I want to know if I can take legal action against the tenant when the lease agreement is unregistered? I let-out a building to a company for a term of five years. Proper lease agreement was prepared but it was unregistered till date. In the meantime the tenant has vacated the premises without terminating the lease agreement. He also did not pay the rent for eleven months. I told him many times that pay the rent but he said that some superior officers are proposed to visit the premises and after some changed in the interior they shall extend the period of lease and also increase the rent.
It was my fault because I thought that rent will increase in coming months so do not compel him to pay the rent. I have the lease agreement which is duly signed by the concerned authority of the company. In this scenario can I take any legal action against the tenant. One expert says that lease agreement should have been registered and in absence of registration I can not take any legal action against him.
Asked from: Punjab
You can sue the tenant for recovery of rent due and for damages resulting from the loss of rent. The lease was granted for a period of five years. According to Section 107 of the Transfer of Property Act, if the tenure of a lease is more than one year, the lease agreement must be registered. Therefore, the registration of the lease agreement was mandatory, but you let out the premises without following the necessary procedure.
According to Section 17 of the Indian Registration Act, an unregistered document is not admissible as evidence. Hence, you cannot produce the lease deed as evidence to prove the obligations of the lessee. Therefore, on the basis of an unregistered lease agreement, you cannot compel the tenant or lessee to perform the promises made in the lease agreement. Specific performance means compelling the defaulting party to obey the terms of the agreement in its letter and spirit.
If the lease agreement had been duly registered, you could sue the lessee for the specific performance of the contract. On the basis of the unregistered deed, you still have the right to sue him for breach of contract.
The unregistered lease agreement proves that both parties entered into an agreement to perform certain acts. You can sue for the payment of due rent with interest and for the prospective loss of rent.
You should file a civil suit based on this agreement. The lessee has breached the agreement because he vacated the premises without terminating the agreement properly.
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