Q684. Evicting tenant in India who refuses to pay rent or sign agreement

Question: Dear I a resident in Surat,Gujarat I had given my flat in Surat to a family 5 months back Unfortunately,I had given the keys before the agreement was made as I was out of station They have paid only 15 thousand as a deposit and failed to pay monthly rent of 5000 since the begining When I tried to evict them verbally they are not ready to vacate and make sign the agreement as well Please guide me how to go ahead as I am stuck up?? Thanks DARSHAN NAVIK

Answer: Sadly your options are limited in my opinion: 1. Evict tenant legally by hiring a lawyer and letting the law take its course o This would be an expensive and time consuming option. Could involve money on lawyers and lots of time. Several years if the other party decides to use loopholes to avoid eviction and prolong the case. They could even file their own lawsuits against the landlord, for instance harassment! o In the absence of an agreement the actual basis of rental terms would in reality be your word against the tenants word. o If you took the 15,000 Rupees deposit in cash. Then you may face additional problems as there is nothing to stop the tenant from claiming he has paid in advance a lot more than 15,000 o While most lawyer’s will verbally give assurance of speedy eviction to get the case. Unfortunately the longer the case, the more money they make and eviction proceedings can drag on for years. You have no rental agreement and this makes it worse. 2. Coming to a mutual agreement with the tenant to vacate your property. o This could mean loss of money also. Sounds ridiculous but people pay tenants to move. Of course take steps to involve a trust worthy third party to negotiate. You don’t want the tenant to make promises to move out, take your money and still not vacate! 3. You could decide to sell the property o In such circumstance the price would be well below market value as the buyer would have to deal with the tenant problems None of the three options listed above are easy and they all involve loss of time and money. Everyone has their limitations and resources when it comes to dealing with the reality of such sad situations. Think it over and decide what is best for you.

Tips on Renting property in India

For the benefit of readers of this page who may be contemplating on renting their property in India.

• Do not let a large initial deposit cloud your reasoning. Do some research on prospective tenants before accepting them. • Do not accept cash deposits. Get all deposits and rental payments by cheque or bank draft etc. • Ensure that you have a valid leave & license agreement that is duly registered before giving possession of your property