Landlord – Tenant Issues Rising prices of commodities and increasing inflation has adversely affected the life of a common man in India. The yearning for a better livelihood and the urgency to provide for the needs of one’s family usually makes a person take endeavours outside his native place in search of employment or to enhance his chances for better employment by pursuing higher studies. Buying a property or building one is completely out of question for many of such people, leaving them with the only option of living in a rented house. Although renting a house is a good enough solution, the issues accompanying it make it a complex and rather difficult undertaking. Both landlords and the tenants have their own concerns when it comes to renting a property. For a tenant, finding a house suitable for him with affordable rent and housing and a reasonable landlord is, as hard as it is for a landlord to find a sensible tenant who won’t create problems for him and his property. Here, we have done an analysis about the common issues between landlords and tenants along with solutions which may prove instrumental in solving such problems. As the problems between the landlords and tenants differ when viewed from their respective angles, it’s essential to study the issues from both perspectives. Following are some usual problems faced by tenants, ranging from minor to major magnitude. We shall discuss/analyse each problem from the perspective of both the landlord and the tenant. 1. Regulating basic amenities like water beyond the normal limits: This happens in many rented places in India. In many regions, the water tank is shared among the tenants and the switch activating the water pump/motor is situated at the landlord’s place, who must be informed if the need arises to refill the tank. Claiming that the tenants are very careless in spending water, often the landlords may regulate the amount of water to be used each day, creating problems for the tenants. From the Tenant’s point of view Water being the most commonly used resource in every household, is bound to be spent in a substantial amount as it’s used in nearly every household chore. If water is regulated beyond the normal limit, it will affect the functioning of the whole household and will rob the occupants off their peace. From the landlord’s point of view Many tenants have a habit of spending water in excess amount, especially when they are not liable to pay for it. If water is not regulated, the tenants will go on spending it in excess resulting in paramount electrical bills and other expenditures for the landlord. Solution: The best solution for this problem is: the tenants should be provided with connections to the government provided water pipelines for which they will have to pay monthly. If, due to some reason, the water pipelines cannot be accessed, the landlord and tenant should agree on a certain amount of water to be spent each day. 2. Damage to property or disregard to requests of repairs: Another problem faced in rental houses is damage or lack of maintenance of the rented property. Many a times, the tenants damage the house walls etc. While in other instances, the landlord turns a deaf ear to the tenants’ request to for repairs. From the Tenant’s point of view As the landlord is responsible for the repairs of the rented property, the tenant will naturally call him if any repairs are needed. However, many landlords don’t pay heed to such requests resulting in annoyance and sometimes serious household problems for the tenant. The tenant is often forced to do the repairs himself after which the landlord quarrels over the material of repairs etc. Sometimes, the required repairs are so huge and costly in nature that a tenant cannot incur them. From the landlord’s point of view A tenant is required to keep the occupied property of the landlord tidy and avoid any damages. However, many people have the habit of treating other’s property with less care than they are required to do. In many instances, it is found that tenants cause serious damages to the house as a result of carelessness and neglect. Such damages are usually discovered when the tenants are leaving the house. Solution: The tenant should ensure that advertently or inadvertently, he doesn’t cause any damage to the landlord’s property. He should take reasonable care of the property which he is occupying as a tenant. If he causes any serious damage, the landlord has the right o deduct the amount needed for repairs from the tenant’s security deposit. 3. Invasion of privacy Another problem usually faced by the tenants is: invasion of privacy by the landlord. Privacy is one of the most basic rights of every tenant. Tenants are entitled to live in their home environment undisturbed and with their privacy being respected. From the Tenant’s point of view Many tenants complain that the landlord invades their privacy under the pretext of unannounced inspection, or from the upper floors if the rented place is situated on the ground floor with an open lawn or in any other way. Even if it’s unintentional sometimes, it does violate the privacy of the tenant. From the landlord’s point of view If let uninspected periodically, some tenants disfigure or damage the property resulting in loss for the landlord. If there are periodical inspections, the tenant will be careful enough to maintain the rented property as per the norms. Solution: The landlord should be approached by the tenant and he should be asked to respect the tenant’s privacy. Every tenant has the right of privacy and not even the landlord could violate it. If the landlord still does not seem to respect the tenant’s privacy even after being asked to do so, the tenant may take steps like screening up his place to protect it from unwanted scrutiny. If the landlord objects, the tenant can go to the authorities. 4. Non-provision of basic facilities: A common landlord-tenant issue in India. Many tenants complain that their landlords do not provide basic facilities like garbage disposal cans for them. Common complains also include improper lighting, absence of safety fences or inept daily maintenance of shared facilities etc. Solution: It is the duty of the landlord to provide such facilities as garbage disposal cans, proper lighting of the area and safety fences as required. If he fails to do so, he is compromising the safety of the tenants, in which case the tenants have the right to demand proper facilities. It may be however noted that the landlord has the right to inspect his property by visit the place provided that he gives prior notification to the tenant. However, it’s also the responsibility of the landlord to undertake any repairs if required as requested by the tenant. The landlord should not turn a deaf ear to any request of repairs from the tenant. He should inspect the damage and make arrangements to have it permanently repaired. 5. Increase in rent: The landlords sometimes increase the rent on the rented property citing any number of reasons. Although the landlords may cite genuine grounds for the increase, sometimes, the hike will be such that the tenants will feel burdened. Solution: The laws governing the rents are very much pro-tenant in our country. If there is any unreasonable hike in the rents which was not mentioned in the agreement between the tenant and the landlord, the tenant may approach the court. The court case may be a prolonged one owing to the usual slowness in procedures. However, it may be noted that in 2011, the Supreme Court had drafted a model landlord-tenant agreement promising tenants five years of peaceful stay in the premises if they give rent at market rate and increase it by 10% every three years and pay the property tax for the house. 6. Non payment of rent OR denial of paid rent Undeniably, it is the most common problem from where all the landlord-tenant arguments usually start. Sometimes, either the tenant makes inexplicable delays in paying the rent or the landlord denies that a rent has been paid when it has been done so. From the Tenant’s point of view Although this problem is not as common as the one mentioned above, it still exists and causes troubles for many tenants. Some landlords just deny that the rent has been paid. This denial may be an attempt to evict a tenant on false grounds. From the landlord’s point of view The most frustrating of problems for a landlord is when the tenant does not pay the rent on time. Rent is a source of income for the landlord and it is his right to be paid timely. Delay in payment of rents may even make the landlord serve an eviction notice to the tenant. Solution: The solution to the problem, from perspectives of both the landlord and the tenant, is: maintaining a proper receipt book and keeping records of all payments. The tenant should ask for a receipt on every payment which can be used as a proof against any false claim of non payment by the landlord. Similarly, well kept records of the payments will strengthen the position of the landlord in case he tries to evict the tenant for non payment of rents. 7. Eviction: The most serious of problems faced by a number of tenants across the country. Eviction relates to the order by the landlord to the tenant to leave the rented property. Tenants are ordered to vacate the rented property, sometimes due to a genuine reason and sometimes without any genuine reason. It should be remembered that a tenant cannot be evicted from the rented property unless and until: a) The specified period in the agreement ends. b) The tenant wilfully fails to pay the rent even after a certain amount of time (which differs from state to state) since the due date of the rent. c) The tenant allows someone else to occupy the home or rented place without the written consent of the landlord. (However, the tenant has the right to have guests.) d) The tenant uses the rented place for some other activity than the one mentioned in the agreement. e) The tenant carries out an act which results in the loss of value of the rented property. f) The tenant uses the building for any purpose which is considered illegal or immoral by the law. g) The neighbourhood residents give a written statement that the tenant’s stay is objectionable to them due to his annoying attitude or acts. h) The tenant denies the landlord, the title of ownership for unknown reasons, since a tenant is not allowed to disown the landlord or assert title to the property. A landlord cannot attempt an eviction unless he has a genuine ground to do so. The list of genuine grounds or reasons differs from state to state. However, apart from those reasons, a landlord can ask a tenant to vacate his property on the following reasons too: I. The landlord needs the premises for his own occupation or for his family’s occupation. II. If the landlord wants to do repairs of such magnitude that they cannot be done with anyone occupying the premises. III. If the landlord wants to demolish the building. In case of eviction, the landlord must serve a notice to the tenant before 30 days. Solution: If any of the above reasons are not found or if the landlord tries to force the tenant out on false grounds, the tenant can enforce the right of protection against unreasonable eviction by filing a case in the civil court. The rental laws in India, which have been termed as ‘pro-tenant’ by many experts, will ensure that such eviction is avoided. 8. Squatting: Squatting refers to the act of occupying a premises without the permission of the landlord. In other words, squatting means the continuation of a tenant’s stay on the rented property even though the landlord has ordered his eviction. This is also a serious problem among the landlord-tenant problems. It is beyond annoying when a landlord cannot evict a tenant from a building or a house which he himself owns. Some instances have been reported of the tenants abusing the laws and forcing the landlord to pay huge amounts of money to evict the property. Solution: The best solution for squatting is to make a leave and licence agreement while renting the premises and avoiding a rental contract. In case a rental contract has been already signed or the tenant is trying to approach the court, it is better –based on circumstances- to make a settlement with the tenant because, in case of a rental contract, a court case will be much prolonged and the tenant will continue his stay. 9.Problems in reclaiming the security deposit: Before occupying a new house on rent, a tenant is required to pay some months’ rent in advance which is termed as security deposit. This deposit acts as a type of security in case the tenant does not pay his rent on time or damages the property in any way. When the tenant is leaving a rented property, he or she is entitled to reclaim the security deposit paid in the initial period of the stay. However, many landlords are not willing to return the money and the tenants have to go through a lot of complications and troubles to reclaim the money they had paid as the security deposit. Even then, the landlord deducts money claiming ‘damage’ to the property allegedly caused by the tenant during his stay. The landlords may also deny that the deposit was ever paid or claim that they had returned the amount without having done so. Solution: The solution for security deposits related problems is: the government should make it necessary for the landlords to open a separate account to deposit the security amount. If the landlord wants to claim money out of the amount for genuine purposes like default by the tenant in payment of rent etc. Then he should provide a written statement to the bank. A Similar law exists in the state of New Jersey in United States of America and this has greatly reduced the security deposit related problems. The tenant should always ask for a receipt whenever a payment is made, especially for the security deposit. The landlord, however, has the right to deduct money as per the requirements in case of non-payment of rent or any damage caused by the tenant to the property which is beyond normal wear and tear. 10. Prolonged procedure in court cases: The reason of increase in the landlord-tenant issues is the prolonged procedure in case a lawsuit is filed. Even if it is an open and shut case, the courts in India take it so long to solve a single dispute that the purpose of the case is lost and the wrong doers get more and more confident to commit such irregularities due to the knowledge that a court will take several years to reach a verdict. Due to this, many landlords and tenants who have rightful claims are afraid to go to the court and simply make a settlement with the other party. Solution: The only solution for this problem is fast court procedures. If justice is swift, wrong doers and fraudsters will feel discouraged to commit crimes and innocents and rightful owners of a certain claim will get their dues, resulting in increased trust in the government. How to avoid landlord-tenant issues: In order to avoid landlord-tenant issues, its essential that both, the tenant as well as the landlord understand their responsibilities. a. When renting a property, a landlord should ensure that the people to whom he is renting the property are fair and reasonable people. b. The tenants, when selecting a house to occupy on rent, must also ensure that it is owned by a fair and reasonable landlord. Good faith and goodwill are very important for both the landlord and the tenant. c. The landlord must provide all necessary facilities as promised to the tenants. d. The tenants must utilise the provided facilities in such a way that they are not damaged. e. Even with a landlord is good and outgoing, the tenants must keep written records and ask for receipts whenever making payments. f.If the tenants ask for receipts for their payments, the landlord must provide them and also keep written records pertaining to any issue regarding the tenancy. This is not contrary to good faith. Impact of landlord-tenant problems on real estate: The landlord-tenant issues have a profound impact on the real estate market worldwide and especially in India. A huge part of the real estate investments resides in apartments or houses let out or rent. However, the increasing issues in this regard are causing a sense of gloom among the investors in this market. Many real estate investors are backing away from the housing-for-rent market because of the troubles it causes and the comparatively low income it gives. The main reasons which give rise to the landlord-tenant issues are: 1.The absence of proper laws and in some case, equally fair laws is giving an advantage to wrong doers who are finding loopholes to commit frauds and abuse the laws. Complete, fair and well structured laws are required which delve in these issues in detail and provide with complete directives to address such problems. 2.The court procedures in our country are too slow even in solving small cases. In many instances, a case is dragged on for 10 years before a verdict is reached. These procedures are needed to be speeded up to solve such issues as it will assure the citizens who follow the law that their interests won’t be harmed. It will also discourage the wrong doers from abusing the law due to this particular flaw of abnormal delay in solving cases.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 10:54:00 +0000