The subtenant filed a Court case against the legal heirs of the deceased tenant. Am I right?
I suggest that the owner must file a Court case against the legal heirs of the deceased tenant and the subtenant seeking their eviction and payment of arrears in rent and an injunction not to sublet or create any further third party encumbrance.
If the subtenant paid any rent advance or deposit to the tenant, the owner cannot be held responsible for that. The legal heirs of the tenant and the subtenant must sort it out among themselves. The owner may mention it in his Court case but it is not really his concern.
The owner should send legal notices to the legal heirs of the tenant also, in addition to legal notices sent to the subtenant. Maintain copies of all legal notiices and file them as documents within the Court case. The legal notices must be carefully drafted. Incorrect drafting of legal notices will be disadvantageous.
The owner should mention in his Court case that the subtenant already filed a Court case and give its details such as case number and so on. These facts should not be concealed.
Is there a registered or unregistered rental agreement? Is it only oral agreement? What does it say about subletting? If the rental agreement says subletting is not allowed, but still the tenant has sublet to the subtenant, then it becamoes a very good ground for eviction.
Different states have different rent control laws. Landlord tenant issues are dealt by Rent Controller Courts. Though the rent control laws of different states are different, there are some similarities among them. Which state is the rental property situated? Does the state have any rent control law?
In some states, rents below 60,000 per year come under the jurisdiction of Rent Control Act. What is the corresponding rent limit for your state? What is the rent of this property?
Depending on your state and Rent Control Act, we also need to find out whether the Rent Control Act is applicable or not.
Consult a couple of good local lawyers and please act quickly.
