Lawfully yours: By Retired Justice K Chandru

We had rented out our flat in Chennai to a family in 2017. As of now, the tenant has not paid rent for three months which equals his deposit amount. The latest agreement with him had expired in May last year, and a couple of months ago my husband asked him to vacate by March next year as we want to use the flat for our use. However, he is not picking up our calls and is instead sending us photos of broken floor tiles etc. We also received an email from someone claiming to be his advocate, which is in broken English and made no sense. When we met him in person, he was rude and asked us to get out of the house and contact his advocate via email. We then sent emails to his advocate several times but failed to get any response. Then we sent a notice to vacate by Registered Post which he received but has not bothered to respond. Please let us know how we can proceed in such a situation.

Non-payment of rent for two months is a wilful default and it is a ground for eviction. File a petition before the Rent Control Court (Small Causes Court, Chennai) for eviction and payment of arrears of rent. Though this process may take a year’s time that is the only lawful way to evict the tenant. Many a time the tenants vacated premises even before the final verdict or they come for a settlement. If you are outside the city, then you will have to file your petition in the jurisdictional court.

If there are four heirs in a family and a land portion is equally divided among the four, which portion of the land will be allocated to each one of them? Is there any priority for elder heir according to our succession law?

In partitioning the only property in the form of land, if there is no agreement between the parties regarding the apportionment of the property, you can file a suit for partition in the civil court claiming your share in the property. After the preliminary decree dividing the property in equal share, if there are disagreements, then while passing the final decree, the court may appoint a commissioner to divide the property by metes and bounds and also suggest the exact allotment. If there is no agreement over the portion allotted, then the only option before the court is to order for the sale of the property and give the monetary equivalence to each one of them. In law, there is no preference for the eldest son to have his share selected by virtue of his seniority.

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed here are of Justice K Chandru, who is providing guidance and direction based on his rich experience and knowledge of the law. This is not a substitute for legal recourse which must be taken as a follow-up if so recommended in these columns