Tenant not paying rent, or won't leave? What a landlord can do

What has probably happened

You let out a flat, house or shop. Now one of two things is going wrong, or both.

• The tenant has stopped paying rent, or pays late and in part. Each month you are told "next week".
• The tenant will not leave. The agreement has run out, or you have asked for the property back, and they are still there.

It is tempting to solve it yourself: cut the water, change the lock, put their things outside. Do not. Those steps can turn you from the person owed money into the person facing a case. The lawful route is slower at the start, but it ends with a court order that the tenant cannot argue with.

What the law says the tenant owes you. Under Section 108 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, unless your agreement says otherwise, a tenant must:

• pay or offer the rent at the proper time and place (Section 108(l));
• keep the property in good condition, apart from reasonable wear and tear (Section 108(m));
• hand the property back to you when the lease ends (Section 108(q)).

How a tenancy ends. Under Section 111, a lease ends when its time runs out, when a notice to quit expires, by forfeiture for breaking a condition the lease says allows you to re-enter, and in a few other cases. Where no other rule applies, a monthly tenancy of a house or shop ends with 15 days' written notice (Section 106). Our eviction notice guide explains the notice in detail.

Your state's rent law may change all of this. Where a state rent control Act covers the property, it usually lets you evict only on the grounds it lists. It may also set its own notice rules and name the court. In Gujarat, for example, a landlord cannot recover possession while the tenant pays or is ready and willing to pay the standard rent and keeps the other terms (Section 12(1)), except on the grounds in Section 13. A suit on the ground of unpaid rent cannot be filed until one month after a written demand has been served (Section 12(2)). Most other state rent Acts are not yet in our statute library. An advocate will tell you which law covers your property.

What to do, step by step

Step 1 — get your papers together (the first few days). Find the rent agreement and any renewal. Make a month-by-month table of rent due, rent paid and the balance, using your bank statements. Note the deposit you hold. Save every message in which the tenant mentions the rent or promises to pay or to leave.

Step 2 — a written reminder. Send the tenant a calm message or email: the months unpaid, the total, and a date to pay. If they reply admitting the amount, keep it. A signed written admission of the debt starts a fresh limitation period from the date it was signed (Section 18, Limitation Act, 1963).

Step 3 — decide what you want, with an advocate. Do you want the money and the tenant to stay, or the property back? The answer decides which notice to send. Be careful about one thing: if the tenancy has ended and you go on accepting rent, or otherwise agree to the tenant staying, the tenancy is renewed month to month (Section 116). Money for the time the tenant stays on can still be claimed in the case, so take advice before you take payments described as "rent".

Step 4 — the notice. The advocate drafts and sends a notice by registered post or speed post with acknowledgement due. Depending on your goal and your state's law, it:

• demands the arrears by a date, setting them out month by month, with any interest your agreement allows;
• ends the tenancy, with the period the law or the agreement requires, and asks the tenant to vacate by a date;
• names the ground for eviction where a rent law requires one.

A notice with the wrong period or ground can delay the whole case. This is why an advocate should draft it.

Step 5 — the notice period runs. Many tenants pay or leave at this stage. If the tenant leaves, take the keys against a written receipt, inspect the property with photos, settle the deposit in writing, and claim any balance.

Step 6 — if they neither pay nor leave, the court. The advocate files:

• an eviction suit, to recover possession, usually with the arrears and payment for the time the tenant has stayed on after the tenancy ended. A suit to recover immovable property is filed in the court where the property is (Section 16, Code of Civil Procedure). Where a rent law applies, it may name the court; in Gujarat, Section 28 of the rent Act does; or
• a recovery suit for the arrears alone, if you want the money but not the property back. See rent arrears recovery.

Payment for occupation after the tenancy ends is what lawyers call mesne profits: what a person in wrongful possession received, or could have received, from the property, with interest (Section 2(12), Code of Civil Procedure).

Step 7 — the decree, and carrying it out. If the court orders eviction and payment, and the tenant still does not comply, you apply to the court to execute the decree — to enforce it. The court can order the property delivered to you and, for money, attach and sell the tenant's property (Section 51). You do not do any of this yourself.

Time limits that matter

What	Time limit	From
Suit for arrears of rent	Three years (Article 52 of the Limitation Act's schedule)	When each month's rent fell due
Suit by a landlord to recover possession from a tenant	Twelve years (Article 67)	When the tenancy ends
Gujarat: suit to evict for unpaid rent	Not before one month after a written demand (Section 12(2))	Service of the demand

The three-year rule for rent is the one that catches landlords out. Each month older than three years drops out of the claim.

Timeline and costs

When	What	Who pays
Week 1	Papers gathered, written reminder sent	Free
Week 2 to 3	Notice from an advocate	The advocate quotes their fee before you pay
Notice period	Tenant pays or leaves, or does not	—
After that	Eviction or recovery suit	Court fee (set by your state) and the advocate's fee, which they quote first

If you are not sure which route fits, a 30-minute call with an independent advocate from our panel starts at ₹999.

Documents to keep handy

• The rent agreement and any renewal.
• Proof you own the property or are the landlord.
• A month-by-month rent table, with bank statements showing what was paid.
• Proof of the security deposit received.
• Every message, email and letter with the tenant.
• Copies of notices sent, with postal receipts and tracking.
• The tenant's ID copy and every address you have for them.
• Photos of the property's condition, if damage is part of the dispute.

Mistakes that sink landlords

• Taking the law into your own hands. Lock changes, supply cuts and removing belongings can lead to a suit under Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act to put the tenant back, and, in Gujarat, a criminal case under Section 24 of the rent Act.
• Letting arrears run past three years. The oldest months are lost.
• Accepting rent after ending the tenancy without advice, and so renewing it.
• Sending a notice with the wrong period or ground, or without proof of posting.
• No written agreement. It makes the rent, the term and the deposit harder to prove.

For the next tenancy

Most of these fights start with a vague agreement. A rent agreement that sets the rent, the due date, late-payment terms, the deposit and a notice clause costs ₹599 with eMunshi, e-stamped and e-signed. See making a rent agreement.