Akshay Raina 13 May 2020

Landlord forcing us to pay rent

Hello everyone,
I just wanted to ask for your legal opinion on this. My brother signed a contract as a tenant to rent out an apartment in mumbai with 2 roommates. They deposited 75000 as security and fixed a rent of 30000 per month.

Now during the covid crisis, the landlord still kept pressuring them for the rent and she makes her lawyer do the talking who says things like its your "legal obligation" to pay her. And that they needed to give her a notice of 30 days before leaving.

So they gave her the notice in April, and as all 3 are in their home towns and not in mumbai, she told them that she'll look for a new tenant and will pack up their bags and put them aside.

This month her lawyer called them again saying that she wants her full rent as long as the bags are still in her property. They still have the screenshot of the chat where she agreed to pack up and pyt aside their bags. now because she isn't getting any new tenant, she is extorting money from them.

she said the rent will only stop when one of them physically comes to the apartment and take their bags home. in a time when travelling is banned and trains and flights are not running

Is this legal? using a pandemic as an excuse to keep asking for money?

Thanks for reading

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6 Replies

(Guest)

Landlord cannot insist/demand any rent from tenants in the wake of pandemic Covid-19 lockdown imposed by Govt and particularly Govg has made it clear not to demand rents in prsent circumstances. You can file a police complaint to redress the grievance.

G.L.N. Prasad (Retired employee.) 14 May 2020

This was the member's query: Is this legal? using a pandemic as an excuse to keep asking for money?

This question is from every prudent and normal citizen::Is this legal? using a pandemic as an excuse to evade rent and harass a landlady whose sustenance is only the rent from that property

If you do not wish to pay rent or postpone the payment exploiting the present situation and weakness of a lady, you may await for her to proceed legally as is like a lady proceeding legally and using her advocate for talking and never used force to evict you at a place like Mumbai.

Kishor Mehta (CEO) 14 May 2020

Since you have already submitted the statutory one month's notice in April your responsibility to pay rent ceases from May. It is not necessary to submit notice in person. The landlord can not demand rent for your articles lying in the premises, she can ask you to remove them within a reasonable time failing which she can confiscate them after following the legal procedure.

KISHAN DUTT KALASKAR (Advocate) 14 May 2020

You may pleas read my Article on this Topic published today on the website.

1 Like

P. Venu (Advocate) 14 May 2020

you may try to work out an amicable settlement. All the instructions/orders issued by various Governments are only advisories having no force of law.

Dr J C Vashista (Advocate) 14 May 2020

The landlady is well within her rights to collect rent for the demised premises during the period of agreement and possession.

The rent agreement is in vogue wherein you are under contractual obligation to pay rent regularly and/or vacate. However you can not invoke the doctrine of "force de majure" i.e., "act of God" on the pretext of COVID-19.

However, you may request her for deferment.