How do you evict a tenant, as per the Rights of Tenant in India?

Finding a tenant is simple and one of the most convenient ways to earn money; nonetheless, renting out one’s property to a stranger involves a significant risk. Especially when it comes to situations where you need to evict a renter who is neither paying rent nor quitting the premises.

Nowadays, landlords take extreme pains to avoid such situations and are well-versed in the rules and regulations relating to rental legislation, landlords’ and tenants’ rights in India, as outlined in the Rent Control Act issued by the Government of India in 1948. The State Governments implemented this Act to manage property rentals and evictions of tenants. A Rent Agreement must be executed between the landlord and the tenant under this Act, indicating the facts of the rented property, the rent period, the monthly rent amount, and the parties involved.

Read: Supreme Court Judgements

In India, there are several grounds for evicting a tenant.

If there is a justifiable and valid justification for such a measure, landlords in India might launch an eviction complaint against the tenant. In India, the following are the grounds for evicting a tenant:

• The tenant has purposefully failed to pay a mutually agreed-upon rent sum for more than 15 days after the due date.
• The tenant sublet a rented property to another person without first obtaining permission from the landlord or submitting a written request.
• The renter has used rented premises for illegal purposes or for reasons different than those specified in the rental agreement.
• Any action taken by the renter has resulted in a decrease in the property’s value or utility.
• The neighborhood has considered the renter’s actions to be disagreeable, and the landlord has received a complaint against the tenant.
• For an unclear reason, the renter has purposefully challenged the landlord’s ownership to the rented property.
• The landlord requires their property for personal use or for the use of a family member.
• The landlord need their property for repairs and renovations, which cannot be done unless the property is vacated.
• The landlord wishes to erect another structure, which will necessitate the demolition of the property.

In India, How Do You Evict a Tenant?

Following the establishment of the reasons for the eviction, the following procedure must be followed:

Stage I — Send a Notice to Vacate to the Tenant: An eviction notice must be filed in the relevant court, stating the basis for eviction as well as the time and date by which the tenant must depart the property, and is then sent to the renter to quit the rental property. The landlord must offer the renter a fair amount of time to quit the rented property. After getting a formal notice from the court, the majority of tenants vacate the rented premises.

Stage II — File an Eviction Suit: After obtaining the court’s eviction notice, the tenant may refuse to depart the rented property and dispute the eviction. In this instance, the landlord can retain the services of a rental property attorney to file an eviction claim against the renter. The tenant’s eviction petition is filed in the civil court that has jurisdiction over the rented property.

Stage III — Final Eviction Notice: Based on the arguments and facts presented, the court hears both sides and gives a final legal notice of eviction to the tenant. Once the court issues the final eviction notice, the tenant must remove the rented property.

This is the method of evicting a renter in India; nevertheless, evicting a tenant without a rental agreement is challenging because there is no proof of property being delivered to the tenant on rent.

How can you avoid being evicted illegally in India?

The Supreme Court of India has ruled that landlords cannot evict a tenant for at least 5 years if the rent is paid on time, unless the landlord has a real need for the property. Other things that must be avoided while evicting a tenant include:

• The rent agreement must be drafted with the assistance of a property lawyer and must include important provisions relating to the use of the property, termination of the rent agreement, rent amount, and so on.
• The lease must be for a maximum of 11 months and provide an option for renewal. It provides future protection against eviction issues.
• The grounds for eviction must be justifiable under the rental regulations of the state in which the property is located.
• The landlord must not use unfair eviction measures such as cutting off basic utilities such as electricity or water, changing the locking mechanism of the rented home, throwing away the tenant’s goods, or other punitive actions on his own. These are criminal offenses, and if proven guilty, the tenant has the right to pursue charges against the landlord.
• A landlord may not evict a tenant without first serving an eviction notice.
• Before renting the property to someone, a background check must be performed.

What steps should be taken if the tenant fails to pay the rent?

The lease agreement should preferably include action plans in the event of nonpayment of rent. Nonetheless, non-payment of rent is one of the most common reasons for eviction under state tenancy laws. A legal notice could be given to the renter in question, detailing the rent owed, requesting the tenant to comply or vacate, and outlining the next steps if the tenant does not reply in either way.