Eviction of a tenant – The best legal way

When a landlord allows a tenant to stay at his/her place, the tenant assumes certain rights which are outlined under the Rent Control Act. This Act is a regulating law relating to property rental and evictions of a tenant and has been implemented by various State Governments in India. This article clarifies the legal way for the eviction of the tenant.

Eviction laws in India provide details about the regulations relating to the tenant-landlord relationship, reasons when a tenant can be evicted or taking action against illegal eviction, etc.
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Grounds to evict a tenant:

• The tenant has intentionally not paid the mutually agreed rent amount for more than 15 days from the due date.
• He has sublet a rented property without the permission of the landlord.
• The tenant has used his rented premises for an unlawful purpose or for a purpose not mentioned in the agreement.
• The action of the tenant leading to loss of the landlord’s property value or utility.
• The actions of the tenant are objectionable by the neighborhood, and the landlord has received complaints on the same.
• The tenant intentionally refuted the title of the rented property for an unknown reason.
• Landlord requires the property for himself or for some other family member.
• The landlord wants to repair and renovate the property.
• The landlord wants to construct another building that needs demolition of the entire property.

Evicting a tenant – The best legal way

Sending Notice to the tenant to vacate the property –

• The landlord must send a written notice to the tenant to vacate the property. And, they should also give the tenant enough time to vacate. The contents of the eviction notice mention the time and date by which the tenant must vacate the property. The court of appropriate jurisdiction where such property is located has the authority to deal with the eviction notice. This eviction notice then goes to the rental property of the tenant from the court.
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Filing of an eviction suit –

• The tenant may, after receiving the notice of eviction from the court of competent jurisdiction, refuse to vacate the rented property. In this case, the landlord may hire a lawyer who specializes in property laws to file an eviction suit against the tenant. The suit is filed before the civil court of competent jurisdiction, i.e., the court under whose jurisdiction the rented property is located.
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Final eviction notice –

• The court will hear both parties to the dispute and issue a final legal notice for eviction based on the arguments and evidence presented. The tenant must vacate the rented property once the court issues a final eviction notice.

How to prevent “illegal eviction?”

The Supreme Court of India has made it clear that landlords cannot evict a tenant for a minimum period of 5 years if all the due rent has been paid regularly. Until and unless, the landlord needs the property for himself for genuine reasons, then he may evict the tenant.

Here are the things the landlord must keep in mind and try to avoid while evicting a tenant –

• A property lawyer must draft the rental agreement to avoid future disputes. It must include relevant provisions related to the usage of the property, termination of the rent agreement, rent amount, and other details.
• A rent agreement must only be for 11 months and must provide a clause of optional renewal. It offers protection against complications on evictions in the future.
• A landlord cannot evict a tenant without sending an eviction notice.
• A landlord must not take wrongful eviction actions. These include cutting the supply of water or electricity or throwing away the tenant’s belongings. These offenses are criminal in nature. Additionally, the tenant has the right to file charges against the landlord if he/she is found guilty of such conduct.

CONCLUSION –

Finding a tenant is really easy. However, there is always a risk in letting out a property to a stranger. When the tenant is not paying rent or not vacating the property, it does not please the landlord at all. Therefore, landlords often resort to extreme precautions to avoid such situations. Landlords must be well-versed with the rules and regulations under rental laws. As pointed out, the eviction of a tenant must be done in a legal manner by paying the utmost respect to the rental laws.

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