Eviction of tenant
pawan kumar
(Querist) 27 March 2012
This query is : Resolved
unregd.rent agreement was signed by tenant for 13 months he paid rent by crossed cheque.then he locked the office and stopped payment of rent. suit was filed for ejectment on a/c of non payment of rent. 12 months have passed since suit was filed.even during pendency of suit he made no payment of rent.rent agreement states amt. of monthly rent and before default he paid cheques as per terms of agreement. now pl. advise whether landlord will prove default if so how. or tenant has to show he has paid uptodate rent. or it is sufficient that after filing of suit he has not paid rent neither to landord nor court.pl.advise
Adv.R.P.Chugh
(Expert) 27 March 2012
Dear Mr.Kumar,
Please tell which state you belong to, for Rent Control Legislations in different states differ.
First of all this was a tenancy of more than a year - and was hence required to be compulsorily registered. Being unregistered it fails to give any right/title/interest to the tenant. He is not even a tenant in the first place, and you could have straight away asked for recovery of possession instead of eviction (which is far more restricted remedy)
Now as regards non payment of rent - it is the onus/burden of tenant to prove the payment of rent whether by cash or cheque. If he fails to, he will still get a chance to pay up the arrears and rent month to month in order to evade eviction. If he does not - you'll get a decree
Kiran Kumar
(Expert) 27 March 2012
I agree with Adv. Chugh that the rent laws of different states differ.
technically, otherwise, the onus will certainly upon the tenant to prove that he had made the payments.
in your case the payments were through cheque for which the tenant issued instructions for stop payment.
you are better positioned than your tenant at the moment.
H. S. Thukral
(Expert) 27 March 2012
Dear Bharat,
I have seen with keen interest your replies to queries and I have appreciated the same. I am sure one day you will definitely become a good lawyer.
I would like to correct you here that if a lease more than a year is not registered, the relation of landlord and tenant is not affected. Only the lease is considered for one year and thereafter from month to month. Even unregistered agreement of a lease for more than a year can be used in evidence for collateral purposes and establishing a landlord and tenant is one such purpose. In this case tenancy is to be terminated by giving notice as per section 106 TPA and suit for possession is to be filed.
The onus of proving default of tenant in payment of rent prior to filing suit shall be on landlord but after the filing of suit the same shall shift to tenant. It will be up to tenant to prove that in a suit where recovery of arrears are also demanded, why the tenant not insisted on rent receipt if he paid rent.
I hope you will take this contradiction in good spirits
ajay sethi
(Expert) 27 March 2012
in mahrashtra leave and licence agreement is required to be compulsory registerable
“55 Tenancy agreement to be compulsorily registered.
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or any other law for the time being in force, any agreement for leave and licence or letting of any premises, entered into between the landlord and the tenant or the licensees, as the cases may be, after commencement of this Act, shall be in writing and shall be registered under the Registration Act, 1908.
(2) The responsibility of getting such Agreement registered shall be on the landlord and in the absence of the written registered agreement, the contention of the tenant about the terms and conditions subject to which a premises have been given to him by the landlord on leave and licence or have been let to him, shall prevail unless proved otherwise.
(3) Any landlord who contravention the provisions of this section shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three months or with fine not exceeding rupees five thousand or with both”.
even if the premises are granted on leave and licence basis, if there is no written registered agreement, then licensee can contend to be a tenant and the burden of proof would like on the landlord to prove that such person is licensee and not a tenant.
M V Gupta
(Expert) 28 March 2012
I fully agree with the views of Mr.Harbhajan Singh on the question of burden of proving the payment of rents. The legal position is the same in all States.
V R SHROFF
(Expert) 29 March 2012
Dear Kiran, I cant read averment "in your case the payments were through cheque for which the tenant issued instructions for stop payment."
There is no issue of cheque that was stopped payment of.
As far as Mah is concerned, I Agree with Shri Ajay Sethi.
One more point: Eviction, or possession: tenancy is to be terminated by giving notice as per section 106 TPA and suit for possession is to be filed: will take due process of Law, and Courts favour Tenants, and certainly grant him time to pay in court.
Tenant can also claim std rent.
So it is not so easy to remove Tenant.
