Rent Control Act, which is largely in favour of tenants, has been misused by the tenants at the expense of the landlords/owners for multiple decades now.

Tenants pay a rent of Rs 100/- or less and enjoy a property worth Rs 100000/- or more. 

Tenants make money off someone else's property and live lavishly while the owner lives in penury.

Rent Control Act provides unfair economic benefit to the business of someone who has to pay a small rent. This precludes others to set up the same business in that location as the market rent is a large proportion of the cost of starting a business now, to compete with existing business in the same region.

Rent control act discourages people from renting out their property, in the fear that the tenant will become the de facto owner of the property.

Landlords have been fighting court battles for decades and draining time and money, while the tenants are laughing all the way to the bank.

Time has come to correct this. Action is required now to abolish rent control.

My father - a great believer in the Judiciary - spent 2 decades running about district courts and high courts to get the tenants evicted, but failed to do so. Even though severely ill, he continued the legal battle. The tenants pay 1/100th of the market rent and refuse to increase the rent. The tenants have sublet the premises, which is illegal, but its very hard to prove the same in courts. My father passed away last year, still believing that Justice would be served. How can that happen, when there are only a few grounds for eviction of tenants under the rent control act and those too are easily subverted by tenants by producing false documentation. e.g. in this case the tenant claiming that its his own business and has not sublet the premises. However he is never at the shop or doing anything for the business and its well known otherwise that he doesnt own or run that business, except on paper.

The way the rent control act has been framed, justice cannot be served via the  legal system. Hence executive action must be taken. World over the rent controls are being demolished. This petition calls for a similar action across India.

Please support this petition. Support Justice and fairness. Abolish rent control act.

For more background please read: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/maharashtra-rent-control-act-solution-pending/

Image Credit: C R Sasikumar