1) when a tenant dies, the tenant's family/heirs who were residing with the tenant will gain the tenancy rights that he held.

2) n the event no body was living with the deceased tenant at the time of his death then the right to inheritance of tenancy would have automatically passed on to the tenant’s heirs and it is for the courts of law to decide as to which of his/her heirs would be entitled to secure tenancy rights.

3)Section 15 of the Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999

defines the tenant thus:

“tenant” means any person by whom or on

whose account rent is payable for any

premises and includes-

(a) such person, -

(i) who is a tenant, or

(ii) who is a deemed tenant, or

(iii)who is a sub-tenant as permitted under

a contract or by the permission or

consent of the landlord, or

(iv) who has derived title under a tenant, or

(v) to whom interest in premises has been

assigned or transferred as permitted,

by virtue of, or under the provisions of,

any of the repealed Acts;

(b) a person who is deemed to be a tenant

under section 25;

(c) a person to whom interest in premises has

been assigned or transferred as permitted

under section 26;

(d) in relation to any premises, when the tenant

dies, whether the death occurred before or after

the commencement of this Act, any member of

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the tenant's family, who,-

(i) where they are let for residence, is residing,

or

(ii) where they are let for education, business,

trade or storage, is using the premises for any

such purpose,

with the tenant at the time of his death, or, in

the absence of such member, any heir of the

deceased tenant, as may be decided, in the

absence of agreement, by the court.”

1. Was her husband alive when the rent agreement was executed? You can claim the tenancy of your deceased sister-in-law if she is not survived by her husband or any children.

2. If there is a clause in the agreement which provides for the termination of tenancy on the demise of the tenant you will not be able to claim succession.

3. If you are eligible to succeed to her tenancy then you may seek court's directions to enter the property and stay therein by filing a lawsuit.

4. Neither succession certificate nor legal heir certificate is required in your case. Your grievance is that your cousin who is the landlord of your deceased bhabhi has locked the premises and thereby prevented you from entering it. The legal recourse is to seek judicial orders for removal of lock and uninterrupted stay.

if you are the dependent of your bhabhi then you have right to claim in the tenancy.

according to law of tenancy a dependent of tenant can not be evicted by land lord on the death of tenant. you have to show that you are a dependent. unless there is grave necessity of the premises, land lord can not evict you.

file an application before rent controller and adduce all of those evidence tent to prove you dependent.

in Bhiva Maruti Kopnar And Ors. vs Sonba Babaji Kopnar it is held by the Bombay high court that tenancy could be inherited in pursuance of section 40 of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948. A statutory tenant is heritable and that the heirs who have inherited the tenancy are entitled to partition such land.

1. The property was rented to your Bhabi and she was the tenant only and not its owner,

2. So, you can not claim ownership or tenancy right of the property of your bhabi with the help of legal heir cerytificate,

3. Society can not transfer the title of the property of the land lord to the brother in law of the tenant,

4. You have no right title and interest on the property legally.

The tenancy rights can be transferred to legal heir, successors in interest or legal representatives. Unfortunately you cannot find a place in any of the three. The Bhabi means sister in law, that means a distant relative; her immediate successors in interest or legal heirs or legal representatives will be her children and husband; In the absence of of all these, the legal heirs of husband or legal heirs of her father.

If you strictly go by law, you cannot succeed. Even if you apply for succession certificate the court may ask the question about the actual successors and may not entertain you while the actual legal heirs are alive.

The tenancy rights may extinguish entitled legal heirs are not alive so if you would like to have a transfer, you may amicably settle the issue with the landlord on the terms mutually agreed between you both.