Hefty price for greed

Opinder Singh Lamba

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To rent out a house is an intriguing experience. A couple of years back, a family which had taken on rent the top floor of my three-storeyed house put me on notice that due to some untoward circumstances, they would be vacating the premises by the middle of the next month.

My wife and I being co-owners of the property, we decided to affix a ‘To let’ notice on the main entrance, along with my mobile number. As usual, we were flooded with enquiries from people, including government and bank employees, doctors, lawyers and IT professionals.

What put me in an awkward position was the visit of a couple in their mid-fifties. They politely asked, ‘Sir, we want to rent the floor, but not the top one you mentioned. Can you do us a favour by renting out the ground floor?’ When I refused, they insisted on the first floor.

My wife intervened, ‘No, that is not possible as we are living on the ground floor and our elderly parents live on the first floor.’ But they did not relent. Finally, we came in after closing the gate. The next morning, two young women approached us, ‘Uncle, we have just graduated in fashion designing and wish to start a boutique. Your sector is a posh locality and we expect to get a good clientele here.’

Finding us unresponsive, one of them said, ‘Sir, be magnanimous, motivate unemployed women like us. We are prepared to give rent more than what you have asked for. We are also ready to pay Rs 25,000 per month.’

This surely was turning out to be a lucrative offer. So without arguing further, I clinched the deal.

The offer was so gripping that despite knowing that it was illegal to run any commercial activity from residential premises, I consented without taking my wife into confidence.

The next day, the women paid us Rs 50,000 through a cheque on account of Rs 25,000 each for a month’s rent in advance and the security amount.

It all went well for a few months, but soon I received a shock when a notice was served upon me by the municipal authorities for unlawfully misusing my residential premises. Jolted by the dark side of avarice, I was left in the lurch as a hapless landlord, running from pillar to post to wriggle out of this unsavoury situation.

Miffed, I approached the officials concerned but in vain. Though I pleaded guilty, the adamant officer sarcastically said, ‘Sardar saab, ignorance of law is not an excuse.’ Finally, I was let off after paying a hefty sum as penalty. It was a rightful lesson for me to learn that greed can be a corrosive monster.