‘Legal eviction of tenants is difficult’

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I have recently moved to Mumbai from Hyderabad and have managed to locate an apartment on rent. Usually I would execute a lease agreement. But, my broker is insistent upon a leave and licence agreement. I haven’t heard of such an agreement before. What is it exactly? And how is it different from a lease agreement?
A leave and licence agreement allows you to take possession of the property in question - in your case, the apartment.
However, it’s a lot more restrictive in terms of your rights when compared to a lease agreement.

Some of the basic differences between the two that you should be aware of are that you will not be able to transfer or sub-let the apartment, your landlord need not give you any notice of revocation (this means that you could be evicted at any time) and you would not have any claim to the apartment in case of a leave and licence agreement.

However, one of the main reasons why landlords are hesitant to enter into a lease agreement is that it doesn’t have to be registered, in which case you save on stamp duty and registration charges.

An unregistered leave and licence agreement could prove to be a
problem especially if you intend to occupy the apartment for a long
period of time.

I have rented out a house in Mumbai for almost the last 12 years. I’m about to retire now and would like to move back into that house. I have requested the existing tenants to move out but they refuse to listen. This is becoming very inconvenient for me. Is there any way I can evict them?
The legal eviction of tenants is a long drawn and arduous process - for which you should ideally refer to a legal professional.

One of the grounds under which you could get an order of eviction is if you require the house for your own occupation, which, from your question, you seem to do.

Section 16 (1) (g) of the Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999, provides that a court shall order eviction if it is satisfied “that the premises reasonably and bona fide required by the landlord for occupation by himself […]”.

However, do keep in mind that there are a number of conditions under which such eviction orders are given. I would suggest that you get in touch with a lawyer for a complete understanding of your options.

Arjyaa B Majumdar is a lawyer working with FoxMandal Little, New Delhi, and specialises in real estate, consumer and insurance law