Landlord trying to evict.

i am an elderly lady , residing in rental flat ,which was obtained my son , by signing a leave and licence agreement , four years ago .
every time , the agreement was for eleven months , and the rent was also enhanced , which we have been paying regularly .
1.during the fifth year , the estate agent who got us into this agreement , and the landlord's power of attorney , who is here in india , also a signatory on the agreement , started pestering us , that the landlord now wants to sell his flat ,and sent some strangers , at odd hours , to see the place.
2. my son was on an international travel for his work at that time ; however , we proposed that we would only buy the flat , instead of other parties .
3. seemingly , but actually cunningly , the landlord called me from U.S. , that he is ready for that . he is an indian .
4. my son sent him an email , confirming the deal , on the price asked by him.
5. suddenly , this gentleman changed gears , much to our chagrin and dismay , and sent me a notice to vacate the flat , in a month's time .
6. i lodged a police complaint , for fear of forcible eviction , as well as filed a civil suit , for the declaration as a tenant , and injuction .
This was about 10 months ago , and now i have made an appeal in the Disrict court , since the small causes' court said , that the competent authority , that is MHADA , has to decide in this matter.
Though the defendents have gone to the authority now , and i have received a notice , to give my reply in a fortnight , which i would be submitting ,
i needed advice and counsel ,in the following areas.
a. as per the rent control act , the LL agreement has to be registered by the landlord , which the party has never done , and we were not aware of the rules ,
b. a security deposit has been paid to them .
c. can the case be contested on the grounds of non-registration of the LL agreement , to establish me as a tenant , and not a licencee ?
i have a telephone connection , a broadband internet connection , and a ration card on my name , with the written permission from the power of attorney .
What exactly should be the base of the arguement , for establishing me as a tenant , and prevent them , under the appropriate provisions of law , from getting an order for eviction ?
i am still ready to buy the flat , but they must come round.
Though i have an advocate who is handling this , i thought of approaching the forum , for expert advice , and a second opinion.
kindly advise ,
Shobhana .

[OHlandlord]

I am not an expert in LL - Tenant law in your country, but I do have a few questions.

What are the consequences for not registering the rental agreement with the local authorities? Can you find the law on this and see what the penalty is? It may remove some of the LL's rights if he failed to register it as required. It may provide you with a reason to fight an eviction.

You stated that each lease was written for 11 months. Do you have a current term lease? When does it expire? Most country's laws say a LL cannot evict a tenant who has a current term lease, who is current on rent payments, and who has no lease violations. In the US, if a LL sells the property with a tenant in place (who meets the above conditions) the lease must transfer to the new owner and he must honor the lease to its end. Notices to vacate cannot be given in the middle of a lease here. What does Indian law say on termination during a lease? If your lease is expired, he may be able to give you notice to vacate.

When he accepted your offer to buy the unit, was any paperwork completed on this deal? Was it merely an e-mailed offer? Do you have a copy of the e-mail where he replied, accepting your offer to buy? You may be able to use this to show that he had accepted the purchase offer from you.

Lastly, is there a requirement in your law for prior notice before entering the premises? Many states in the US have a law that requires the LL or the sales agent to give you prior notice (usually 24 hours notice) to enter the property to show it to prospective buyers. They may come during the day or evening, but not during odd hours (like at night). Many sales agents here will make an arrangement with a tenant to show the unit on weekends from 2-4 p.m. and/or on one evening per week. Is this something that could be worked out with the agent as a compromise?

The security deposit is another matter separate from any sale. This money is to be used by the LL in the event that a tenant does damage to a property. If there is no damage when you move out, the deposit is returned to you. If there is some damage from the tenant, a statement of what money was deducted from the deposit is mailed to the tenant with a check for the remaining monies.

Please try to research the issues above and let us know what you find. Hopefully someone with more experience in your country's law will reply here.

Get a life Shobana. Gautam and Umesh cannot keep bailing you out. You are too old to be getting into trouble like this.

First of all , thanks to an unknown character , who has given some unasked for advice ,by quoting personal names !
Now turning to the expert ,who has studied the matter in-depth , and raised some pertinent questions.
1. Though according to the revised Rent Control Act, the penalty for non-registration of a leave and licence agreement is paying a fine as well as jail , the so-called Competent Authority , which is a sort of semi-legal affair ,never awards it to the landlord, and gives it's decision marely on the basis of a stamp paper of hundred rupees , which the landlord signs , and also gets the signatures of the licensee , and produces it as the valid agreement.
If there is no deterrent, which landlord is going to bother to register it in the Society's Registration office , by paying more amount ?
2. In case of a negative verdict by the competent authority , a licensee can appeal to the Commossioner for Revenue, to process the case for technical slags. Fighting the case in the High Court , and even Supreme Court are open.
Presently, the case made by me in the Civil Court for Declaration as a Tenant , and Injuction on eviction is on.
3. only problems were lack of written evidence about buying the said flat , except for an email from the estate agent , mentioning the transaction talk , and the so-called agreement on my son's name , whereas the plaintiff is myself for the civil suit.
4. No new agreement was made after Aug. 2007. by the landlord. He wasn't even ready to wait till the completion of the latest one, at that time.
5. Presently, till such time as the judgement is given, i am in the legal possession of the premises, and have all the documentary evidence.
6. we want that the landlord should keep his word and should not sell the flat to some bosy else, while i maintained and kept it in good condition for six years.

[OHlandlord]

The main problems I see for you are twofold.

First, your LL never bothered to register your lease and make you the registered tenant of the property. He has neglected this duty for 6 years now! Go and find documentation for the past 6 years that you have lived there. Look for utility bills in your name, newspaper or magazine subscriptions, drivers license or government IDs, anything that shows you have resided there for that length of time that has your name and that address listed. Also find copies of former lease agreements. Send this information to the governing authority to help prove your case as a tenant. From what I understand of your country's law, there are benefits to being registered as the tenant and not simply as a licensee. It would appear that your LL tried to skirt this law by only giving you an 11 month lease (and not a year's lease) to seem that you have not stayed the required year. You need to be the registered tenant so find all documentation you can on this. Perhaps also check voting registration, visa or passport documents - any government issued documents will help! Whether he is fined is not important. The important thing is that you get registered.

The second problem is that the LL has failed to renew your lease. That makes you a tenant at will or a month to month tenant and takes away your rights to reside at the unit. Had he registered you as a tenant there, he probably would not be able to do this. As I understand it, you have the option to continue to stay in the unit as a registered tenant under the rent control acts. But since he has failed to register you and failed to renew your lease, he is trying to go around it. Keep any and all documentation you have of your offer to buy the house. Get copies of the internet provider records to show the internet addresses those e-mails came from (so you can prove they came from the LL's e-mail address). Get pre-approval from a bank that shows you have the means to buy the house at the price offered. That way when you go to court, show the judge the e-mails that offer to allow you to buy the house, the records that prove the offer came from the LL, and the bank letter that says you have the means to buy it. Please keep us updated on this as it progresses. Good luck.

Thank you so much for an expert advice !
Yes, i did collect the old bills , like the telephone with a broadband connection, electricity bills , though on the landlord's name , but paid regularly by me , a bank statement from where i have the savings account , showing the entries of the amount of rent paid by me every month by cheques ; A ration card mentioning the name of myself and my son as the residents at the said flat .
i have a passport and a U. S. visa , but the adress on the passport is different as i was residing elsewhere at that time.
Now the problem is , what are the grounds on which our application for the scrutiny of the case by the Revenue Department should be accepted ? Since the applicants , that is the landlord had filed a caveat , three months have elapsed , but the Commissioner hasn't even issued a notice to them , for appearing before him to discuss the matter.
The infrastructure involved in both the hearings is absolutely vulnerable, with a lot of scope for corrupt practices. Therefore , the only hope is the proper small causes' court , which is full-fledged judiaciary system , more strigent , and better regulated , hopefully ,of course !
My next date is on the 12th Nov. for crossquestioning by the defendent's advocate , as i have already testified about the documentary evidence submitted in original on the earlier date.
Any guidelines for the same ,on how to handle it ? i have an Advocate to represent me , but for the crossquestioning ,i have to stand in the box.
Looking for your valued support and expert advice.

All I can advise at this juncture is to make it well known that you have resided at this address for the period of time that you have lived there. Get the LL to acknowledge the fact that you have had leases at that address for many years and that they have been renewed. If you are permitted, question why the application for registration was never completed in any of the years you have lived there. Prior to court, find out the requirements of registration (what qualified you as a tenant), and get him to admit to the facts of those. (Basically, admitting you were qualified to be registered, but that he just never did it.) Your attorney can probably advise you better than I on the intricacies of this local procedure. Ask him what points you need to try to emphasize and get across at this hearing. Find out what the LL's main point will be - what will he be trying to prove? Then try very hard not to admit to whatever that is if you can. Please update us after the hearing.

Thanks again , for a very competent and thoughtful counsel .
Some more details i would like to add , prior to the updates in due course.
1. As the LL supposedly lives out of India , all the paper work was done by his power of attorney , whom he subsequently changed , after my filing the suit in the small causes' court ; appointed another POA , who actually resides in Goa, that is outside our State. But he has cleverly given the local address.
2. All those eye-wash agreements , not properly registered , are intialled by my son , whereas , i have stayed there throughout. But those papers do not include my name as such , except for the clause that my son's family can stay in the said flat.
Under these circumstances , how do i prove my claim to be a tenant ?
i had taken the NOC's of the POA then , for getting a ration card and a telephone connection , on authentic court fee stamp paper , which clearly mentions both me and my son's name .
i have produced these as the documentary evidence in support of the fact , that they wanted to sell the place to us , eventually.
That's a pertinent point to ponder , what does the LL trying to prove ?
i am really appreciative of the emotional support i am getting through this dialogue.

The attorney can reside outside of the region - as long as he is licensed to practice law in that area. Call the board who registers attorneys in your area and ask if he is licensed in your court.

You had not mentioned previously that the agreements are not in your name. Does your son, in whose name the leases are written, also reside at the property? If so, this shouldn't matter. If, however, he does not live there, you may have a problem. You would not be considered a tenant since the tenant would be your son, who would not live there. You would be an occupant under your son's lease.

Make sure you provide copies of the emails which propose buying the property and the service provider's printout of ISPs which would show where the e-mails came from. Your son should call the service provider to obtain this record.

Your attorney would have a better idea of what the LL is trying to do. He may be trying to show that the lease holder, the son, doesn't live at the address (which is why he may not have registered the lease and named the son as a tenant). He may be attempting to show that no agreement on a sale was made. But getting an idea of his motive would allow you to form a defense to it prior to court,

i am sorry ,i should have mentioned earlier that the agreements are not in my name. Since my son was shown the said flat through an estate agent , the deal was made by him on his name. He used to come and stay sporadically , but now he has stays for more time with me in the flat.
Every time the agent handed over the photo copy of the said agreement , and i used to send it by courrier to my son for his initials , and then he would send it back to me ,to be given to the power of attorney,
There are no proper witness signatures also , and on two copies , they have been obtained later on.
2. i am referring to the power of attorney , who has been authorised by the LL to appear in the court on his behalf; His advocate is a local person . He changed the earlier power of attorney , who has signed all the agreements, and also given me the written permissions , to get the connections , and a ration card etc.
3. He had only approached me at the flat subsequently , to talk about the purchase . LL had made two international calls to me , and sent a negative mail later on. i have it's printouts.
4. Should we file another suit in the Small Causes' Court , by my son , to prove his tenancy ? Since the agreements are on his name ? Or alternatively , he can move the High Court , for that so-called Competent Authority's biased verdict , that the leave and licence agreements , though not registered , are acceptable ?
5. They are also claiming double rent ,for the period overstayed according to them.
How do we argue it ?
Our main strong point is the non-registration of the agreements, all of them , and my status as a Third Party which they are not prepared to accept.
Thanks for the interest and guidance in our case. Will keep posting feedback ,as the case progresses.