Landlords sceptical, say cases will pile up

NEW DELHI: Most of them have rented out their property for over 50 years. The figures they quote when asked what rent they receive sound laughable. While most would welcome a change, landlords in commercial areas of the Walled City and its neighbouring areas doubt whether the Supreme Court's recent judgement will provide them any relief. The order says that landlords who have rented out properties for commercial purpose can also evict tenants on the ground that they need the property for personal use.
Shahid Ahmed's family, who have owned Packard Watches Co in Chandni Chowk for over 90 years, have around 25 properties that have been rented out to traders for about 70 years."The rent we get varies from Rs 45 to Rs 100," Ahmed says. "Some tenants don't even pay. Because of the Delhi Rent Control Act, the rent received from such properties are not on a par with newer colonies or market complexes in the city. Under the law, landlords were allowed to increase the rent by only 10% every three years. Moreover, several tenants who might pay around Rs 100 as rent sub-let the property for about Rs 25,000."
Riaz Umar, who has several properties rented out in CP since the early 1950s, says the rent was initially Rs 70 and then increased to a princely Rs 90. "In one place in CP, there are two properties, side by side, and of the same size. While one commands a rent of Rs 33,000, the other has a rent of only Rs 110. Landlords are helpless in such cases," says Umar.
Deep Anand owns a confectionery shop in Karol Bagh and has rented out a property for almost 40 years. He would like to expand his business and could have utilised the property he had rented out as a shop but was unable to do so because of the law. "The past 20 years or so have seen a sharp price rise. House tax has also risen. However, the rent we receive is the same," complains Anand.
The SC order is being seen with scepticism by almost all landlords. Rajender Prasad, a landlord in Chandni Chowk, dismisses the ruling. "Petitions will pile up, cases will be pending and eventually, the government will cave in so as to protect its votebank. Moreover, in Chandni Chowk, about 80% shops have been sold by the landlords to the shopkeepers."
"There is a strong likelihood of the new law being misused," says Ahmed. "There are very few genuine cases of landlords actually needing the property they have rented out. Many landlords, who are part of the mafia here, could use muscle power to get their tenants evicted. Moreover, the landlord has to prove that he genuinely needs the property, and even then, the processes of law are such that it could take up to 30 years before anything is resolved."
Ironically, Ahmed is also a tenant. Packard Watches Co, which was called Great British Watch Co before 1947, has occupied the same leased plot of land for the past 90 years. "This new law will create widespread fear and panic among traders," says Ahmed.
ipsita.chakravarty@timesgroup.com