Chp 196. Leave and License Agreement, Mumbai.

I’m a migrant.

I don’t deny it.

Plus, I can’t deny it because my facial features give me away.



Back in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore and Delhi, the first problem I always had was finding a place to stay. Having spent my entire school and college days in a hostel, no way was I going to live my independent life as a PG (paying guest).

And the moment I find a good place to rent, everything else is smooth from then on. I’m the kind of tenant Landlords love. I don’t blast music at weird hours in the night, bring home strange women (or men) back to the apartment, or sacrifice nearby stray dogs at a makeshift altar inside the apartment. I always pay my monthly rent on time, conserve electricity to the best of my ability, and smile at my neighbors.

According to me, there are three types of rentals.

First, there is the proper landlord-tenant agreement with the affidavit, stamp papers and identification proofs signed by a magistrate or other people with such authority.

Then there is the type of rentals in which everything is based on word of mouth. Landlord says the rent is this much and tenant says ok and landlord comes every month to collect the rent in cash and life goes on. Trust is the key word here.

Finally, there are those guys who hop from one friend’s house to the other, staying for a week at this house and then the next week at that house and so on. Most Mizos staying in a rented place know one or two such individuals who do that Such people seem to carry everything they need/have in just one traveling bag, and they never chip in with the rent or other bills, even though they usually pay for the booze (but again, they themselves drink the most anyway).

Last weekend I discovered there was a fourth type.

It’s actually the true Legal method of renting an apartment!

Last Saturday I spent a solid 4 hours with my sister and our landlord at a Court here in Mumbai because of the “Leave and License Agreement”.

[Some websites refer to it as “Lease and License Agreement”, or are they different?]

The place where we had to go and register was at the Registrar’s office, Family Court, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra (E).

When I first heard that we were going to a Family Court, I was expecting to see a lot of disgruntled family members fighting with each other, fat saas-bahus pulling each other’s hair and screaming, and even cases of domestic violence with the unfortunate beaten-up wife sporting a sad bruised eye socket. Nah, it was nothing like that.

The place was extremely calm, and dull. Our Agent told us at least 80% of the people there were for the same reason as us – to get the agreement registered.

“Family court is a civil court that deals with marriages, family-related issues, inheritance and settlement of disputes by conciliation. Anything involving violence is transferred to a criminal court,” our agent said.

Saw a very funny sight at the Court too - A man walking around and selling illegal pirated DVDs and CDs, right there in the freaking Court complex! Lolz. This happens only in India, seriously.

We paid our agent 4500 bucks. According to “customs”, the fee to be paid is shared 50-50 between the tenant and landlord, so we paid the agent 2250 bucks. He did all the running around and red-tapes and stampings and chai serving while we only had to sit outside and wait and wait and wait.

Occasionally we had to sign some papers and give our left-thumb prints on a few other papers and have our photographs taken by the official Court photographer.

The Agent explained that the Maharashtra Government is extremely strict now regarding all these procedures, especially with terrorism threats becoming more and more a reality.

I was still a bit dazed because I never used to go through so much trouble like this before just to rent a place. It feels so unnecessary, but at the same time one can’t help feeling a bit more secure.

And here’s the deal about the L&L Agreement. If you are not properly registered at a Court, your Housing society or Landlord can kick you out anytime he wishes, because… surprise surprise, you can actually claim that the house you’re renting is yours if you’ve been renting without signing this agreement for a certain period of time (I think it is 5 years here in Mumbai)!

Hence, your housing society can actually throw you out before you do that. This L&L Agreement assures the landlord that you won’t suddenly take over his apartment one fine day. And the contract has to be renewed every 11 months.

Which immediately brings to my mind a couple of Mizos I know who I’m sure haven’t gone to court to register for this.

Is this a serious issue that the Mumbai Mizo Association needs to handle and instruct every Mizos living in Mumbai to do so? I know most of them are still renting apartments on the basis of “trust” between them and the landlord as mentioned earlier, but one can never know what the future holds. Registering at the Court gives you so much more security.

And is this compulsory registration only for Mumbai? I’ve never heard about it at other States. Maybe it is something to do only with Maharashta, like how security deposits differ from State to State. In Delhi, the amount of security deposit I had to pay was only a month’s rent whereas in Bangalore the security deposit was 10 times the monthly rental!

The main intention of the L&L Agreement is to protect the landlord from the tenant claiming the apartment to be his. I mean, why are people so mean as to actually do that?

Anyway, this incident has made me less ignorant regarding this topic and it really feels good to learn so many new things.

Happy renting.

Cheers.



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[Addendum]

When I got home the other day, I quickly referred to my teacher, professor google, regarding this topic that I was not so aware of. For those of you who are interested in this topic, please carry on reading. I have listed out the most relevant news I could find on the Net for you.


Here is a Maharashtra specific statement release on the L&L Agreement.

Leave and License Agreement should be registered:

UNDER Section 55 (1) of the Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999, any agreement for Leave and License or letting of any premises entered into between the landlord and the tenant or the licensee as the case may be should be in writing and should be registered under the Registration Act, 1908. Section 55 (2) imposes the responsibility of getting such agreement registered on the landlord.

An explanation about the L&L Agreement by the Chamber of Tax consultant, with a sample form of the Agreement.

Leave and License Agreement:

The word ‘licence’ has been defined in section 523 of the Indian Easement Act, 1882 "where one person grants to another, or to a definite number of other persons, a right do or continue to do in or upon the immovable property of the grantor, something which would, in the absence of such a right, be unlawful, and such right does not amount to an easement or interest in the property, the right is called a licence.

Why 11 months period in Mumbai, answered by S.R.Agarwal, Advocate.

Leave and License – Why 11 months only:

There is a practice prevalent in Bombay that Leave & Licence Agreement in respect of a residential premises is entered into and executed for a maximum period of 11 months. The question arise whether it can be for more than 11 months.

Another interesting article! A must read.

Difference between "Rental Agreement" and "Leave & License Agreement":

There is a vast difference between the "Tenancy Agreement" or Lease Agreement and Leave and License Agreement. In the former, there is a transfer of interest, whereas in the latter, there is no transfer of interest although permission is granted. If the premises are given on Tenancy, there is an element of non-eviction of the tenant by the owner except on the grounds of eviction, mentioned under the Rent Act.

Advantages of the L&L Agreement for Landlords.

Making money on Leave and License:

You have a vacant apartment. But, you will never rent it out. After all, what if your tenant decides not to vacate and makes your apartment his own. That's why tenancy has been put on the backburner and L&L is now the most popular option.

A Leave & License agreement does not give the occupants any ownership rights. The agreement only permits occupancy for a specific timeframe which could range from 11 months to 33 months. Should he refuse to vacate, the matter can be brought before the Competent Authority who will then take action.

A lease, on the other hand, generally refers to a plot of land and has a much longer timeframe which could extend to 99 years. Where a lease is concerned, the occupant can sub-lease it to a third party (if permitted in the lease deed), a right not given in the case of L&L.

Pro-tenant laws in India often inhibit rental market.

Pro-tenant laws in India often inhibit rental market:

Even with the application of the Lease and License Agreement system, it is still difficult for a landlord to protect his property from unwanted overstaying tenants. Even if contracts are enforceable in courts, the actual enforcement takes years or decades to accomplish.

Regarding family courts, this is a very good and detailed link regarding the Family Courts Act, 1984.

Establishment of Family Courts:

(1) For the purpose of exercising the jurisdiction and powers conferred on a Family Court by this Act, the State Government, after consultation with the High Court, and by notification,-

(a) shall, as soon as may be after the commencement of this Act, establish for every area in the State comprising a city or town whose population exceeds one million, a Family Court;

(b) may establish Family Courts for such other areas in the State as it may deem necessary.

(2) The State Government shall, after consultation with the High Court, specify, by notification, the local limits of the area to which the jurisdiction of a Family Court shall extend and may, at any time, increase, reduce or alter such limits.

Here is a good summary on the proceedings and duties of a family court.

Family courts under the family courts act 1984:

The purpose and aim of establishing the Family Courts is to protect and preserve the institution of marriage and to promote the welfare of children and provide for settlement of disputes by conciliation. The Family Courts Act extends to the whole of India except Jammu and Kashmir.

And then here is a list of the number of family courts in India

Ministry of Law and Justice – Department of Justice.:

After the enactment of the Family Courts Act, 1984, 61 Family Courts have been set up so far: Uttar Pradesh-16, Rajasthan-5, Maharashtra -13, Orissa-2, Karnataka-4, Tamil Nadu-5, Kerala-5, Bihar-2, Assam-1, Manipur-1, Andhra Pradesh-6, and Pondicherry-1. The NCT of Delhi has also been requested to take urgent steps for setting up the 15 Family Courts in the NCT of Delhi.

Regarding my earlier query on why domestic violence cannot be tried in family courts, here is a good result:

Court directive on Domestic violence:

The Kerala High Court has held that except magistrate courts no civil courts or family court had the jurisdiction to deal with an application filed under Section 12 of the Protection from Domestic Violence Act.

On the lighter side, this one is a MUST see. I came across it while searching for the location on wikimapia.

Family Court Building, Bandra Kurla Complex, East Bandra:

The seven courts of the Family Court under the Family Courts Act, 1984. Here they work overtime to destroy families and promote feminism and feminist fascism.

Lolz! I wonder who’s the disgruntled dude who wrote that.