Section 14 of Delhi Rent Control Act 1958: Protection of Tenant Against Eviction

Section 14 is the principal tenant-protection provision in Chapter III of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958. It restricts recovery of possession by a landlord and permits eviction only on the statutory grounds and subject to the safeguards stated in the section.

Current legal position: The Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 continues to appear as a Central Act on India Code. The official text identifies Section 14 as "Protection of tenant against eviction." The applicability of the Act to a particular premises must be checked separately, including the exclusions in Section 3 and territorial application under Section 1.
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Meaning and scope of Section 14

Section 14 begins with a non-obstante clause. In substance, it prevents a court or the Rent Controller from ordering recovery of possession against a tenant merely because another law or a contract might otherwise permit it. A landlord seeking eviction under this provision must establish one or more grounds specifically recognized by Section 14.

The protection is not absolute. The proviso to Section 14(1) sets out grounds on which the Controller may order recovery of possession. The remaining sub-sections add conditions, exceptions and opportunities to cure certain defaults.

Main grounds for eviction under Section 14(1)

Rent arrears - clause (a)Non-payment or non-tender of legally recoverable arrears within two months after service of the prescribed demand notice.
Unauthorized sub-letting - clause (b)Sub-letting, assignment or parting with possession without the landlord's written consent, subject to the statutory dates and conditions.
Misuse - clause (c)Use of the premises for a purpose other than that for which it was let, subject to the statutory requirements.
Non-residence - clause (d)For residential premises, neither the tenant nor a family member has resided there for the specified six-month period before filing.
Bona fide residential requirement - clause (e)Residential premises are bona fide required by the owner-landlord for residence and no other reasonably suitable residential accommodation is available.
Repairs or reconstruction - clauses (f) and (g)Vacation is genuinely required for specified repairs, rebuilding, additions or alterations that cannot be carried out while occupied.
Alternative residence - clauses (h) and (hh)The tenant has acquired or been allotted a residence, or has built a residence and the statutory period has elapsed.
Employment tenancy - clause (i)Residential premises were let because of employment with the landlord and that employment has ceased, subject to Section 14(9).
Substantial damage - clause (j)The tenant has caused or permitted substantial damage, subject to the opportunity provided by Section 14(10).
Lease-condition breach or public work - clauses (k) and (l)The premises are dealt with contrary to specified superior-lease conditions, or possession is needed for qualifying government or development work.

Important tenant safeguards in Section 14

First default in rent: Section 14(2), read with Section 15, can protect a tenant from eviction on the rent-default ground where the required payment or deposit is made. The benefit is restricted where, after having obtained it once, the tenant again defaults for three consecutive months.

Misuse: Section 14(5) requires the prescribed notice to stop misuse and gives the tenant one month to comply. The Controller must also be satisfied about the statutory nature or consequence of the misuse before eviction can be ordered on that ground.

Transferred property and bona fide need: Section 14(6) imposes a five-year waiting period from acquisition before a transferee-landlord may seek possession under clause (e). Section 14(7) provides that possession under clause (e) cannot be obtained before six months from the eviction order.

Damage and superior-lease conditions: Sections 14(10) and 14(11) permit specified remedial action or compensation that can prevent an eviction order on clauses (j) and (k), respectively.

Application to the Rent Controller

The Delhi Rent Control Rules, 1959 supplement the Act. Rule 3 provides that an application to the Controller under Section 14 is to be made in Form A. The precise procedure and evidence depend on the ground invoked, and special provisions elsewhere in the Act may apply to particular categories of eviction proceedings.

Clause (a) of Section 14(1) also refers to service of a demand notice in the manner provided by Section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. Section 106 deals with duration and termination of certain leases in the absence of a contrary contract, local law or usage and prescribes requirements for a termination notice.

Full text of Section 14 - Protection of tenant against eviction

(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other law or contract, no order or decree for the recovery of possession of any premises shall be made by any court or Controller in favour of the landlord against a tenant:

Provided that the Controller may, on an application made to him in the prescribed manner, make an order for the recovery of possession of the premises on one or more of the following grounds only, namely:--

(a) that the tenant has neither paid nor tendered the whole of the arrears of the rent legally recoverable from him within two months of the date on which a notice of demand for the arrears of rent has been served of him by the landlord in the manner provided in section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (4 of 1882);

(b) that the tenant has, on or after the 9th day of June, 1952, sub-let, assigned or otherwise parted with the possession of the whole or any part of the premises without obtaining the consent in writing of the landlord;

(c) that the tenant has used the premises for a purpose other than that for which they were let--

(i) if the premises have been let on or after the 9th day of June, 1952, without obtaining the consent in writing of the landlord; or

(ii) if the premises have been let before the said date without obtaining his consent;

(d) that the premises were let for use as a residence and neither the tenant nor any member of his family has been residing therein for a period of six months immediately before the date of the filing of the application for the recovery of possession thereof;

(e) that the premises let for residential purposes are required bona fide by the landlord for occupation as a residence for himself or for any member of his family dependent on him, if he is the owner thereof, or for any person for whose benefit the premises are held and that the landlord or such person has no other reasonably suitable residential accommodation;

Explanation.--For the purposes of this clause, "premises let for residential purposes" include any premises which having been let for use as a residence are, without the consent of the landlord, used incidentally for commercial or other purposes;

(f) that the premises have become unsafe or unfit for human habitation and are required bona fide by the landlord for carrying out repairs which cannot be carried out without the premises being vacated;

(g) that the premises are required bona fide by the landlord for the purpose of building or re-building or making thereto any substantial additions or alterations and that such building or re-building or addition or alteration cannot be carried out without the premises being vacated;

(h) that the tenant has, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, 1***, acquired vacant possession of, or been allotted, a residence;

1[(hh) that the tenant has, after the commencement of the Delhi Rent Control (Amendment) Act, 1988, built a residence and ten years have elapsed thereafter;]

(i) that the premises were let to the tenant for use as a residence by reason of his being in the service or employment of the landlord, and that the tenant has ceased, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, to be in such service or employment;

(j) that the tenant has, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, caused or permitted to be caused substantial damage to the premises;

(k) that the tenant has, notwithstanding previous notice, used or dealt with the premises in a manner contrary to any condition imposed on the landlord by the Government or the Delhi Development Authority or the Municipal Corporation of Delhi while giving him a lease of the land on which the premises are situate;

(l) that the landlord requires the premises in order to carry out any building work at the instance of the Government or the Delhi Development Authority or the Municipal Corporation of Delhi is pursuance of any improvement scheme or development scheme and that such building work cannot be carried out without the premises being vacated.

(2) No order for the recovery of possession of any premises shall be made on the ground specified in clause (a) of the proviso to sub-section (1), if the tenant makes payment or deposit as required by section 15;

Provided that no tenant shall be entitled to the benefit under this sub-section, if, having obtained such benefit once in respect of any premises, he again makes a default in the payment of rent of those premises for three consecutive months.

(3) No order for the recovery of possession in any proceeding under sub-section (1) shall be binding on any sub-tenant referred to in section 17 who has given notice of his sub-tenancy to the landlord under the provisions of that section, unless the sub-tenant is made a party to the proceeding and the order for eviction is made binding on him.

(4) For the purposes of clause (b) of the proviso to sub-section (1), any premises which have been let for being used for the purposes of business or profession shall be deemed to have been sub-let by the tenant, if the Controller is satisfied that the tenant without obtaining the consent in writing of the landlord has, after the 16th day of August, 1958, allowed any person to occupy the whole or any part of the premises ostensibly on the ground that such person is a partner of the tenant in the business or profession but really for the purpose of sub-letting such premises to that person.

(5) No application for the recovery of possession of any premises shall lie under sub-section (1) on the ground specified in clause (c) of the proviso thereto, unless the landlord has given to the tenant a notice in the prescribed manner requiring him to stop the misuse of the premises and the tenant has refused or failed to comply with such requirement within one month of the date of service of the notice; and no order for eviction against the tenant shall be made in such a case, unless the Controller is satisfied that the misuse of the premises is of such a nature that it is a public nuisance or that it causes damage to the premises or is otherwise detrimental to the interest of the landlord.

(6) Where a landlord has acquired any premises by transfer, no application for the recovery of possession of such premises shall lie under sub-section (1) on the ground specified in clause (e) of the proviso thereto, unless a period of five years have elapsed from the date of the acquisition.

(7) Where an order for the recovery of possession of any premises is made on the ground specified in clause (e) of the proviso to sub-section (1), the landlord shall not be entitled to obtain possession thereof before the expiration of a period of six months from the date of the order.

(8) No order for the recovery of possession of any premises shall be made on the ground specified in clause (g) of the proviso to sub-section (1), unless the Controller is satisfied that the proposed reconstruction will not radically alter the purpose for which the premises were let or that such radical alteration is in the public interest, and that the plans and estimates of such reconstruction have been properly prepared and that necessary fund for the purpose are available with the landlord.

(9) No order for the recovery of possession of any premises shall be made on the ground specified in clause (i) of the proviso to sub-section (1), if the Controller is of opinion that there is any bona fide dispute as to whether the tenant has ceased to be in the service or employment of the landlord.

(10) No order for the recovery of possession of any premises shall be made on the ground specified in clause (j) of the proviso to sub-section (1), if the tenant, within such time as may be specified in this behalf by the Controller, carries out repairs to the damage caused to the satisfaction of the Controller or pays to the landlord such amount by way of compensation as the Controller may direct.

(11) No order for the recovery of possession of any premises shall be made on the ground specified in clause (k) of the proviso to sub-section (1), if the tenant, within such time as may be specified in this behalf by the Controller, complies with the condition imposed on the landlord by any of the authorities referred to in that clause or pays to that authority such amount by way of compensation as the Controller may direct.

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1. The word "built" omitted by Act 57 of 1988, s. 8 (w.e.f. 1-12-1988).

2. Ins. by s. 8, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-12-1988).

Official legal resources

India Code - Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 (official PDF)

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs - Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs - Delhi Rent Control Rules, 1959

India Code - Transfer of Property Act, 1882

Note: This page reproduces and explains the statutory provision for general legal information. For a pending or proposed eviction matter, the facts, tenancy documents, notices, applicable jurisdiction and current case law should be examined before acting.