Rent control laws are highly dreaded by people because of the enormous delays disputes take to sort out. Experts want the existing legal tangles under the rental control laws to be removed to improve the status of rental housing stock. If laws relating to rent control are reformed, specific investments will improve thereby creating more leased out spaces — both residential and commercial.
First landlords avoid documentation. Even if they write the deed, they try to avoid registration. Earlier the registration law insisted that only leases for one year or more be registered. Thus, landlords preferred 11 month term leases, which automatically get renewed. Now the law has changed — every lease should be registered. But what happens if the document of lease deed is not registered? Then courts do not look into the document to decide the dispute.
The lease market in the metros suffered because of rent control legislative problems and delays in court litigation. There are too many legal hassles. Neither the landlord nor the tenant are content. The rent control rules address the problems of middle class tenants only.
Rental contracts run into problems and tenants refuse to vacate despite specific contractual clauses while rent and appellate courts drag the disputes. The appellate courts are now hearing cases filed around the year 2000. Cases requested to be heard early rarely manage expeditious disposal but cases involving senior citizens are accorded priority.
The author is Mr.Madabhushi Sridhar, professor at Nalsar Univ. of Law, Hyd.
Article taken from Deccan Chronicle posted on July 17th, 2009 .
