Who is a tenant?
The rise in the migration from the rural to urban areas led to the development of usage of houses on rental basis. The purchasing capacity is not for everyone but one can stay and reside there based on rental basis. A tenant mainly refers to the person who takes up the property of the person and owns up with a payment made to the real owner of the property by cash or kind on regular intervals of time. A tenant is said to live on rent as well under which he/she completely does not become the owner of the property, however, with due recognition does have certain rights present which help him in living off the property. The money which is known to be the “rental” is the consideration which is made on the grounds that help the honoring the terms of the agreement.
Status of tenants in India:
India has a huge influence on the rental sector wherein the 27.37% of the total population comes under it which makes up to 21.72 million of the total population of the nation. The provision that has been made likewise has to be understood and made clear that the contribution of the rental sector makes up for 41.2% of the total income of the real estate sector. With such a great influence on the market as well as on the scheme present in India, it also needs to be taken into consideration that the 71% of the total residents who are tenants do not have a written agreement which can be honored. The tenants, with the mere payment of the rent lived and with failure to make the payment, resulted in the removal of the houses of the tenants which made it difficult for their survival in the urban areas.
Steps taken by the Government of India:
The Government of India accordingly, emphasized more on the compulsory reach of the Rent Control Act,1882 wherein it has put in the effort to inculcate the various steps to ensure the safety and security of the tenants as well as the owner of the property to systematically take course of action in case of a dispute arises. The various initiatives have been taken up by the Government are as follows ;
1. Leave and License Agreement:
Under Section 52 of the Indian Easement Act, 1882 the licensee is permitted to stay in the immovable property for a fixed and fixed period of time which is known as the license fee. The industrial working as well as for the workers residing in those areas can be considered to be of the need, who choose the agreement and work according to it.
2. Rental Agreement:
The agreement takes place under the various laws that exists in different states. The overall general consideration of the preamble of the agreement remains that the parties to the agreement i.e the landlord and the tenant, will abide by the terms of the contract, honor the terms of the contract and not violate any parts of the contract and provide a mutual relationship between both the parties. Thus, the breaking of rental agreement becomes difficult to misuse and the parties to the contract do not face any sort of harassment. The law states that any agreement that has been for a longer period of time must be registered under Section 17 and Section 49 of the Registration Act. Thus, the act secures the position of the tenants as well as the landlord successfully and prevents any further hindrances.
Rights of the Tenants in India:
The tenants in India have always suffered due to the ignorance of knowledge and often have been thrown out of their own homes which as a result has caused a huge degeneration and transfusion of the hindrance to the economy as well as the life of the tenant. However, with the rise of the Pandemic COVID-19, a lot of the tenants are being thrown out of their houses unnecessarily. However, the tenants must be known the various rights that have been provided to them. The various rights that a tenant holds are as follows:
1. Right to say no to oral agreements:
The tenants are permitted to hold their landlord accountable for seeking an oral agreement for the rent and can easily refuse per se. The rental agreement is needed and is a compulsion for the validity of the living of the tenant.
2. Right to enjoy peaceful possession:
The tenant is free to live off the land with privacy and independence to the day to day housing activity. The landlord is not allowed to enter or barge into the property without any reason.
3. Right not to leave the premises:
The tenant has the right to stay in the premises of the rented agreement as long as the time is ensured within the agreement. The tenant cannot be asked to leave the house unnecessarily or without a valid reason.
4. Right to receive the deposits:
The tenant has the right to receive the deposit at the time when the house is being vacated.
5. Right not to extend the tenancy:
The tenant has the power to choose for the extension of the time or to leave the house accordingly. The landlord cannot ask the tenant to forcefully increase the tenancy.
6. Right to prevent the increase of rent:
The tenant has the power to not increase the rent of the house unless discussed between both the parties to the agreement mutually consent to the increase in rent of the living of the tenant.
Conclusion:
The tenants have been provided with the various rights and play an important role in the development of the country’s economy as well as the functioning likewise. The rights provided have to be informed as well as spread as much as possible with the power to ensure the independency of the tenants while living off.
This article is authored by Dibya Prakash Lahiri, student of BA. LLB( Hons.) 2nd-Year at Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, New Delhi.
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