Tenant not paying rent and not vacating: what to do in India

What you must not do, even when rent is months late

Rent laws say this in so many words. Section 45 of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 and section 49 of the Karnataka Rent Act, 1999 bar a landlord from cutting off or withholding an essential supply such as water, electricity, lights in passages and sanitary services without just and sufficient cause, and let the tenant ask the Controller to restore it (Delhi section 45 text). Courts, including the Supreme Court, have called electricity a basic amenity, and lawyers warn that cutting supplies to force a tenant out can lead to criminal trespass proceedings (SCC Times, Khaitan & Co). Self-help eviction also usually weakens your own case in court (iPleaders).

How to evict a tenant who is not paying rent, step by step

1. 1

   Talk first

   Call or meet the tenant and ask what has happened: a lost job, a medical bill or a plan to move out. Many cases end here with a short payment plan. Whatever you agree, confirm it in a WhatsApp message the same day.

2. 2

   Send written reminders

   Remind the tenant in writing on fixed dates, polite at first and firmer later. Dated written reminders show that you asked for rent and when. Use our rent reminder message templates, including the final reminder.

3. 3

   Gather your records

   Put together the rent agreement, the record of every payment received (receipts, bank statements with UTR numbers, cash entries), the months that are unpaid, and your reminders and the tenant's replies. Courts decide on records. A rent tracker and a rent receipt for every past payment make this much easier.

4. 4

   Have a lawyer send a legal notice

   A local lawyer drafts a notice that demands the arrears and, where needed, ends the tenancy under section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 and your state's rent law. Send it by registered post with acknowledgement due (and also by email or WhatsApp if the agreement allows), and keep the postal receipts. To get your facts in order first, draft one with our eviction notice format and take it to the lawyer.

5. 5

   Wait out the notice period

   Give the tenant the time the notice and the law allow. Under the Delhi and Karnataka rent acts, for example, a tenant who pays or tenders the full arrears within two months of a demand notice is protected on that ground (details below). Keep accepting rent only on your lawyer's advice, because accepting it can affect a termination.

6. 6

   File for eviction and recovery of arrears

   If the tenant neither pays nor leaves, your lawyer files before the right forum: the Rent Controller, the Rent Court under a new tenancy law, or the civil court or Small Causes Court. The forum depends on your state and your tenancy (see the table below).

7. 7

   Get possession through the court

   If you win, the order or decree is executed through the court. If the tenant still refuses to leave, the court's own process, with police help where ordered, hands back possession. Do not act on your own even with an order in hand.

Which law applies to your tenancy?

Tenancy is a state subject, so the answer depends on where the property is, when the building was built, what the rent is and what kind of agreement you have. Older rent control acts often protect only low-rent premises, which means many modern tenancies fall outside them and go to the civil court instead. Treat this table as a starting point for the conversation with your lawyer.

Both the Delhi and Karnataka figures above come from decades-old acts that have been amended over time, and we could not open the official consolidated text on India Code while writing this. Your lawyer should confirm the current wording before relying on any section number or rent threshold.

What a legal notice for non-payment of rent usually contains

• Names and addresses of the landlord (or the lawyer on the landlord's behalf) and the tenant.
• Address of the property and the date and key terms of the rent agreement: rent, due date, deposit.
• The months unpaid and the total arrears, with the dates of your earlier reminders.
• A demand to pay the arrears within a stated period.
• Where the tenancy is being ended, the termination and the date by which the tenant must hand over vacant possession, in line with section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act or the agreement.
• That further legal action will follow if the tenant neither pays nor vacates.
• Date, signature and mode of sending (registered post with acknowledgement due).

Can you adjust the security deposit against unpaid rent?

Usually yes at the end of the tenancy, if the agreement allows deductions for unpaid rent, and you must account for every rupee in writing. Adjusting the deposit mid-tenancy does not end the tenancy and does not entitle you to take the flat back. If you use it, tell the tenant in writing which months it covers. In states that adopt the Model Tenancy Act, the deposit for residential premises is capped at two months' rent (PRS India), so it will not cover a long default. For Bengaluru practice, read security deposit rules in Bangalore.

How long does it take to evict a tenant for non-payment?

There is no fixed answer. The Model Tenancy Act asks rent courts to try to decide cases within set timelines, with 90 days for non-payment of rent (PRS India), but only in states that have adopted it. In civil courts and older rent control courts, cases often run for many months and can take years, depending on the city, the court's workload and whether the tenant contests or appeals. Plan for the long route, and keep trying to settle along the way: an agreed exit date and a written payment plan are often faster than a decree.

What if the tenant pays after the notice?

Rent acts give tenants a chance to clear arrears. In Delhi, section 14(2) says no eviction order is made on the arrears ground if the tenant pays or deposits as the Act requires. In Karnataka, section 27(2)(a) lets the court order eviction unless the tenant pays or deposits the arrears within one month of the order, but a tenant who already had this benefit once for the same premises does not get the notice benefit again. That is one more reason to keep a clean, dated record of every late month. Unpaid rent can be claimed in court for three years from when it fell due; see landlord rights in India.

Tenant not vacating after the rent agreement expires

When the agreement ends and the tenant stays on, you still cannot remove them yourself. If you keep accepting rent, section 116 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 can treat the lease as renewed month to month, so write to the tenant before the end date saying you will not renew, and do not accept rent as if the tenancy continues. Where a state has adopted the Model Tenancy Act, a tenant who overstays owes compensation of twice the monthly rent for two months and four times after that (PRS India). Otherwise the route is the same as for unpaid rent: a lawyer's notice, then the rent court or civil court.

How to prevent a rent dispute in the first place

The landlords who come out of a dispute well are the ones with paperwork. Each of these steps takes minutes at the start of a tenancy and saves months later.

• A written, signed and, where required, registered rent agreement with the rent, due date and notice period. See rent agreement format.
• Tenant police verification before move-in. See tenant police verification.
• Rent paid by UPI or bank transfer, not cash, so there is always a reference number. See how to collect rent online.
• A receipt for every payment, so neither side can later dispute what was paid.
• Reminders sent in writing on the same days every month, so a missed payment is noticed in days, not months.

Frequently asked questions