To let or not to let— years on, dilemma still weighs on owner’s mind

Wg Cdr DPS Bajwa (retd)

Rent control acts sound good on paper but have no meaning for the common man. In 1980s, my brother-in-law inherited a house in a posh colony in Delhi. The tenant would not vacate it despite all requests and the extension of time granted repeatedly. My brother-in law filed a court case, thinking it was his right to get back his house. It carried on for years and he pumped in all his savings but eventually it became a futile exercise. In sheer desperation, he sold the property ‘as is where is’ (with the tenant) for peanuts, where as the house was worth crores of rupees. With this terrible experience, I was convinced that letting out one’s property is no bright idea.

Later, I came across many cases of friends and relatives, who are going through litigation to free their own property from clutches of unscrupulous tenants. There is a retired senior police officer who is staying in my relative’s house for over 16 years, trying to have his own house vacated but only our legal wizards can tell if he will get a decision in his life time. He is in poor health. Another retired Colonel kept knocking at doors of courts for two decades to get his premises vacated, but expired without being able to get back his property. There are umpteen number of pending cases, which embolden the tenants to take the recourse of litigation, since with the connivance of legal entities, cases linger on indefinitely.

When I retired, my pension was meagre and the retirement benefits were invested where the interest accrued either annually or half yearly, hence regular monthly income was missing. There was a dilemma whether to build upper floors to augment monthly income. What if we lose peace of mind if a bad tenant occupies? But I ventured into the risky business of making two floors by pooling all my resources.

Selecting a tenant carefully is in itself an interesting exercise. All tenants are supposed to be good but some say that never let it out to a lawyer or a policeman. Every time a tenant leaves, the house needs a thorough repair. Having spruced up the house, one hangs a “TO LET” board or advertises in a newspaper. Property consultants flood you with calls. In Chandigarh, the demand for PG accommodations is high. There are many queries while judging a right tenant. Some of the questions are why and from where are they are vacating their last accommodation? Whether they own pets or have servants? How many four-wheelers and two-wheelers they own? What is their source of income? How many people would stay in the house? Of course, we need to see their identity proof. Having selected the tenant, one makes a lease deed and forwards the details for verification to the police.

At the end of the day, the real behaviour of the party is known only after a few months of living together. I must thank the almighty that so far, all my tenants, some of whom stayed for more than five to seven years are our lifetime friends now. Happy To Let!