Under the Rent Act, 1963 (Act 220), a landlord cannot simply put a tenant out. Possession of a home is recovered by an order of a court - a Rent Magistrate, which is the District Magistrate for the area, or a judge - and the court may make one only on the grounds section 17 lists.
Changing the locks, taking the doors off, throwing your things out or cutting your water and power to make you leave are not shortcuts to the same place. Section 27 makes it an offence to do, or to stop doing, anything the tenancy requires, with intent to make a tenant give up the premises.
The grounds a court can evict on
The main ones in section 17(1):
| Ground | What it means |
|---|---|
| Unpaid rent | Rent still unpaid 1 month after it fell due |
| Breaking the tenancy | Breaking a term of the tenancy agreement that is consistent with the Act |
| Nuisance | Behaviour that is a nuisance or annoyance to the neighbours |
| The landlord needs it to live in | Where the premises are reasonably needed as the landlord’s own home |
| The landlord needs it for business, or to rebuild | Only after at least 6 months’ written notice |
| A job that came with the house | The tenancy was part of employment with the landlord, and the job has ended |
Even on one of these grounds, the court decides whether an order is reasonable, and it can postpone or suspend one - for example, on condition the arrears are paid (s.17(3)).
What is unlawful
- Locking you out, removing doors, windows or the roof, or selling or throwing out your belongings.
- Cutting water or electricity to make you leave, where the tenancy includes them.
- Threats or violence, by the landlord or anyone sent by them.
- Putting you out during the months your advance paid for, without a ground and an order. The advance is rent already paid, and paying it does not weaken your protection.
A landlord who wants you out for a reason the Act does not list - a relative needs the room, someone else will pay more - has to wait for the tenancy to end and still needs the court if you do not go.
When your landlord asks you to leave
- Ask for it in writing, with the reason and the date. A landlord who will not write it down knows it would not stand up.
- Read your tenancy agreement for the notice it requires.
- Keep paying rent, or offer it in writing. Unpaid rent is the easiest ground for an order; do not hand the landlord one.
- Go to the Rent Control Department. It hears tenancy complaints for free, mediates, and can refer a case to the Rent Magistrate. Bring the agreement, the receipts for your advance and any letters.
- Do not fight it out on the doorstep. If you are threatened or locked out, report it at the police station and to Rent Control the same day.
— The Rent Control Department — Getting a police report
If you are the landlord
You get your house back faster by going through Rent Control and the court than by a fight that ends with the tenant’s complaint against you. Write to the tenant giving the ground and the date, keep a copy, and if they do not leave, apply to the Rent Magistrate for the district.
After a death in the house
If the tenant who died was your spouse or parent, and the home is rented, the family cannot eject you before the estate is distributed except by court order (Intestate Succession Law, s.16A).
— Inheritance when there is no will
Getting help
A lawyer, or free advice from the Legal Aid Commission if you cannot afford one. The Rent Control Department is free, and the place to start.