Property Archives - Page 2 of 7

What is the purpose of having receipts and copies of all the renting documents?

After you have signed your rent agreement, try to ask for the following receipts:

Rent Receipts
Security Deposit
Brokerage

These receipts will be helpful to show the record of money exchanged between you and the landlord/broker and for tax filing and House Rent Allowance (HRA) reimbursement purposes.

It is important to have copies of the following:

Rent/Lease/Leave and License agreement.
Police Verification form
Bill for utilities such as electricity, water etc.

Having copies allows you to use them as proof if you had to go to court, or as residence proof, proof of payment of expenses with the landlord etc.

Can the landlord increase my rent?

Your landlord can increase your rent at the end of your lease, but not in between. However, if it is a month-by-month lease, the landlord can give you a notice at any point and increase the rent from the following month.

During the police verification process done by a landlord, while I am renting a house, can the police come search my house?

No, if the police are coming to your house for the verification, it means that they are verifying your identity and the details you have given in the form. They will check the address and might possibly even come to your house, but they do not have a right to go around the house and inspect it.

Is it possible to use e-signatures/digital signatures to enter into a rent agreement?

No, you cannot use electronic signatures for rent agreements. Electronic signatures cannot be used for real estate contracts such as lease/rent agreements.(( Electronic signatures in India, https://acrobat.adobe.com/content/dam/doc-cloud/en/pdfs/electronic-signatures-in-india-uk.pdf))

What to do if tenants evicted without giving rent

If you are the landlord and the tenants vacated the house without paying rent, you can file a complaint to the police against your tenant. For this, you will have to go to the police station and file an FIR. You should make sure you give all the information you know about the incident and trouble you have faced with your tenant.

If you are a tenant without a lease agreement and you feel that the landlord is unfairly evicting you for non-payment of rent, please contact a lawyer for further help.

Tenant refusing to vacant house even giving notice

Even after giving notice, if the tenant refuses to vacate the property, this is a breach of contract because the tenant is violating the rent agreement. We would recommend that you contact a lawyer who can assist you based on your specific rent agreement.

If a police officer is refusing to take action on your complaint, then you can:

Write down the complaint and send it to the Superintendent of Police. If the Superintendent feels there is merit in the case, they can appoint a police officer to start an investigation.
Take the help of a lawyer while going to the police station. Lawyers can advocate on behalf of a person and reduce the possibility of harassment from police officers.
Approach the District/Judicial Magistrate directly to file a ‘private complaint’. Further, if a Magistrate thinks proper investigation is not being done by the officer-in-charge of a police station, the Magistrate can certainly direct the officer to make a proper investigation and can also monitor the investigation. So, you can apply to the concerned Magistrate for monitoring the police investigation, and the Magistrate can then issue appropriate directions for speedy completion of the investigation.

You can also file a complaint against the Investigating Officer for deliberately disobeying any law which regulates the manner of conducting an investigation. Under Section 166A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the officer can be punished with imprisonment for six months to two years, along with a fine.

What are the different kinds of disputes with respect to land and immoveable property?

Since land is considered to be one of the most important assets, the range of land-related disputes is huge. However, in this explainer, we will focus on the more common types of disputes, which include:

Right of Inheritance Disputes
Partition Disputes
Land Measurement Disputes
Land Encroachment and Boundary Disputes
Right of Way Disputes
Land Ownership Disputes

What are the laws being discussed?

This explainer deals with the purchase and sale of immovable property in India and various modes of acquisition of property. The same is governed by the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (“TP Act”); the Foreign Exchange Management Act,1999 (“FEMA”) and FDI Master Circular issued by the Reserve Bank of India on the subject matter. The explainer also aims to discuss foreclosed properties (property, which was kept as collateral for a home loan or mortgage but acquired by the money lender due to non-payment of three or more Equated Monthly Installments (EMIs)), the purchase of which is governed by the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest Act, 2002 (“SARFAESI Act”).

Searching for a House

Contact a Broker

When you decide to search for a house or a flat, you may need to contact a broker for the area in which you want to stay in. Brokers are usually paid only after you finalize a house and you sign the contract.

Inspect

Depending on the kind of house (furnished/unfurnished) that you want, you should physically inspect the house to see if all your requirements are fulfilled.

Some basic requirements of a house such as permanent fixtures of water supply, electrical fittings like bulbs, fan etc. should ideally be there in any kind of house you take. Try and negotiate with the landlord/licensor regarding any requirements that you have.

Token Money

If you want some time to think about whether you want to take the house, you can block it by paying token money to the landlord. Paying token money is optional and its purpose is to make sure that the landlord does not show the flat to any other possible tenants/licensee. If you have paid token money, ask for a receipt for the same.

Token money payments are a practice that is not regulated by law.

Be careful when you give the money since taking action against a landlord to get your token money back may be difficult.

What are inheritance rights?

When it comes to immovable property, inheritance refers to the transfer of a property’s ownership after the death of an individual. The ideal way to ensure smooth transfer of property ownership following someone’s death is through a will^{(( To know more about wills, read our explainer – https://nyaaya.org/topic/will/))}.

However, if there is no will, i.e., an intestacy, law of inheritance applies to decide distribution of the property. In India, personal laws, customary laws and legislative laws govern the law of inheritance of property e . The broad laws are the Hindu Succession Act 1956 and Islamic personal laws.

Under the Hindu law of inheritance, a person/owner can deal with their self-acquired property as they like, but there are restrictions about transfer of ancestral property. The law gives certain family members a birthright to ancestral properties. Brothers and sisters are entitled to equal shares in the property of their mother or father under the Hindu law of inheritance. Here, the terms ‘son’ and ‘daughter’ include adopted sons and daughters, but not stepchildren.

If the survivors have a dispute over immovable property, and the owner of the property does not have a will, they can file a suit before court.

In the case of Muslim law of inheritance, the personal laws that apply depend on which sub-sect one belongs to, i.e., Sunni or Shia. The laws are not codified, which means that there is no act setting them down. For Sunnis following Hanafi Law, personal law restricts legacies to a maximum of one-third of the estate remaining after taking care of funeral expenses, outstanding wages of domestic servants and debts.