1) unregsitered lease deed is inadmissible in evidence

2) registration of lease deed is mandatory requirement

3) SC in case A NTHONY Versus KC ITTOOP AND SONS & ORS.

held that The lease-deed relied on by the plaintiff was intended to be

..... operative for a period of five years. It is an unregistered instrument. Hence such an instrument cannot create a lease on account of three pronged statutory inhibitions. The first interdict is contained in the first paragraph of Section 107 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (for short the TP Act ) which reads thus: A lease of immovable property from year to year, or for any term exceeding one year, or reserving an yearly rent, can be made only by a registered instrument. (Emphasis supplied) (emphasis supplied) The second inhibition can be discerned from Section 17(1) of the Registration Act 1908 and it reads thus: (only the material portion) Documents of which registration is compulsory. -(1) the following documents shall be registered if the property to which they relate is situate in a district in which, and if they have been executed on or after the date on which, Act No. XVI of 1864, or the Indian Registration Act, 1866, or the Indian Registration Act, 1871, or the Indian Regis tration Act, 1877, or this Act came or comes into force, namely: . (d) Leases of immovable property from year to year, or for any term exceeding one year, or reserving a yearly rent. The third interdict is contained in Section 49 of the Registration Act which speaks about the fatal consequence of non-compliance of Section 17 thereof. Section 49 reads thus: 49. Effect of non-registration of documents required to be registered.- No document required by Section 17 [or by any provision of the TP Act, 1882,] to be registered shall (a) affect any immovable property comprised therein, or (b) confer any power to adopt, or (c) be received as evidence of any transaction affecting such property or conferring such power, unless it has been registered. [Provided that an unregistered document affecting immovable property and required by this Act, or the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, to be registered may be received as evidence of a contract in a suit for specific performance

4) registration of lease deed has to be done within period of 4 months . with penalty you can register lease deed for another 4 months

Hi, as per law the lease deed has to be registered before the Sub-Registrar if the lease period is more than 11 months.

2. If you rely on unregistered lease deed before the court then you have to pay the 10 times duty and penalty.

3. The tenant is not a owner of the property as the lease deed is unregistered you can ask him to vacate the property at any time giving 15 days clear notice.

1) registration act does not differ from state to state

2) in your case since you have been receiving monthly rent and delivered possession to the doctor your can file suit for eviction of tenant under provisions of rent act

Dear Querist

My opinion on your queries are as under:

1.If We wish to evict the tenant and have to take legal recourse will an unregistered lease deed have any weight-age?

Opinion: If you want to evict the tenant then first of all issue a legal notice after the period of tenancy through counsel and give him one month time to evict the premises and handed over the peaceful physical possession, if after receiving the notice the person is not ready to vacate the premises then you may file a civil suit/eviction petition under rent control act before the civil court or rent controller.

2.Do We have to compulsorily register the deed ?

Opinion: yes, above the one year, the rent agreement/lease agreement should be registered by non-registration of agreement is also accepted.

3.In case the Tenant is unwilling to leave the premises at the end of the agreement or if We issue a pre-mature

termination date , will an unregistered agreement be deemed invalid by the Court ?Does the Landlord

have a very good chance of evicting the Tenant ?

Opinion: without completion of the tenure as per the lease agreement the landlord can not claim the eviction but if the tenant is not paying the rent from last three or more months then due to non payment of rent the eviction suit may be filed.

Feel Free to Call

Hi, Suppose you are rely on the agreement before the court then you have to pay the stamp duty and if the tenant has relay on the agreement then tenant has to pay the stamp duty.

2. One thing you must remember you will definitely win the case, because if you issue the notice to the tenant to quit and deliver the vacant possession of the property then tenant has to vacate the property.

Section 107 of Transfer of Property Act, to the extent it is relevant, provides that a lease of immovable property from year to year, or for any term exceeding one year or reserving a yearly rent, can be made only by a registered instrument, whereas all other leases of immovable property may be made either by a registered instrument or by oral agreement accompanied by delivery of possession.

Thus, since the lease deeds executed between the parties being for more than one year were required to be compulsorily registered and has not been got registered, it does not confer any right on the lessee to continue to be a tenant for the term stipulated in these deeds. As a result, the tenancy of the lessee in respect of the suit premises became a month to month tenancy, which could be terminated by giving notice to the defendant under Section 106 of Transfer of Property Act, which to the extent it is relevant provides that in the absence of a contract or local law or usage to the contrary, a lease of immovable property, for any purpose other than agricultural or manufacturing purposes, shall be deemed to be a lease from month to month, terminable on the part of either lessor or lessee by 15 days notice. The above-referred provision of Section 106 of Transfer of Property Act would apply only if there is no contract to the contrary between the parties.

1.If We wish to evict the tenant and have to take legal recourse

will an unregistered lease deed have any weight-age?

In the above given situation, fifteen days notice should be sufficient to vacate the lessee.

2.Do We have to compulsorily register the deed ?

Yes it is a register-able document

3.In case the Tenant is unwilling to leave the premises at

the end of the agreement or if We issue a pre-mature

termination date , will an unregistered agreement

be deemed invalid by the Court ?Does the Landlord

have a very good chance of evicting the Tenant ?

Yes the landlord can evict he tenant by giving 15 days notice.

Any rental agreement unregistered is valid only for 3 years, and it is a valid document to initiate any legal action against the tenant,and registration is optional. "

Any rental agreement for a period beyond one year is to be registered and it is not three years. Agreement beyond one year is to be registered and it becomes the duty of the tenant to register it.

so since my lease agreement is 4 Years, once 3 years

is over will it be not possible for me to initiate legal

proceedings against the tenant ?

The tenant will be protected only if the agreement is a registered document or else it will be a situation advantageous to the landlord.

I am in Karanataka , does the registration act differ

for each state ?

Rent control act differs and not the Registration act.

if We are willing to pay 10 Times the duty and penalty ,

will the Court 100% surely accept the Lease agreement ?

If the court insists on paying the stamp duty of the unregistered document, you can comply the same.

Sir , in the agreement the Tenant/Lessee has to pay the

stamp duty and/if any incurred Legal expenses , so in

case we have to pay 10 times the duty and penalty , will

this be the responsibility of the Tenant ?

or if the case is in our favour and we win it, will the court

order the Tenant to reimburse the stamp duty we paid.

Please be aware that the stamp duty and the registration charges are to be paid by the tenant/lessee and not the landlord.

after completion of the period mentioned in our

unregistered lease agreement and if the Tenant refuses

to vacate and the situation becomes a court case , how

strong are our chances of winning the litigation? Considering

that we are willing to pay 10 times the stamp duty/ penalty .

You can get court eviction orders even without the payment of stamp duty, the case is more advantageous to you.

1) terminate agreement with lessee

2) enter into fresh agreement have it duly stamped and registered

3)as per your existing agreement the liability of payment of stamp duty is on lessee

4) you can recover stamp duty charges from lessee

5) regsitration of your agreement can be done within maximum period of 8 months with penalty

6) if you pay penalty charges you can rely upon agreement in court of law

1. The lease deed had to be compulsorily registered if the duration of it is 4 years, failing which the protection of rent control law is not available to you.

2. You should present the deed for registration to the sub-registrar. If the delay is not more than 6 months the registration will be allowed subject to payment of penalty imposed by the registrar. Once the deed is registered it will obtain a legal character as a charter of rights of the landlord and tenant.

3. You can pay the stamp duty to get the deed registered and then recover the same from the lessee by filing a lawsuit for recovery of money against him.

4. The result of a courtroom battle is always uncertain but if you are on the right side of the law your prospects are bright.

1) it is at discretion of muncipal corporation to extend lease or not

2) if the corporation takes decision not to extend lease you have to vacate the land

3) we cannot predict the results of litigation

4) yiu cannot register lease deed after 24 months

Hi, it is the decisions of the municipality whether to extend the lease or not. You have no right to ask for extension of lease deed and it is discretion of the court.

Does the Municipality/Corporation have the

absolute prerogative of extending our Lease

or asking us to vacate, even though

we are fully capable of paying the full lease

extension amount ?

The Municipality may extend the lease period after expiration of tenure the present lease agreement.

Say if the Members

in a certain Municipality Corporation in majority

vote that the Lease should not be allotted to us,

than in such a case can we lose our Land ?

You can take up the matter to the court on the basis of protection of tenancy rights.

Most of our Family are Foreign Nationals living abroad

with OCI, will this have an impact on extending a lease ?

The prevailing situation during 2024 may be different, further just because some of the relatives of lessee or NRI, it cannot disentitle him of his rights or privileges.

If this turns into a Litigation do we have a good chance of

retaining our Land ?

You may find relief in litigation if that is thrust on you.

The agreement can be registered after the expiry of the period prescribed under the law i.e 6 months by paying the stamp duty and penalty which is to be quantified by the registrar. It may not be as high as 10% though.

It is the absolute prerogative of MC to renew, extend or terminate the lease. It is of course a political decision, as we all know.

1) lease deed would be inadmissible in evidence

2) you cannot register agreement after 3 years

3) eviction suits take some years to be disposed of

4) wait for decision by the corporation regarding renewal of lease

5) the reasons for non renewal have to be perused to advice

1.If there is a court case into the 3rd or 4th year

of the agreement and the lease deed is still unregistered

how will the court proceed ?Will I/Landlord be allowed

to register the deed , with penalty off-course ?

Will eviction be easy as pointed out above that

the situation is advantageous to the Land lord.

Actually an unregistered lease deed is invalid in law and not an admissible evidence hence it is not a favorable situation to the tenant/lessee. However if you are ready to pay the stamp duty and conveying your willingness to the court about it, you will be allowed to pay the same to make the deed a valid one.

2.Will I have a problem evicting the tenant after the

lease agreement expires ? If I have to go to the courts

to evict a tenant after the unregistered lease agreement

expires how long will such a court trial take place ?

The eviction suit may not be decided in a short period, it depends on various factors, hence you may have to endure the proceedings based on the merits in your side.

3.If MC has the final word and our property not being

of some vital or strategic importance to the local

government, how strong are our chances in a litigation ?

Considering that certain political powers will surely and

powerfully try and make sure the lease is not extended ?

You can challenge their decision and prolong the litigation in appeal even if the case is going against you in the lower court. You are protected by tenancy rights to some extent, so you may give tough fight in that aspect too.

1. An unregistered lease deed does not create the legal relationship between the lessor and lessee. The court will proceed according to the law. It is not for the court to permit or disallow the landlord to register the deed with or without penalty.

2. Without the registration of the lease deed you will have to file a lawsuit for eviction against this man as he cannot then be considered as a lessee.

3. You cannot file a lawsuit against MC seeking to renew the lease.

1)registration of lease deed has to be done within 4 months . maximum period is 8 months after payment of penalty .

2) to your specific query i said registration cannot be done after 3 years . in my earlier posts i had specifically mentioned registration has to be done within 4 months and with penalty 8 months

3) i do not know on what basis other lawyers have said registration can be done on payment of stamp duty and fine

A lease of immovable property is a transfer of a right to enjoy such property, made for a certain time, express or implied, or in perpetuity, in consideration of a price paid or promised, or of money, a share of crops, service or any other thing of value, to be rendered periodically or on specified occasions to the transferor by the transferee, who accepts the transfer on such terms. It is compulsory under the law to pay stamp duty on lease deeds / rent agreements and also its registration if the lease term in more than a year.

The lease deed / rent agreement can be impounded and hefty penalty up to 10 times of the unpaid deficient stamp duty can be charged by the Collector of stamps.

An unregistered and/or deficient stamped lease deed / rent agreement is not admissible as evidence in the court of law. Section 35 of the India Stamp Act,1899, imposes a bar as to the admission of an un-stamped in evidence.

In the event of an unregistered lease deed / rent agreement that requires mandatory registration, the courts have termed the tenancy to be a month tenancy, terminable on a 15 days notice, by either of the parties. This means that lessee cannot enforce the agreed lease period on the lessor.

The lessor also faces various disadvantages as the terms and condition of the lease deed are not admissible, for lock in period, if any, on the lessee.

You can register it after 3 years also if the registrar permits you to do so upon payment of penalty, but ordinarily this permission is denied. The situation is disadvantageous to the landlord as the tenant may now claim title.

1) you cannot rely upon lease deed as it is not regsitered .

2) however fact remains you have delivered possession to him and he is paying you rent

3) you can file suit for eviction but lessee can claim he is a tenant of the premises

4) In Biswabani Pvt. Ltd. vs. Santosh Kumar Dutta: (1980) 1 SCR 650 a two judge bench of this court found that though a second lease-deed executed between the parties (on the expiry of the period mentioned in the first lease-deed) is void for want of registration, the tenant would continue to be protected under the relevant Rent Control Act because on the expiry of the period of first lease the tenant had acquired the right of a statutory tenant

The concept that the tenant will have an advantage over the landlord is while the lease agreement is registered where the tenancy rights will come into existence legally.

However if the lease agreement is for 4 years and the landlord is not willing to renew, he cannot be forced to renew until any lock in period is operational.

The landlord has all rights to evict the tenant if the tenant defaults in payment of monthly rent by due process of law.

You can very well instruct your tenant to vacate the premises at the expiration of 4 years of lease agreement.

Since there is no lease deed the tenant will not claim to be a tenant. He can be evicted only as a trespasser, to avoid which he may (and most trespassers do this) claim title to the property by even setting up a forged deed. The lease deed pales into insignificance as it is not executed in accordance with the law. Nothing comes 'easily' in the court, as you will realize when you file the lawsuit.

your best option is to terminate the existing lease deed and convince lessee to enter into fresh lease deed . have it duly stamped and registered

1.The Land Documents ,Yearly Municipality Tax Documents

are in our name.

2.The Electricity Bills of even the Tenant are in our name.

Though the tenant has got a new Telephone number.

3.The Lease deed though unregistered is signed by Four

witnesses.

4.I take the Monthly rental in the form of Cheque and keep a

Xerox copy of the cheque with me

The above information confirms the lease agreement/rental agreement. However unregistered agreement is not admissible in evidence.

Should I get the tenant to sign a Document at each monthly rent payment date, a document with name of landlord , tenant,

Not necessary. The rental payment by cheque itself is a strong evidence for tenancy

mode of payment, sum paid etc like a transaction document. ? Kindly suggest anything else that will make my case strong

The evidences in your possession itself is trong enough, no need to create anything new.

in case the Tenant turns hostile.Should I nearing the end of the 3rd year implement some other legal measures ?

You can very well, in the absence of a registered agreement, ask him to vacate if he turns hostile, the situation is advantageous to you.

You have the documents of title in your name. The landlord may dispute them, in which event trial will take place. The cheque issued by the tenant is sufficient to prove that he was intended to be inducted as a tenant without any transfer of title to him. Alternatively, you can cancel the previous agreement and execute a fresh agreement with him, but this can be done only if he is ready.

If he defaults in payment of rent or does not evict after the expiry of the agreement then proceedings for eviction should be launched against him.