Rent act a damp squib,doesn’t cover existing tenancies

Though the cabinet on Tuesday had adopted the 1995 Act per se,which extends to existing tenancies,it has been decided that the Act be amended the day it is notified to state that it will not be applicable to existing tenancies. The amendment will then be passed as an ordinance and only then will the Act be implemented.

Parts of Section 3,6,7 and 9,which allowed existing landlords to demand a certain minimum revised rent from the tenant will removed from the 1995 Act. Existing landlords cannot move the rent authority,which will be constituted under the Act for relief in older cases. They would continue to be governed by the Eastern Punjab Rent Restriction Act-1949.

While this renders the Act useless for those landlords who are already stuck with low rents,it is expected to make the tenancy laws stricter for the future. The new Act provides for a compulsory registration of the tenancy agreement between the landlord and the tenant.

Also,the implementation of the Act will help the state get its share of JNNURM funds. Existence of rent control laws is one of the several reforms to be carried out by the states to be eligible for JNNURM funds.

Since the Act is going to be implemented from the day it is notified,the cabinet has also done away with the limit of Rs 2,000,which had earlier been set as the cut-off rent amount for the implementation of the Act. The 1995 Act had laid down this limit as Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,000 depending on the area where the property is located. However,the Act will be amended to exclude any such limit.

The Punjab Rent Control Bill was passed by the Assembly in April 1995 and got the President’s assent in 1998. However,the Act was never notified.

The Act arms the landlord with legal teeth to evict tenants. The strong tenant lobby,however,has been opposing Act for years on the grounds that it will lead to an increase in rents. The BJP has been airing the cause of the tenants and objecting to the notification of the Act.