I took an flat on rent last year in Bangalore and the rental agreement was made on 9th May 2014 for a period 11 months. In Feb 2015 itself I informed my landlord that I will be vacating the house by end of April 2015 and also the rental agreement expired by April 2015.There was condition in the rental agreement that both parties should provide 3 months of notice period before vacating the house so in order to comply with that condition I informed them in Feb 2015. Two weeks back I reminded him about that and he assured me to return me the money. But now my landlord is refusing to return my advance amount saying that I should have vacated the house before the rental agreement expiry and the reason he is giving that he doesn't have the money now. There was a condition in the agreement where If I vacate house before 11 months then he has the liberty to deduct 3 months rent from my advance so to avoid that I stayed till that mentioned period. Now he forcing me to renew the agreement or else to stay back till he gets another tenant.I am not keen to renew as there is no honesty and transparency and also I don't want to stay without a valid rental agreement So what options do I really have? Regards, Zach
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1) Send a written notice to him demanding the return of the deposit amount . State in the notice that you are compelled to overstay as the advance deposit is not returned. Send it via registered post/speed post.
2) Thou also have the option to make a complaint to the local police about his not returning your deposit.
3) If the above do not yield result you will need to get a legal notice issued to the landlord/house owner.
1. It is common problem between the landlord and the tenant.
2. Since you are quitting the flat before the 11 months then you are stipulated to forgo 3 months of rent.
3. if you are not willing then enjoy the property till the security deposit gets adjusted with arrears rent.
1) issue notice to your landlord that since your rental agreement is expiring on X date in April you are vacating the house and ask for simultaneous refund of your security deposit
2) if landlord refuses to return security deposit then you can file summary suit against landlord for refund of your SD
3) dont renew the agreement
4) in the alternative inform landlord you will continue to stay without payment of any rentals till you are able to recover the SD and that rentals should be adjusted against SD due and payable by the landlord
1. Did you inform your landlord in Feb 2015 orally or through a written note. In case you did not inform your landlord through writing in Feb 2015 about your vacating the Flat in 3 months' time, atleast inform the landlord in a written form now, so that you will have some evidence for having informed him in advance.
2.,Since the rental agreement is not a registered one, you can not approach the court to seek legal remedy.
3. Try to get a tenant, on behalf of the landlord, for the Flat as soon as possible, so that you can vacate the house after getting your advance amount.
4. Since you are not keen to renew the rental agreement for a longer period, both of you can extend the rental agreement for a few months only till the landlord gets a new tenant and the same may be endorsed in writing on the old rental agreement.
1. You have in essence complied with the condition of giving an advance notice of 2 months. However, to be on a safer side the notice should always be a lawyer's notice in writing as it then leaves no scope for the opposite side to say that the tenant did not comply with the terms of the agreement.
2. The landlord is legally obligated to return the security deposit., The reasons given by him are absurd.
3. Issue a lawyer's notice to him for returning your security deposit, failing which you may go to court and seek the amount with interest.
1. The land lord is acting illegally,
2. File a police complaint or a criminal case for his act of cheating,
3. You can also file a recovery suit with intwerest, damage and cost.
Legally you have good options and a very good case for specific performance but considering my own student days in Bangalore I am well aware of the impracticality to file for a suit that may last an arbitrary amount of future to recover a deposits amount.
You may however try registering a dispute with the LOK adalat and there you may represent yourself without any lawyer. A LOK ADALAT notice might just prompt your landlord to consider paying back or else atleast reach a settlement in the LOK Adalat.
Also keep a General Diary handy with the Local Police Station. It might strengthen your case in the LOK Adalat.
The Landlord is bound to return the security deposit on the exiry of the agreement. There is no need to renew the contract. send him a legal notice regarding the refund of the security deposit.
Thank you all for the responses I considered few options mentioned above but I couldn’t arrive into a conclusion due to various concerns Staying here until we adjust it to our deposit amount is an option which I considered but then I will have to stay in the house without a valid rental agreement and he is not ready to extend it for few months. The risk is that if somehow he manages to find another tenant then he can ask us to vacate the house in hours’ time as we would be staying in the house without a valid rental agreement. Last year we took this house in a hurry and we are suffering for it already. So don’t want to repeat the same mistake again. Finding another tenant for my landlord is also a difficult task as his expectations are very high; he is not realistic in his demand for rent as well as advance. For the past 3 months many people have come and checked the house but nobody could reach an agreement with him. Nobody is even ready to pay the rent which we are currently paying His intention is to make us to renew the agreement as there is a condition in the existing agreement for a 5 % increment on yearly basis. They played the same trick with another family and managed them to renew the agreement. But as mentioned earlier I have no intention to renew because I had a lot of unpleasant experience with them. I was really waiting to complete the 11 month tenure and move out. My rental agreement has already expired as it was signed on the first week of May 2014 and it has already crossed the 11 month period, so will the issue of notice period will now come into picture. Can they refuse the deposit amount stating that the rental agreement has already expired? That’s the point he tells me whenever I remind him about the deposit amount. I could not find much information on Lok Adalat camp dates in the Karnataka Lok Adalt website. I would have raised a complaint with police or would have approached a lawyer but the issue is my landlord' in-law is a lawyer and stays with him. So my concern is whether they will drag the issue. Also I come from another state so how effectively I can communicate my concern to police is another concern. They have one key and they stay beside us. It’s possible for them to enter into the house in our absence. Which will be the ideal approach considering all these issues? Regards, Zach
1. The three months notice period is necessary if you want to vacate the premises before completion of 11 months,
2. As such the tenancy agreement is valid for 11 months only,
3. I hope that you have issued valid notice stating when you are vacating the place afer receiving the advance paid to him,
4. If he refuses to refund you the advance amount you had paid him, then continue to stay there to adjust the said advance amount,
5. No body can vacate you without due process of law even if he gets a new tenant,
6. If he tries to apply force, lodge a police complaint against him.
1) vacate the premises and issue notice for refund of security deposit .
2) file summary suit for recovery
1. The notice period is valid only during the existence of the rental agreement whereas your rental agreement has expired.
2. Further stay in the property without the renewal of the agreement will be illegal. It will be unwise for you to stay in the property to adjust your deposit amount against the monthly rental as he can file a case for damages against you for refusing to vacate even after the expiry of the agreement.
3. Rental agreement may have expired but this does not give him any right to refuse to return the deposit amount. Issue a lawyer's notice to him to recover the amount. Police has no role in this.
4. Act wisely.