Khushroo Dumasia (Operations) 02 December 2014

Rent agreement - query

Hi,

We are a tenant for a commercial property currently. We have done a leave and license agreement on Rs. 100 Stamp Paper non-judicial. The owner prepared this agreement in Dec 2011. There is a deposit of Rs.50k with him. The agreement includes a paragraph on duration of lease which says the licensee shall use the premises for certain computed period of five years, and shall have the option of renewing the agreement for more five years.

There is a clause on notice period which says in case the licensee needs to leave the premise in the agreed period then 6 months written notice is to be served.

Now we have completed three years of being here and we thought to give him a written notice for 6 months. The owner is rejecting us saying that the deed is for 5 CERTAIN COMPUTED YEARS which means 5 years we HAVE TO stay and if we want to leave then pay for 2 years rent. I have the following queries:

1. Is Rs.100 stamp paper non judicial legally valid for benefit of owner in this case?

2. Does the meaning of certain computed period be the same as what the owner is mentioning?

3. What is the solution to this problem for me?

Thanks in advance.

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1 Replies

Augustine Chatterjee,New Delhi (Advocate & Solicitor at Law) 03 December 2014

This case is basically a result of what happens when a rent/ lease agreement is poorly drafted. You see , in every rent agreement which stands to be for a stipulated period, there is usually a clause which talks about the repurcussions in case the said agreement is to be terminated before the period expires.

A proper opinion would be possible only if you show me the contract/ agreement once. However judging by what you said, I can infer that the termination clause is independent of the pendency of the period. That means you can terminate the contract by giving an advance notice of 6 months and you shall not be liable to pay any rent for the period thereafter.

Even if the landlords argument is co nsidered. he can at max ask you for damages and not for the rent. Tat too damages that he manages to prove that he ha really incurred. Such cases are hard to prove for landlords as most people fail to understand the difference betweem damages and compensation..

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