How can a landlord deal with an absconding tenant?

For a landlord, renting his property is a passive source of income. He benefits from rental revenue and price appreciation of the property over time. However, these benefits come with responsibilities—maintaining the property and dealing with issues related to tenants. Of these two, the part involving tenants is often more challenging, as they can sometimes be indifferent.

Discussed in this guide is one of the common tenant-related challenges faced by landlords: that of an absconding tenant. This issue is further complicated if the landlord resides in a different city. Explore ways in which a problematic and absconding tenant can be effectively handled through this article.

 

Who is an absconding tenant?

An absconding tenant is one who has defaulted on the rent and is unreachable by the landlord. 

 

Why do tenants abscond?

Mentioned are some of the reasons why a tenant absconds and if the landlord identifies these flags earlier he may prevent such an incident from happening. 

• Family problem

There may be some within the family such as health problems or a personal problem like being intimidated/ blackmailed or harassed by somebody leading to the tenant absconding. 

Case study: A case in point is that of IT professionals Vrinda and Suresh who were staying on rent in Bangalore Electronic City Phase-1. They had relocated from the United States and had taken the property on rent here for two years. Six months after they moved in, the couple got separated and absconded from the rental apartment without telling the landlord. 

• Financial problem

The tenant may be having problems with his finances because of a salary cut, job loss or any debt he has taken and is unable to repay. 

Case study:  Satyam Sharma had taken on rent a house and a shop in the same housing complex and had been living there for over five years and people around trusted him. He had started a chit fund and taken money in lakh from neighbours and neighbouring shop owners and absconded overnight when he lost all the money he had taken from others in the stock market. 

• Problem with the landlord

If the tenant has had a fight with the landlord regarding maintenance of the property, rent of the property or any other aspect, he may quit without telling the landlord. 

• Illegal activities

If a tenant has been running an illegal racket in the landlord’s house without his knowledge, he may run away so that he is not caught. 

 

Key signs to know the tenant has absconded

• If the tenant is unreachable by the landlord for a considerable amount of time and he has also defaulted on rent, there are chances that he has absconded. It’s recommended to have contact details of family members of the tenant whom you can reach out to in such a situation. 
• If the tenant has moved out furniture and his personal belongings from the house without telling you. You may check this by getting in touch with your neighbours or the security guard of the housing society. 
• You can pay a visit to the apartment to see if the tenant still lives there and is only avoiding your or he has disappeared. 
• You can check with the electricity department of the place to understand if the last and outstanding electricity bill was paid by the tenant. 

 

What can a landlord do if he finds that the tenant has absconded?

• Contact tenant

The landlord should first confirm that the tenant has absconded by trying to establish contact with him through various methods such as calling him on phone, email, messaging him on whatsapp, SMS and finally in person visits. Maintain records of these so that action can be taken against the tenant. 

• Check property

Check the condition of your property and see if the tenant has left behind any of his belongings there. It’s a good idea to document this also as these will serve as proof when legal action will be taken against the tenant. 

• Issue legal notice

The landlord can issue a legal notice to the tenant’s permanent address and office address asking him why he vacated the property without paying rent and serving the notice. Give him a deadline to revert with responses. 

• Send an eviction notice

If the landlord doesn’t get any response, evaluate the rental agreement and see the steps that you will be taking in case of an absconding tenant. 

A property owner can take legal help from the civil court and send an eviction notice to the tenant for not paying the rent on time and vacating the flat without any intimation. In case the tenant is absent in the court, the court order will be decided in the landlord’s favour. Once the order is in favour of the landlord he should immediately change the locks of the property, assess the losses and see for ways to recover it from the fugitive tenant.

• File police complaint

In case the landlord is doubtful that the tenant was involved in illegal activities, he should immediately file a police complaint. The landlord should handover tenant details, rental agreement and evidence of the tenant absconding. 

 

What can and cannot be done by the landlord with the absconding tenant’s belongings?

• Even though the tenant has absconded, a landlord doesn’t have the legal right to sell the tenant’s belongings to cover the losses. If found doing this, the tenant can sue the landlord. 
• The landlord also has no right to lock the belongings of the tenant with his lock and key. 
• However, if the landlord wishes to sell the belongings and rent his property again, he has to get permission from the court and then only proceed. 

 

Steps a landlord can take to prevent situation of an absconding tenant

There are some steps that the landlord can take proactively to prevent facing an incident of an absconding tenant. 

• Tenant screening

Check the tenant thoroughly whom you are leasing your property to. Ask these 18 questions to know if the person is the right fit.

• Have a good relationship with tenant

Landlords should have a good relationship with their tenants and look at solving smaller issues faced by them so that there is no problem created by the tenant for them.

• Registered rental agreement 

Register the rental agreement with the SRO and include all the clauses that protect the interests of the landlord such as notice period that the tenant has to be serving, the increase in rent from which period, what happens if the tenant defaults on rent, when can the landlord send an eviction notice to the tenant and legal actions that can be taken by the landlord in case of the tenant absconding. 

• Security deposit

Ensure that the tenant pays the security deposit according to the market rate and this can be adjusted with the losses the landlord may incur in case he absconds. In the rental agreement it’s recommended to mention under what circumstances, a landlord can legally use the security deposit- with one key point being that of an absconding tenant. 

• Regular visit to your property 

It’s a good idea to regularly visit your property and see that all the things are in place. You may also keep in touch with neighbours and guards of the building to be informed about the tenants. 

• Take landlord insurance: There are insurance policies that a landlord can explore which covers loss of rental income, damage to the property caused by tenants, eviction of tenants etc. 

• Networking: A landlord should be part of the landlord association in that area so that he is well aware of the trend that is going on in that location. 

 

Legal framework ruling landlord tenant relationship in India

These are the three legal frameworks under which the landlord-tenant relationships are governed

• The Rent Control Act: The rental agreements signed fall under this act and these vary from state to state in India.
• Transfer of Property Act, 1882: This provides the rules for rental and lease agreements. 
• The Indian Contract Act, 1872: This act covers all clauses and contracts mentioned in the various agreements. 

 

Housing.com POV

Tackling absconding tenants is a very big challenge for the landlords but by following some legal process, they may find a way out. Note that each case may be different from the other and hence taking help of a lawyer is recommended. Also, the landlord should well evaluate the tenants thoroughly before renting their property to them so that they avoid situations like this. 

 

FAQs

How long does it take for a landlord to evict and repossess his house if a tenant is absconding?

The time limit depends on the complexity of the case and the duration when it is being fought in the court.

Can you file a case in the court regarding an absconding tenant if you have no valid rental agreement?

No. Absence of a rental agreement will result in no standing in the court of law.

What if the tenants refuse to leave?

The landlord can take the help of a lawyer and file an eviction notice against the tenant in case he refuses to leave.

Can a landlord force a tenant to leave without notice?

No, in India a landlord has to give a notice of 28 days for the tenant to vacate. However, the tenant eviction time frame depends on what has been mentioned in the rental agreement.

Got any questions or point of view on our article? We would love to hear from you. Write to our Editor-in-Chief Jhumur Ghosh at jhumur.ghosh1@housing.com