• Shop owner not returning the deposit amount

Hello All,
I took a shop on rent, the owner made the agreement paper for 11 months with no locking period except 1 month written notice before vacating the shop.
Deposit amount 10 lakhs.
Now after 5 month my business failed so I told him I want to leave the shop.
Now it's almost 3 months passed he says will return the amount once he get new people.
I have also got another person ready to take the shop bt the owner is not ready to talk or meet I have been following him for 3 days he is not responding
I have given him written application as well bt I am sure he will deny to this later.
Please tell me what can i do legally and how can i send him one more written notice of which I can keep the copy for future reference.
He doesn't have email. I have dropped msg. On phone and watsapp will they work?
The owner is quite rowdy and have lots of connections hence going to police is a waste of time.
It's 2 months left for 11months now.

Please suggest.
Asked 6 years ago in Property Law
Religion: Hindu

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12 Answers

Hello,

You may send a legal notice the said person for the same.

Also, if he refuses to return the money after the same then lodge a complaint with the police for cheating and fraud.

Also, you can file a suit for recovery of money in the civil court.

Regards

Anilesh Tewari
Advocate, New Delhi
18088 Answers
377 Consultations

You should serve a legal notice wine advocate to the landlord asking him to return the deposit amount, as well as interest for the period of delay and legal notice charges within 15 days of the receipt of the legal notice.

If he fails to comply within 15 days then you can approach Civil Court by filing a suit for recovery of money under order 37 CPC for recovery of your money which is the quickest legal remedy in the current situation to recover the money from your landlord.

Siddharth Jain
Advocate, New Delhi
6356 Answers
102 Consultations

Dear Client

Approach the nearest lawyer and send a legal notice to the owner that pay the amount in 15 days and other wise approach the compotent court.

Hemadri Chandrakanth
Advocate, Vijayawada
98 Answers
10 Consultations

Firslty, yes all the conversation which you have made via different modes of communication are valid as per law now to be used as an evidence.

Secondly, though you can take action against him by filing the suit for recorders of deposit amount in the civil court, but still you need to clarify one thing.

Thirdly, that is there any clause in the agreement that if you leave on between then no refund of deposit money then may be difficult it get it back. But, yes then also an argument can be there to counter the clause as the document itself talks about the prior notice before leaving that is also only before or at completion of 11 months.

Fourthly, if no clause then it’s great.

Sanjay Baniwal
Advocate, South Delhi
5474 Answers
13 Consultations

1) you must give licensor one month notice that you want to vacate the premises .

2) if he refuses to return your SD issue licensor legal notice to return your security deposit of Rs 10 lakhs

3) file summary suit under order XXXVII of code of civil procedure to recover your SD

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
96426 Answers
7773 Consultations

1. Serve a lawyer's notice to him to return the security deposit.

2. If he does not return it even after the notice then a suit for recovery of money may be filed in the civil court against him.

3. Police has no role to play in this as the dispute is entirely of civil nature.

Ashish Davessar
Advocate, Jaipur
30763 Answers
972 Consultations

You may file a complaint case in the criminal court under section 420 and 506 of IPC recover the amount from the landlord you may submit all the documents relating to payment and the agreement in the court for your support of claim

Vimlesh Prasad Mishra
Advocate, Lucknow
6852 Answers
23 Consultations

Dear Sir,

You can get issue a legal notice saying that since he is not returning your deposited amount you are inducting sub tenant. Further you may file a suit against the landlord for return of the advance amount paid to him with reasonable deduction at the most 25% of monthly rent because you stayed only for 3 months. The efforts in this regard being made by philanthropists are as follows to protect the rights of tenants.

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Bitter PIL for landlords, a boon for poor tenants

Petitioners, Dove Drive Without Borders Foundation approached the court contending that tenants in the city have absolutely no bargaining power during negotiations with the landlord for the quantum of money to be paid as security deposit.

Extortion via high deposits demanded as ‘security’ bonds by landlords in Bengalurumust stop, says a group of petitioners — newcomers to the city and good Samaritans— have teamed up to protect the interests of tenants house-hunting in the city. The activists have filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Karnataka High Court addressing the interests of people who do not own homes but must rent housing under one-on-one tenancy agreements with landlords. Such laws already exist in states such asTamil Nadu and Bihar, says Wasim Memon, founder of The Drive without Borders Foundation.

The Foundation, a citizens’ movement that started with the objective of safeguarding the rights of motorists and road users in India and crusaded for a single rate of road tax in all Indian states, is leading the charge.

Waseem Memon said tenants started contacting him on their Facebook page seeking help when faced by Bengaluru’s inequitable rental market. He, a Hyderabadi himself, decided to do something about it.

In the absence of standardised rates for security deposits, it has become customary for landlords to insist upon high security deposits equivalent to 10 months’ rent. For example, a residential property with a monthly rent of `10,000 would command a security deposit of a lakh, while a property with the monthly rent of `30,000 would mean shelling out a proportionate deposit of `3,00,000. This earns the landlord handsome returns through interest earned on the deposits.

The problem is compounded when some homeowners arbitrarily and with impunity get away with deducting amounts of their choosing, posing flippant and vague causes such as ‘damage’ or ‘repainting charges’ as reasons for the deductions.

This unfairly raises the total layout for rent, and results in income loss through the loss of interest for, often, hard-pressed youngsters and recent economic immigrants.

Priyanka Patel, a young professional who started living in a flat in Marathahalli, shelled out `1.5 lakh around two years ago as a security deposit and was faced with no choice but to give away `56,000 to her London-based landlady, though she had agreed to only pay `30,000, ostensibly for “repainting” the property.At one time, the landlady threatened to keep their deposit money if she had any male visitors, even relatives, to the house.

Though the problem extends across all income classes and communities, the unsanctioned practice harms vulnerable groups of, often, young men and women who move to live in Bengaluru to be part of its booming electronics and IT industries, the region’s largest employers.

“Young immigrants and couples in junior positions in jobs who are new to the city are also badly-affected,” says Memon who is leading the group of activists. “They lose lakhs of rupees to landlords each year in the guise of one imagined problem or another. Going to court to establish the nature of the wrongdoing by a landlord is difficult, expensive and time-consuming and not considered a viable option by busy city dwellers. So, in the absence of legal recourse, tenants have little option but to bear the financial burden.”

The practice has become rampant and reached near epidemic proportions, he says: “Keeping this in mind, the Central Government’s draft Model Tenancy Act (first in 2011 and a revised version in 2015) seeks to update the law relating to landlords and tenants across the nation. It is a model law directed for the consideration of state governments. it will provide for a cap on security deposits for tenancy agreements at three months’ rent.”

The statute, if put in place, also seeks a retrospective provision where tenants who have their cash — greater than 3 months’ rent — stuck with landlords may ask for it back, and expect it to be returned within a period of 15 days. The citizens’ group, Drive Without Borders, a Facebook group, has sought a preliminary response from the high court within 21 days of the receipt of the petition.

Dove Drive Without Borders Foundation

S2, 2nd Floor, Olive Garden No.74, Benson Cross Road,

Benson Town Bangalore Bangalore KA 46 IN
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Maharashtra: New law soon to protect tenants from rogue landlords

A new law intended to protect private sector tenants from “rogue landlords” was unveiled by the Maharashtra government Monday.

The state cabinet adopted the law that recognises the right of a tenant to reconstruct the tenanted property if the landlord is withholding the property’s redevelopment.

This, however, won’t be offered on a carte blanche. The cabinet decided that the new norm would be applicable only to buildings declared unsafe by the civic authorities. Also, it will only be applied in cases where the landlord has not started redevelopment of the property even a year after the dilapidated building has been pulled down by the civic authorities.

Following the cabinet approval, the government will now introduce the law in the state legislature, in the form of an amendment to the existing Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act.

A senior minister, who did not wish to be named, said the new law would offer protection against the threat of “unfair eviction”. Lakhs of families in Mumbai reside in tenanted properties protected under the Maharashtra Rent Control Act.

On the need to adopt the new law, the minister said, “While the reconstruction right of a tenant is protected in cases where landlord demolishes the old property and undertakes redevelopment on his own, that is not the case when the civic authorities pull down an unsafe building.”

There have been complaints that some rogue landlords, in connivance with civic authorities, misuse this “lack of protection” to drive out tenants.

In a bid to ensure that the new law does not drive some “innocent” landlords out of the market, the government has ruled that the ownership of the plot and the redeveloped tenanted structure will remain with the landlord even after the redevelopment.

According to sources, Housing Minister Prakash Mehta said at the cabinet meeting a “lopsided” law could backfire. He also reportedly said enabling provisions would also have to be made in the Development Control (DC) regulations.

Following this, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis appointed a committed under Mehta to review the existing DC Regulations and suggest necessary amendments.

The BJP had invited flak from tenants’ associations recently over some controversial provisions of the Centre’s new model rent control Act.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet also decided to put the work for the Navi Mumbai International Airport on the fast track.

It cleared a proposal qualifying three bidders — GVK-led Mumbai International Airport Ltd, GMR Delhi, and MIA Infrastructure —

along with Tata Realty for submission of the request for proposal (RFP).

While four bidders had expressed interest in the project, a consortia of Zurich Airport with Hiranandani Developers was disqualified by the Union Ministry of Finance over “lack of financial security”.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the work orders for the new airport were expected to be awarded within six months.

Kishan Dutt Kalaskar
Advocate, Bangalore
6174 Answers
489 Consultations

Send him legal notice through local advocate. The tenancy stands terminated after one month of giving the first notice in writing but he is adamant and not returning the security deposit. Generally speaking either wait for 2 months, vacate the shop and get back your security deposit. May be if you leave now, he may not return the deposit. After 2 months when he has no right to retain your money and you can approach the court for refund of security deposit and damages for not refunding the security deposit earlier.

Dalip Singh
Advocate, New Delhi
1089 Answers
36 Consultations

1. issue him a legal notice and cc this notice to the police as well as commissioner of police

2. it doesnt matter if he has any police connections

3. ideally the possession of the shop should have been given simultaneously with the owner refunding your security deposit

Yusuf Rampurawala
Advocate, Mumbai
7640 Answers
79 Consultations

This is my response to you:

1. It is better that you send a formal letter through RPAD (for acknowledgment proof);

2. If he still does not respond send a legal notice to him;

3. You can also ask interest for the amount of yours that he has kept with him for so long;

4. Most probably he will come forward and settle the matter;

5. But if he does not reply then also, you will have to file a suit for recovery in the civil court.

Gowaal Padavi
Advocate, Mumbai
1920 Answers
5 Consultations

If the agreement clause says that you can terminate the agreement by giving one month notice, you may issue a notice about this and specify other details viz., the date of vacating the premises and handing over the keys and also demand the return of deposit amount at the time of handing over the keys.

The police will not be of any help on this, if he refuses then you may have to approach rent control court on this.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
86630 Answers
2315 Consultations

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