Once a Tenant, always a Tenant ,unless the situation changes by contract or by law. (Delhi High Court Judgment in the case of M.R.Sahni vs. Doris Randhawa, AIR 2008 Delhi 110).
Before getting
the correct answer to the given question, we must know the legal meaning of “Tenant,
Landlord and Adverse Possession”.
Who is Tenant?
A person
who rents a unit from a landlord or property owner for a fixed period of time
is known as a Tenant. Another term used for tenant is the "Lessee" of
the premises, and the tenant is allowed to occupy the rental property as long
as he or she follows the terms and conditions of the Lease.
According to the Rent Control Act, a tenant is a person who occupies the property under a lease or rental agreement. They pay rent to the landlord in exchange for the right to use and own the property for a fixed period of time as specified in the rental contract.
“Tenant, whether called lessee or by any other
name, means the person by whom or on whose account or on whose behalf, rent for
any premises is payable under a tenancy agreement as landlord and sub-tenant
includes any person in occupation of the premises and also any person who
continues in occupation after the termination of his tenancy before or after
the commencement of this Act; But it shall not include any person against whom
any order or decree of eviction has been made".
Who is the
landlord?
A landlord is
the owner or legal entity that owns a property and grants the right to use and
occupy it to a tenant in exchange for rent.
According to
section 2(a) of the Model Tenancy Act, 2021, “Landlord, whether called
landowner or lessor or by any other name, means a person who receives or is
entitled to receive the rent of any premises ,on his own account , if the
premises were let out to a tenant, and shall include –
(i) His
successor-in-interest; and
(ii) A trustee
or guardian or receiver receiving rent for any premises or is entitled to so
receive, on account of or on behalf of or for the benefit of, any other person
such as minor or person of unsound mind who cannot enter into a contract.
What is Adverse Possession?
Adverse
possession is a legal process whereby a non-owner occupier of a property
acquires title and ownership of that property after a certain period of time.
It is commonly known as "Encroacher’s Right".
The law on
adverse possession provides that any person who has occupied private land for
more than 12 years or government land for more than 30 years is granted title
to the property.
How to claim ownership on
adverse possession?
👉The 12
years will begin from the date when adverse possession starts.
👉The occupier has
to prove that he has been in continuous, uninterrupted possession of the land
for at least 12 years (in case of private land) and more than 30 years (in case
of government land), and that his possession of the property was open,
Notorious and hostile towards the real owner.
👉The occupier
has to prove that despite having knowledge about adverse possession; the owner
didn't take any action.
👉The
occupier also has to prove that the exceptions to the doctrine of adverse
possession are not applicable in the instant case.
👉The occupier
also has to prove that the possession was not interrupted by the owner or any
other person throughout the statutory period.
👉The occupier
also has to prove that he is the only owner and occupier of the property and
there is no other claimant other than him.
Since, according
to Adverse Possession under Limitation Act, if a property owner fails to claim
his property for 12 years and the same encroacher continues to occupy the
property for 12 years, then the right of ownership of the property can be
claimed by the encroacher, and the real owner of the property will lose his
rights over that property.
Can A Tenant Claim Adverse
Possession In India?
Since, Tenant
is a person, who occupies and uses property owned by another for a specific
period in exchange for payment of rent, so he cannot be considered as an
encroacher/illegal occupier of the property which has been in his use and
possession for a long period.
Decisions of the Courts:
In a landmark judgment, The Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 7502/2012
dated 0301.2024 in the case of Brij Narayan Shukla Versus Sudesh Kumar alias
Suresh Kumar and others held that, Tenant cannot claim Adverse Possession
against Landlord. Further held that ,even if it is assumed that the respondents
were in possession from prior 1944, their possession could not be prejudicial
to the landlords as they were tenants and their tenancy would be permissive in
nature and not adverse, and ownership and possession of the land cannot be
claimed through permissive possession arising out of tenancy.
Conclusion:
After perusal of the above mentioned laws and judgments, it is clear that,
a tenant cannot be the owner of the tenancy premises given to him by the
landlord even if the tenant has been living and using that property for a very
long time. Therefore, it is absolutely fair to say that, once a tenant, always
a tenant, unless the situation is changed by contract or law.
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