How To Deal With Illegal Property Possession

Illegal Property Possession- We examine what a landlord might do to avoid difficulty in the wake of an increase in land grabs and illegal property possession. In India, there are a lot of land-related cases, and many of them involve illegal property possession. Due to the inherent value of property, if it is left empty or unattended. It is frequently the target of unauthorized takeover by dishonest individuals. To establish their incorrect ownership of a property, these entities also turn to fabricating official documents. Because plots allow for more space for illegal occupation than apartments do, they are more vulnerable to unlawful possession.


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What is illegal property possession?

It is considered illegal possession of property when someone who is not the rightful owner resides there without permission. The agreement would be enforceable as long as the owner gives the occupant permission to utilise the property. Because of this, landlords rent out their premises to tenants under the conditions of leases & licences, which provide the renter a set length of time to utilise the space. If the tenant continues to occupy the space after this period, it will be considered unlawful property possession.

 

What is an adverse possession?

Even the legislation will permit the tenant to keep the property if he occupies it for a longer period of time than twelve years. In legalese, this is called adverse possession. A squatter can get legal rights over property if an owner does not establish a claim over it for a period of 12 years. Under the Limitation Act of 1963, provisions are created regarding adverse possession.

According to a recent Punjab & Haryana High Court decision, the state is also permitted to purchase land by adverse occupation, but these circumstances must be regarded as rare and extraordinary.

The Supreme Court has made it clear that a lengthy duration of ownership alone does not confer the right of adverse possession in a more recent ruling.

 

How do you deal with illegal possession?

In addition to dealing with other parties, landlords need to watch over their renters to make sure that no fraudulent behaviour occurs on their property. The following preventative steps will help you avoid this:

 

Make frequent visits

It should go without saying that unattended property of any kind, particularly those in good sites, would draw the interest of criminals and the land mafia. While it is crucial to take the required steps to ensure the property’s physical safety (building a boundary wall, for example), it is also vital to pay frequent visits. Frequent in-person visits are advised unless you have hired a reliable caretaker.

 

Thoroughly screen tenants

If stories from the media are to be believed, a great deal of trouble is caused for property owners by dishonest tenants. Many instances, the landlord’s neglect to inspect the tenant property is the root of the issue. Future issues may arise greatly from neglecting to conduct routine checks regarding the tenant’s identity and occupation. The easy part of owning a home is collecting rent; maintaining that ownership might provide challenges. Follow that as your guiding principle and perform all required audits. In the interest of civility, that component should never be compromised.

 

Keep changing tenants

Given the above-mentioned legal restriction, it becomes crucial for a landlord to occasionally switch out their tenants. This is also the reason that the majority of landlords only rent out their properties for 11 months at a time, and then they renew the lease if they feel comfortable doing so in order to accommodate their current renter.

 

Get a boundary wall constructed

When it comes to plots and property parcels, the first thing that has to be done is build a boundary wall. Regardless of whether the owner resides nearby or not, this must be done. Ideally, a housing unit should also be built to reduce the potential for land shark interference. People that live far away from the site need to assign someone to be in charge and make frequent trips there to make sure there are no unlawful activities taking place. Hiring a caretaker would also be a smart approach to avoid illegal employment, however it would not always be a feasible choice. This is particularly valid for Indian non-resident plot owners (NRIs).

 

Mount a warning signboard

In addition to the fencing, a no-trespassing signboard must be used to protect your private property. It is imperative that the signboard expressly states that this is your private property and that trespassers will face consequences.

 

Keep an eye on your rented property

This year, when tenants refused to leave their premises, elderly landlords in Noida were compelled to stage a sit-down protest in front of their bags and belongings. The incident received extensive media coverage.  The elderly couple’s suffering offers a valuable lesson for all landlords. It is mandatory to verify tenants, and the rent agreement must be registered to safeguard the lease.

There’s no need to become complacent, even if you have located a reasonably responsible tenant who has paid the rent on time each month and taken care of the flat. Without upsetting the tenant, keep a careful eye on your property and make frequent visits to establish your presence. If the property is located outside of your city or nation and frequent trips are not possible, assign someone to handle your responsibilities. With property, you can never be too careful.

 

Insist on rental agreement registration

Landlords frequently opt for 11-month rent agreements that do not require registration in order to save money and avoid administrative headaches. Legal experts say that in the event of a negative event, this shortcut could be quite problematic.  Legally speaking, an unregistered rent agreement is not a form of proof. Keep it lawful and register the rental agreement in your best interest.

 

Legal action against unauthorized possession of property.

Individuals who have been subjected to illicit activities have access to several legal recourse procedures in India.

First, you ought to send a formal complaint to the superintendent of police (SP) of the city in where the property is situated. If the SP does not respond to the complaint, you can file a personal complaint with the relevant court.

Regarding the same, you might also make a police report. A copy of the FIR should be kept secure for future use. Under Section 145 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CRPC), the authorities will have to act.

Sections 5 & 6 of the Specific Relief Act allow someone who has been ejected from their property to reclaim it by providing evidence of prior occupancy and subsequent unlawful confiscation.

 

Various IPC provisions relevant in such situations

Section 441

Criminal trespass is defined in this clause.

 

What is a criminal trespass?

Criminal trespass is defined as entering or remaining on another person’s property with the intent to commit an offence, to intimidate, insult, or annoy that person, or, having lawfully enter or remained there, to remain there unlawfully with the intent to commit an offence, to intimidate, insult, or annoy that person.

 

Section 425

Mischief is covered in this section.

 

What is mischief?

” When someone deliberately causes, or knows they are likely to cause, unjustify loss or damage to the general public or to any individual, they are said to be in mischief, cause the destruction of any property, or alter any property or its circumstances in a way that destroys or diminishes its value or utility, or adversely affects it.”

 

Section 420

This section addresses dishonestly inducing the delivery of property and cheating.

 

What is cheating & dishonestly inducing property delivery?

“Whoever deceives someone by cheating and dishonestly persuades them to give up property to someone else. Or to create, modify, or destroy all or part of a valuable security, or anything that is sealed or signed. And has the potential to be turn into a valuable security, shall be subject to a fine in addition to a term of imprisonment of either kind that may not exceed seven years.”

 

Section 442

Section focuses on trespassing into houses.

 

What is trespassing in a house?

“House-trespassing” refers to “entering or remaining in any building, tent, or vessel. Used as a place of residence for humans, as well as any building used as a place of worship or property custody.”

 

Section 503

Criminal intimidation is covers in this section.

 

What constitutes criminal intimidation?

“Criminal intimidation occurs when someone threatens another with harm to their person, reputation, or property, or to the person or reputation of anyone they are interested in. With the intention of alarming the other person or pressuring them to do something against their legal rights or refrain from doing something they are legally entitle to do in order to prevent the execution of such a threat.”

 

State-centric remedies

To handle situations involving land grabs and property frauds, several governments have established independent corrective bodies. For instance, you might get in touch with the Anti-Land Mafia Task Force in Uttar Pradesh. You can file a complaint by visiting jansunwai.up.nic.in/ABMP.html.

 

Important court orders

The person claiming adverse possession must know the true owner. High Court

March 18, 2024: The Supreme Court has decided that a person claiming adverse custody of property must be aware of its true owner.  A two-judge bench made up of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan stated in their ruling in the M Radheshyamlal versus V Sandhya and Anr. Etc. case that in order to establish adverse possession, a party must first establish when they came into possession. Then argue and demonstrate that their long-term. Continuous possession was known to the true owner, and finally show that their possession was open and undisturb.

The supreme court was considering several appeals arising from three separate cases involving a property dispute.

It is well-established law that a party attempting to undermine the rights of the genuine owner. By asserting adverse possession does not have any equity in his favour. Ultimately, the plea is predicate on ongoing wrongful possession for a duration exceeding twelve years. Consequently, the plaintiff must plead and establish the circumstances that make up adverse possession. According to the top court’s order dated March 18, 2024.

 

Husband buying property under wife’s name is not usually a benami transaction:

June 9, 2023: The Calcutta High Court (HC) has decided that a husband giving his wife money. To buy a property does not automatically turn the transaction into a benami transaction. The husband’s motivation for giving this financial support is essential for the transaction to be considers a benami transaction, the HC stated in an order dated June 7, 2023.

 

A copy of the sale deed cannot be accepted as a surety. Allahabad High Court

June 5, 2023: The Allahabad High Court has decided that a photocopy of a sale deed is not accept as surety under Section 17 of the Provincial Small Causes Court Act, 1887. Security may be realize in the ways specified in Section 145 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), according to Section 17 of the Act. The CPC’s Section 145 addresses the enforcement of a surety’s liability.

 

 

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