The delhi rent control act, 1958

(1) This Act may be called the Delhi Rent Control Act,1958. (2) It extends to the areas included within the limits of the New Delhi Municipal Committee and theDelhi Cantonment Board and to such urban areas within the limits of the Municipal Corporation of Delhias are specified in the First Schedule: Provided that the Central Government may, by notification1in the Official Gazette, extend this Act orany provision thereof, to any other urban area included within the limits of the Municipal Corporation ofDelhi of exclude any area from the operation of this Act or any provision thereof. (3) It shall come into force on such date2as the Central Government may, by notification in the OfficialGazette, appoint.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "basic rent", in relation to premises let out before the 2nd day of June, 1944, means the basic rentof such premises as determined in accordance with the provisions of the Second Schedule; (b) "Controller" means a Controller appointed under sub-section (1) of section 35 and includes anadditional Controller appointed under sub-section (2) of that section; (c) "fair rate" means the fair rate fixed under section 31 and includes the rate as revised undersection 32; (d) "hotel or lodging house" means a building or part of a building where lodging with or without boardor other services is provided for a monetary consideration; (e) "landlord" means a person who, for the time being is receiving, or is entitled to receive, the rent ofany premises, whether on his own account or on account of or on behalf of, or for the benefit of, any otherperson or as a trustee, guardian or receiver for any other person or who would so receive the rent or beentitled to receive the rent, if the premises were let to a tenant; (f) "lawful increase" means an increase in rent permitted under the provisions of this Act; (g) "manager of a hotel" includes any person in charge of the management of the hotel; (h) "owner of a lodging house" means a person who receives or is entitled to receive whether on hisown account or on behalf of himself and others or as an agent or a trustee for any other person, any monetaryconsideration from any person on account of board, lodging or other services provided in the lodging house; (i) "premises" means any building or part of a building which is, or is intended to be, let separately foruse as a residence or for commercial use or for any other purpose, and includes,-- (i) the garden, grounds and outhouses, if any, appertaining to such building or part of the building; (ii) any furniture supplied by the landlord for use in such building or part of the building;but does not include a room in a hotel or lodging house; (j) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (k) "standard rent", in relation to any premises, means the standard rent referred to in section 6 or wherethe standard rent has been increased under section 7, such increased rent; 1[(l) "tenant" means any person by whom or on whose account or behalf the rent of any premises is, or,but for a special contract, would be, payable, and includes-- (i) a sub-tenant; (ii) any person continuing in possession after the termination of his tenancy; and (iii) in the event of the death of the person continuing in possession after the termination of histenancy, subject to the order of succession and conditions specified, respectively, in Explanation I andExplanation II to this clause, such of the aforesaid person’s-- (a) spouse, (b) son or daughter, or, where there are both son and daughter, both of them, (c) parents, (d) daughter-in-law, being the widow of his pre-deceased son, as had been ordinarily living in the premises with such person as a member or members of his family up tothe date of his death, but does not include,-- (A) any person against whom an order or decree for eviction has been made, except where such decreeor order for eviction is liable to be re-opened under the proviso to section 3 of the Delhi Rent Control(Amendment) Act, 1976 (18 of 1976); (B) any person to whom a licence, as defined by section 52 of the Indian EasementsAct, 1882 (5 of 1882), has been granted. Explanation I.--The order of succession in the event of the death of the person continuing in possessionafter the termination of his tenancy shall be as follows:-- (a) firstly, his surviving spouse; (b) secondly, his son or daughter, or both, if there is no surviving spouse, or if the surviving spouse didnot ordinarily live with the deceased person as a member of his family up to the date of his death; (c) thirdly, his parents, if there is no surviving spouse, son or daughter of the deceased person, or ifsuch surviving spouse, son or daughter or any of them, did not ordinarily live in the premises as a memberof the family of the deceased person up to the date of his death; and (d) fourthly, his daughter-in-law, being the widow of his pre-deceased son, if there is no survivingspouse, son, daughter or parents of the deceased person, or if such surviving spouse, son, daughter orparents, or any of them, did not ordinarily live in the premises as a member of the family of the deceasedperson up to the date of his death. Explanation II. ---If the person, who acquires, by succession, the right to continue in possession afterthe termination of the tenancy, was not financially dependent on the deceased person on the date of hisdeath, such successor shall acquire such right for a limited period of one year; and, on the expiry of thatperiod, or on his death, whichever is earlier, the right of such successor to continue in possession after thetermination of the tenancy shall become extinguished. Explanation III.--For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that,-- (a) where, by reason of Explanation II, the right of any successor to continue in possession after thetermination of the tenancy becomes extinguished, such extinguishment shall not affect the right of any othersuccessor of the same category to continue in possession after the termination of the tenancy; but if there isno other successor of the same category, the right to continue in possession after the termination of thetenancy shall not, on such extinguishment, pass on to any other successor, specified in any lower categoryor categories, as the case may be; (b) the right of every successor, referred to in Explanation I, to continue in possession after thetermination of the tenancy, shall be personal to him and shall not, on the death of such successor, devolveon any of his heirs;] (m) "urban area" has the same meaning as in the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 (66 of 1957).

Nothing in this Act shall apply-- (a) to any premises belonging to the Government; 1*** (b) to any tenancy or other like relationship created by a grant from the Government in respect of thepremises taken on lease, or requisitioned, by the Government: 2[Provided that where any premises belonging to Government have been or are lawfully let by anyperson by virtue of an agreement with the Government or otherwise, then, notwithstanding any judgment,decree or order of any court or other authority, the provisions of this Act shall apply to such tenancy]. 3[(c) to any premises, whether residential or not, whose monthly rent exceeds three thousand and fivehundred rupees; or (d) to any premises constructed on or after the commencement of the Delhi Rent Control (Amendment)Act, 1988, for a period of ten years from the date of completion of such construction;]

(1) Except where rent is liable to periodicalincrease by virtue of an agreement entered into before the 1st day of January, 1939, no tenant shall,notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary, be liable to pay to his landlord for the occupation of anypremises any amount in excess of the standard rent of the premises, unless such amount is a lawful increaseof the standard rent in accordance with the provisions of this Act. (2) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (1) any agreement for the payment of rent in excess of thestandard rent shall be construed as if it were an agreement for the payment of the standard rent only.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, noperson shall claim or receive any rent in excess of the standard rent, notwithstanding any agreement to thecontrary. (2) No person shall, in consideration of the grant, renewal or continuance of a tenancy or sub-tenancyof any premises,-- (a) claim or receive the payment of any sum as premium or pugree or claim or receive anyconsideration whatsoever, in cash or in kind, in addition to the rent; or (b) except with the previous permission of the Controller, claim or receive the payment of any sumexceeding one month's rent of such premises as rent in advance. (3) It shall not be lawful for the tenant or any other person acting or purporting to act on behalf of thetenant or a sub-tenant to claim or receive any payment in consideration of the relinquishment, transfer orassignment of his tenancy or sub-tenancy, as the case may be, of any premises. (4) Nothing in this section shall apply-- (a) to any payment made in pursuance of an agreement entered into before the 1st day of January,1939; or (b) to any payment made under an agreement by any person to a landlord for the purpose offinancing the construction of the whole or part of any premises on the land belonging to, or taken onlease by, the landlord, if one of the conditions of the agreement is that the landlord is to let to thatperson the whole or part of the premises when completed for the use of that person or any member ofhis family: Provided that such payment does not exceed the amount of agreed rent for a period of five years of thewhole or part of the premises to be let to such person. Explanation.---For the purposes of clause (b) of this sub-section, a "member of the family" of a personmeans, in the case of an undivided Hindu family, any member of the family of that person and in the caseof any other family, the husband, wife, son daughter, father, mother, brother, sister or any other relativedependent on that person.