ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tannu Kumari, is a first year law student with a keen interest in researching and breaking down complex legal concepts, laws or legal precedents for easier understanding

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INTRODUCTION

Housing is one of the most fundamental human needs which directly or indirectly links to a person’s quality of life, social integration and employment opportunities. With changing lifestyle people have started accommodating themselves in temporary settlements often termed as rental property.

Rental Properties are the properties that are occupied by any person temporarily who is not the real owner of the place, called as a tenant and in return for enjoyment of the property the person has to pay a certain decided sum to the real owner of the place. We will be discussing it in detail in the later sections.

However it has been discovered more often that such transactions are flawed by or based on illegal measures like discrimination based on caste, religion and marital status. Discrimination based on caste and religion being  one of the major concerns that this article will be dealing with. This issue is not only prevalent in India but abroad as well. The diaspora of India living abroad has every now and then witnessed  such discrimination.

 A study conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) found that nearly 50% of Muslim population in Delhi find it difficult to get a rented property. Another report released by Reuters in 2019 noted that dalits and muslims find it relatively difficult to find homes in hindu dominated residential areas same being the case for hindus when it comes to Muslim dominated areas.

A report by the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) says that the caste and religious biases significantly shapes the housing and renting choices in Indian society.

This article covers the issues surrounding such stances from a legal point of view. It provides the legal framework that an aggrieved person or victim can opt for in such situations.  

RENTING LAWS IN INDIA

The Indian government in 1948 enacted the law called Rent Control Act, 1948 to protect the rights of tenants and  landlords. This act provided preventive legal frameworks for tenants facing unfair eviction and excessive rent hikes. The law aimed to regulate the rental housing and affordable living conditions, particularly in urban areas.

However the Rent Control Act 1948 was outdated and fell short on addressing the changing concerns and issues of people. Therefore a new act was introduced to put a check on the shortcomings of the earlier act of 1948. The act was named as The Model Tenancy Act 2021.

Apart from the above two acts , some states have their specific renting laws to govern the renting and letting of properties.

To get a more lucid understanding of these acts we first need to get familiar with some important elements of the act.

Who is a Landlord ?

Landlord has been described as any person who for the time being is entitled to receive rent for a premises whether on their own behalf or on behalf of any other person or as an agent, trustee or receiver.

The honourable Supreme Court in the case of K.K. Verma vs. Union of India held that the landlord does not need to be the real and absolute owner of the property. Someone having the authority to manage the property and collecting the rent is also considered as the landlord of that particular property.

Who is a tenant ?

Tenant is someone who occupies a property under a lease or rental agreement and in exchange for acquiring the rights to use that property , the tenant pays rent to the landlord.

CAN A LANDLORD DENY TO RENT SOMEONE ?

In India under the acts that govern the renting business, a landlord can deny to let or rent a property to any person provided the reason for such denial must be backed by some reasonable and valid justification. For example :

• If any person does not meet the required income criteria, fails to provide any valid identification and legal documents like aadhar, PAN, employment proof and has a history of rental disputes

• If the person renting a property intends to use it for commercial or illegal purposes.

• Some housing societies have bylaws for regulating the tenants. It might put restrictions based on pets, business activities, loud music and so on.    

However a landlord cannot deny tenancy to any person based solely on their religion, race or caste. Under the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955, such discrimination based on race, caste and religion is strictly prohibited.

There has been regular reporting of cases of discrimination based on marital status which is nowhere backed by any legal statute thus rendering it illegal. Discrimination based on gender is also not allowed by the constitution unless or until justified by housing society rules like (all womens hostel or all boys hostel).

Confining our major focus on the discriminations based on caste and religion, lets try to get a comprehensive understanding of it from a legal point of view by analysing the case of Shantistar Builder vs Narayan Khimlal Totame 1990. In this case the Shantistar Builders, a construction company, was engaged in building a housing project in Pune on the land allotted by the Maharashtra government with a condition that a portion of the houses built should be allocated to the weaker sections of the society. In contrast to the condition agreed upon the Shantistar Builders increased the selling price of the houses making them unaffordable for the weaker sections of the society.

The apex court held that such unreasonable hikes in the rent or price of the housing properties was not justified lawfully. One of the major reasons given by the honourable court was that the right to live in a decent and clean environment and a reasonable accommodation to live in comes under the Article 21 of Indian constitution which talks about right to life.

Thus the law does not support any unreasonable or flawed reasons which are not supported by law or based on any kind of discrimination or does harm to the basic fundamental rights of a person.

LEGAL RECOURSE WHEN FACED WITH SUCH DISCRIMINATION

So far as discussed such discrimination is not supported by any legal frameworks but rather the law despises any such illegal actions. If a person is denied legal accommodation the sole basis of their caste or religion, the aggrieved person in such a case has legal remedies available to them under law. Such legal recourse includes constitutional provision, statutory provision and legal mechanism. Here is a breakdown of such remedies :

• Such discriminations are against the fundamental rights stated in article 15 and article 21 of Indian constitution. Article 15 discredits or disallows any discriminations based on caste, religion, race, gender or place of birth. While Article 21 provides for a legal framework for living a safe, healthy and dignified life. An aggrieved person under such circumstances can approach the court for the infringement of their legal rights.

• Section 4 of The Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 derides any such acts of untouchability based on caste or religion. It provides preventive measures when any person faces discrimination regarding the access to any public conveyance. Such acts shall be punishable under the act with an imprisonment of not less than one month and not more than six months and also a monetary compensation ranging from rupees hundred to rupees five hundred as the case may be.

• The Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes Prevention Act, 1989 provides protection to the people belonging to SC/ST community if any person denies them the right to use a public resort or passage which other members of the public from other sections are allowed to enjoy.

• If a person belonging from a minority religious group faces such discrimination, the aggrieved person can file a complaint against the National Commission for Minorities under National Commission of Minorities Act 1992. Such minority groups include Muslim, Christians, Parsis, Sikhs, Jain or Buddhists.

Similar laws can be seen in the US to protect the rights of the people suffering discrimination while renting, selling or financing a property, based on race,  religion, nationality, sexuality, family status and disability. The Fair Housing Act, a civil rights law in the United States provides various preventing measures to the people subject to such actions.

CONCLUSION

Discrimination based on caste and religion is quite prevalent in the society not only in India but it exists in different forms across the globe. These actions are not just unethical but illegal under various frameworks as well. While landlords have the right to select or reject renting their property to someone, the reasons on which such denial persists must not be backed by some illegal or discriminatory motives.

Such actions have legal repercussions that might be imprisonment or monetary compensation or both, the duration of which depends on the case in hand. As discussed above there are various laws, acts or commissions that work to eradicate such unlawful acts.  

Despite such legal safeguards the problem still exists both in India and globally. The issue requires stricter enforcement of laws, increased public awareness and proactive public measures to ensure fair and equal accommodation opportunities to all individuals regardless of their caste or religious background.

SOURCES

• Indian Institute for Human Settlements | Home
• CSDS |
• rent control act – Indian Kanoon
• Model Tenancy Act of 2021
• K.K. Verma And Anr. vs Union Of India And Anr. on 19 January, 1954
• Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 – India Code
• M/S. Shantistar Builders vs Narayan Khimalal Totame And Others on …
• Article 15 in Constitution of India – Indian Kanoon
• Article 21 in Constitution of India – Indian Kanoon
• Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
• Official Website of National Commission for Minorities, Govt. of India
• The Fair Housing Act – Civil Rights Division – Department of Justice