Registered agreements must to evict tenants: HC

Oral contracts entered into before the 2017 Act can still be invoked, says judge

Landlords in the State cannot get their tenants evicted through fast-track procedures under the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act, 2017 if they did not enter into written tenancy agreements after the legislation came into force on February 22, 2019 and registered these agreements with the Rent Authority (an officer appointed by the State government), the Madras High Court said.

Justice R. Subramanian further held that if a tenancy agreement, registered after the 2017 Act came into force, had expired, the landlord must initiate eviction proceedings before the Rent Courts within six months after expiry. Those who fail to do so within the limitation period would have no choice but to approach the regular civil courts and invoke the general law — The Transfer of Property Act of 1882 — to get their tenants evicted.

The judge made it clear that the benefit of the 2017 Act could not be availed if the written agreements had not been registered with the Rent Authorities, and if any oral agreement had been reached between the landlord and the tenant after the law came into force. However, interestingly, he ruled that those who had entered into oral agreements before the coming into force of the 2017 Act would be entitled to invoke the new law to evict their tenants.