Rent Control Court. The landlord will then be forced to restore the essential services and enter into amicable settlement of the matter with the tenant and also pay damages for trouble caused. 2. Restricted entry of landlord to rented premises – Once a lease agreement is signed and tenant moves in, the landlord cannot enter or inspect the premises under any circumstances without permission of the tenant. 3. Repairs under tenancy – If the house needs any repairs or structural additions to meet needs of the tenant that it has to be carried out by the house-owner. 4. Subletting clause – To ensure that the tenant does not sublet the house to anyone else, the landlord has to include a clause stipulating immediate evacuation if such an incident occurs. 5. Security deposit – The tenant has every right to extract the entire amount of security deposit given to the house-owner within a month of evacuating the rented premises. So a land-lord must be prepared to pay immediately if he is seeking to get rid the tenant. 6. Tenant cannot be evicted without notice – Landlords have to give a formal eviction notice of not less than 3 months to tenant if they want to evict him/her and not before irrespective of circumstances. However this can be done only on specific grounds or landlord wants house for personal use. 7. Death of Tenant – In-case of tenant’s death, his legal heirs living with him can stay on in the premises for five years irrespective of all circumstances. 8. Rights of long term tenants – Sometimes tenants take it for granted if they have stayed at a rented home or commercial home for a long time that they will not be vacated but a landlord possessing a legal rental agreement can evict a tenant irrespective of years of stay. 9. Troublesome tenants – Sometimes noisy and unruly tenants can be a nuisance to neighbors and as a house owner you may be forced to deal with them if neighbors complain and ask you to either reprimand them for good behavior. 10. Late payment or non-payment of rent – Tenants that do not pay on time due to various reasons are a troublesome lot as you cannot evict them because they do pay after asking. As laws leading to property disputes are archaic and it takes decades for court cases in India to settle it is best to have strong rental agreement that can protect rights of both owner and tenant.