Eviction notices under the Indian legal regime are primarily governed by the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (“TPA”) and State-level Rent Control Acts. The law and process therein are regulated with strict procedures so as to ensure that tenants are not removed in an arbitrary manner. At the same time, landlords are required to provide justifiable grounds such as termination or determination of tenancy, non-payment of rent, bonafide needs, etc. for removing tenants. The process so provided includes serving formal notice and/ or obtaining court orders for eviction.

A notice to remove or evict a tenant is the mandatory first step prior to initiating any proceeding in tenancy which are covered under the rent control laws or even for tenancies governed by the lease agreements executed under the TPA.

Some essential elements of an Eviction Notice are:

(a) Complete details of the landlord and tenant, such as name and address.

(b) Specific description of rented premises. If the tenancy has been created pursuant to a lease agreement, then the description should match the description provided in the lease agreement.

(c) Description of the ownership of rented property with a clear and unequivocal statement that the landlord is the absolute owner of the rented property. This is especially important in a situation where tenancy is an old tenancy and is not governed by a lease agreement.

(d) The eviction notice should clearly state the reasons or grounds of eviction. These reasons and the grounds for eviction should be legally valid and in case the tenancy has been created under a lease agreement, then the reasons and the grounds of eviction should conform to the lease agreement.

(e) Timeline for vacating the rented premises should be clearly mentioned in the eviction notice. As regards a tenancy under the lease agreement, the eviction notice should provide the timeline as provided in the lease agreement. Otherwise, a reasonable time period should be provided - this could be somewhere between 15 to 30 calendar days.

(f) A statement that non-compliance with the eviction notice will attract legal consequences is very essential in an eviction notice.

(g) The eviction notice should either be signed by the landlord or the authorised signatory of the landlord. This requirement may seem to be very basic or ministerial, but an improper signature can make the eviction notice null and void.

An eviction notice should be issued on sustainable legal grounds. This is essential because the reasons or grounds of an eviction, as stated in the notice, form the basis of any proceedings that the landlord may initiate in case the tenant does not comply with an eviction notice. Some common grounds for eviction include:

(i) ​Bonafide need of the landlord: This is one of the most plausible reasons, having high acceptance before the Courts. In fact, with respect to tenancies governed by local Rent Control Laws, bonafide need has been interpreted by the Courts very liberally.

(ii)​ Delayed or non-payment of rent can also be a sound basis for evicting the tenant, especially when the delay is continued.

(iii)​ Breach of terms of the lease agreement, such as damaging the property, putting the property to use other than what has been mentioned in the lease agreement, undertaking illegal activity at the rented premises, sub-letting the rented premises without permission of the landlord, making fundamental or permanent alteration to the property, and so on.

(iv) ​Expiry of the tenancy due to expiry of the lease agreement: In such a situation, it becomes very important to follow the procedure as provided in the lease agreement for such expiry.

Another important aspect that needs to be mentioned is the service of the Eviction Notice. There are various modes by which the Eviction Notice can be served, such as speed post or registered post with acknowledgment due, hand delivery in person and/ or electronic communications. Out of the three modes mentioned best is to opt for speed post or registered post with acknowledgment due, since this is done through the Indian postal service, which is a government service, and the delivery proof of these modes are easily accepted by the Courts. Though a lot of Courts accept service through email or WhatsApp (electronic communication), these modes are still not widely accepted. As regards personal delivery, while this may sound like the best way, it becomes difficult to provide proof of such delivery, especially when the tenant is denying the service of the Eviction Notice.

While issuing an Eviction Notice and getting the same delivered is an important aspect, the enforcement of the Eviction Notice can only be done by initiating appropriate legal proceedings before a court and getting orders for eviction from the court. Self-initiative of seeking eviction by putting locks, disconnecting power, or cutting other utilities, and so on, is not permissible under the law and can attract criminal action against the landlord. The legal process of seeking enforcement is summarised as follows:

1. Upon the tenant refusing to adhere to the Eviction Notice, the landlord can initiate appropriate legal proceeding before the civil court or Rent Control Tribunal by filing a suit/case seeking eviction of the tenant.

2. The place where the property is situated is the place (appropriate jurisdiction) where the suit or the case seeking eviction will have to be filed.

3. The plaint or the petition, as the case may be, will have to be accompanied by all the relevant documents, such as the lease agreement if there is one, copies of rent receipts, a copy of the Eviction Notice with proof of delivery, documents relating to ownership of the property, and so on.

4. It is important to note that if the eviction proceeding has been filed in the nature of a civil suit, then the process of the same will entail completion of pleadings - thereafter, evidence and then final arguments. However, if the eviction proceeding is filed before the Rent Control Tribunal, then the process is a bit different as these proceedings are in the nature of summary proceedings. Typically, the eviction proceedings before civil courts are more time-consuming as compared to proceedings before the Rent Control Tribunal.

5. In either proceeding, if the court or the tribunal rules in favour of the landlord, then it will issue an order specifying a time within which the tenant will be required to vacate the rented premises. If the tenant still refuses to vacate the rented premises, then the landlord can again approach the court seeking execution of the eviction order and then the eviction will be carried out through the law enforcement agencies and under the supervision of a court-appointed bailiff.

While it is important to understand the process of eviction, there are certain other aspects that should be borne in mind:

- Impact of State-specific laws or tenancy-specific laws. Most of the States in India have their own Rent Control Laws or they adopt Model Tenancy Act of 2021. Such being the case, tenancies covered under these laws are not governed by the TPA.

- It has been seen that both landlord and tenant, in order to avoid the hassle of registration, opt for 11-month lease agreement. While it is correct that 11-month lease agreement does not require registration, just putting the term as 11-months is not sufficient - the agreement as whole should be drafted to ensure that it does not have any hint of automatic extension. More importantly, a registered document has a very strong evidentiary value in any court proceedings.

- Tenants have rights protecting them from illegal eviction. They can contest the eviction in court, and landlords are forbidden from disconnecting essential services during the process. However, it is equally incumbent upon the tenant to ensure performance of his or her part of the obligation during the pendency of the proceedings.

About the author: Apoorva Misra is a Partner at Ahlawat & Associates.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. The opinions presented do not necessarily reflect the views of Bar & Bench.

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