Tenant is absconded without paying rent

aman (Querist) 17 May 2025 This query is : Resolved
Respected experts

I have a commercial property and I had given a floor of this property to someone on rent ,he opened a consultancy office in our building .in October 2024 he informed us that his office will be closed for few days .since then he did not returned back and did not pay the rent also ..his all furniture and fixtures are still in that premises ..we came to know that police has registered a fraud case on him ..after some days he contacted us from an international mobile number and said he has been framed in a false case and soon he will return back and resume his office in out building and asked us some time ..we said ok ..now it has been 8 months sometimes he pleaded that he has invested money to make this office so he will pay the rent and will take his furniture fixtures ..some times he says he will sell his furniture fixture and will pay the rent ..we were having this conversation of selling his furniture fixtures with him via whatsapp calls and whatsapp chats .. last month he said he is sending someone he will purchase his furniture fixtures and will pay our rent ..but no one came then I informed him via whatsapp msg that now we can not wait and we are selling your belongings by ourselves and will recover our rent ,he said ok …now suddenly after 15 days he is messaging that he will pay our rent and asked us not sale his belongings ..but he did not mention when he will pay and when he will vacate the premises ..I replied him that he has 7 days time to pay the rent else we will sell his belongings because we have to give this premises to another party ..his rent agreement is ending in july 2025 ..
Kindly guide me what to do in this case ..neither he is not paying the rent nor giving the date on which he will pay the rent amount.. we are helpless our premises is occupied we can not give it to any other person ..we have talen loan from bank to construct this building ..can we sell his belongings to recover our rent …

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A landlord is seeking advice after a commercial tenant absconded without paying eight months' rent, leaving behind furniture. The tenant has made various promises to pay and vacate, but has failed to do so. The landlord is unsure about the legal recourse, particularly regarding recovering the unpaid rent and selling the tenant's belongings, especially since the rental agreement is unregistered. Experts advise issuing a legal notice for eviction and rent arrears, and potentially filing a suit under the Transfer of Property Act, while clarifying the implications of unregistered agreements under Indian law.

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Expert) 17 May 2025
You serve a legal eviction notice on him to his known address and send a copy to his whatsapp contact too giving him time to vacate the premises within one month because he has wilfully defaulted in rental payment and after that you may file an eviction suit to evict him from the premises.

aman (Querist) 17 May 2025
Dear T. Kalaiselvan Sir

Thanks for kind reply ..I want to know if I file an eviction suit ,can I claim my rent amount which he did not pay for 8 months ? Will court give order him to pay rent amount ? Or whats the procedure to recover the rent ..

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Expert) 18 May 2025
If it was a registered rental agreement you can claim the arrears of rental amount in the eviction suit itself along with the relief of eviction.

aman (Querist) 18 May 2025
Sir,
Agreement was created on 500 Rupees stamp paper and it was notarised..

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Expert) 18 May 2025
It is an unregistered rental agreement hence the relief under latest rent control act would not be entertained hence you may have to file a suit for eviction under transfer of property act.
You issue a legal notice instructing him to vacate the premises by giving him two months time as mandated by law for wilful default in rental payment and also demand payment of arrears of rental amount also.
You may consult a local lawyer and proceed as suggested

aman (Querist) 18 May 2025
Sir
Why Indian law so complicated and biased..? I have constructed my building by taking loan ..don’t I have liability and expenses ? and if I have made agreement on 500 stamp paper ..so I have paid stamp amount to government why this confusion of registered and unregistered? And if it is unregistered then any one got this right to occupy my premises without paying rent ? Already he dint pay 8 months rent by making fake promises ..now I will give two more months ! And then also I don’t have any right to claim my rent ! Strange law !! If he would have vacated my premises on time I would have rented to someone else ,at-least I would get my rent amount ..thats why normally people afraid to got to police and court ..

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Expert) 18 May 2025
You cannot blame Indian law if you have ignored the procedures of law.
You have purchased the property for your benefit following the proper procedures of law but in order to avoid legal formalities you have not registered the rental agreement though the law has mandated it by the latest rent control and enacted throughout India in the year 2020.
You were keeping silent without taking any legal action against the tenant for 8 months without initiating any legal action to evict him but you blame the Indian law for your own fault.
Nobody restricted you from taking legal action against the tenant for his wilful default instead you are strangely accusing Indian law to cover your own mistakes.
It is upto you to take any legal action as per law at least now or keep grumbling by playing blame games.

aman (Querist) 18 May 2025
No sir I am not playing any blame game ! I just wanted some clarity about this law system .. If there is such rent control law and unregistered agreement is mandatory then why lawyers and notary people are making unregistered agreement in court ? Why government is allowing this practice ? Most of the population make agreements on 100 or 500 rupees stamp paper as per state law ..and by purchasing these stamp paper money is being paid to government..then why unregistered agreement has no value ? Most of the population is unawared about registered and unregistered agreement .
A britisher I Jennings has said that the “Indian constitution is Lawyers paradise “ so the Indian law is …
I waited for 8 months because my tenant always convinced me that he will pay my rent and resume his office ..he always asked me some more time ..he played with my trust and patience ..
Apologies for my words…

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Expert) 18 May 2025
It is a fundamental principle of law that no one can take advantage of his own wrong.
If you have given time to the tenant then whose fault it is ?
If you are not aware of the law of the land who you think will teach you law unless you are interested to know about it.
The lawyers or the notary publics are doing their job as per the request made by the client.
The latest rent control act clearly mandates that a rental agreement has to be registered with the rental authority and if the period is more than 11 months it has to be registered before the sub registrar by a registered document.
Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act 2017, all rental agreements, regardless of duration, must be in written form and registered with the Rent Authority. If the tenancy period exceeds 11 months, registration with the Sub-Registrar Office is also required under the Registration Act, 1908.
Registering the agreement provides legal validity, protects both parties, and serves as crucial evidence in case of disputes.
While an unregistered agreement is still valid for leases less than 12 months, a registered document offers you greater legal protection, including being admissible in court as evidence.
Thus you may note that :
A person having done wrong cannot take advantage of his own wrong and plead bar of any law to frustrate the lawful issues to be enforced through law.

kavksatyanarayana (Expert) 20 May 2025
Even in some states like A.P., the lease is less than one year old and shall be registered. Notarised rent agreement is only for the understanding of the parties, but not valid in law.

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