It is often heard that a tenant, after paying rent for a long time, refuses to vacate the house. Because of this, landlords remain worried that once someone lives on rent for a long period, the tenant may (illegally occupy) their property. Many news reports also surface from time to time in which tenants refuse to vacate houses. It is even said that the law, in some circumstances, gives tenants the right to claim possession of a property after living there for a long time. So today we are telling you what the law actually says — can a tenant really claim ownership of a property after some time, or do landlords also have rights to get their property vacated whenever they want?
What does the law say?
According to Advocate Chetan Parikh, “Normally, a tenant never has ownership rights over the landlord’s property. However, in certain circumstances, a person living on a property can claim possession over it. But under the Transfer of Property Act, this happens through ‘adverse possession.’ In such cases, the person who has possession of the property can even become entitled to sell it. That is, if someone maintains adverse possession over a property for 12 years, they can gain rights over it.”
Understanding through an example
For example, if a person allows an acquaintance to live in their property and that person has been living there for more than 11–12 years, they may claim rights over that property.
On the other hand, if someone is a tenant and the landlord keeps renewing the rent agreement from time to time, then there is no problem. In this situation, no tenant can claim possession or ownership of the property.
What did the Supreme Court say?
Recently, the Supreme Court gave a judgment stating that under the Limitation Act, 1963, the statutory limitation period for private immovable property is 12 years, while for government immovable property it is 30 years. This period is counted from the date the possession begins.
The law supports the person who has been in possession of an immovable property for more than 12 years. If such a person is removed after 12 years, they have the right to approach the court to reclaim possession of the property.