-
by sayum
31 December 2025 10:05 AM
“Rent control legislation, rooted in public policy, cannot be allowed to operate as an instrument of oppression” – In a significant ruling that recalibrates the balance between landlord’s entitlement to fair rent and the tenant’s right to protection from oppressive financial burdens, the Kerala High Court held that fair rent fixed under the Kerala Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1965, cannot be made retrospectively recoverable from the date of the petition if proceedings are delayed for over a decade.
The Division Bench of Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque and Justice Harisankar V. Menon ruled that the landlord is entitled to arrears of rent only from 24.02.2021, the date on which the Rent Controller first fixed fair rent, and not from 2013, when the original petition was filed. The appellate enhancement to Rs.32,000 per month from 18.03.2024 was also upheld, but without retrospective effect from 2013.
The Court stated in unequivocal terms: “Directing the tenant to pay arrears calculated at a rate nearly 150 times higher than the existing rent would jeopardise the very continuance of the tenancy… Rent control litigation cannot be permitted to function as an instrument of oppression due to systemic delays.”
Tenant Surrendered Premises During Pendency – Landlord Now Pursuing Arrears Only
The case involved a shop premises in Aluva town, rented out at Rs.225/month since before 2013. The landlord filed a petition for fixation of fair rent in 2013, citing commercial location and inadequacy of existing rent. After multiple rounds, including a remand and amendment proceedings, the Rent Controller on 24.02.2021 fixed the fair rent at Rs.25,000/month, later enhanced by the Appellate Authority on 18.03.2024 to Rs.32,000/month with a 5% yearly increment from 2014.
During the pendency of these long-drawn proceedings, the tenant, anticipating inability to pay at the enhanced rate, voluntarily surrendered the premises. What survived was the landlord’s claim for arrears from 2013 to 2021, calculated retrospectively at the newly fixed rates.
The tenant challenged the retrospective arrears as excessive and unfair, while the landlord asserted his right to claim arrears from the date of the original petition, relying on the doctrine that fair rent, once fixed, relates back to the petition date.
“Statutory Fair Rent May Be Prospective If Delay Causes Disproportionate Harm” – High Court Carves Equitable Exception
Addressing this tension between statutory rights and procedural delay, the Court noted that although Section 24 of the Kerala Rent Control Act requires rent control cases to be disposed of within four months, the present litigation had dragged on for over ten years, without any finding that the tenant caused the delay.
In an important judicial reflection on systemic delays in rent control litigation, the Court held:
“The rent control legislation never envisaged a scenario where proceedings would linger for more than a decade. The delay occasioned in the adjudicatory process should not result in undermining the very existence of the tenancy.”
Acknowledging the hardship that would arise from applying the enhanced rent retrospectively, the Court reasoned that:
“A monthly tenant is obliged to pay rent every month, but compelling such a tenant to discharge over ten years of arrears at a substantially enhanced rate in one stroke would cause grave injustice and prejudice.”
Consequently, the Court modified the Appellate Authority’s direction:
Fair rent of Rs.25,000/month shall be payable only from 24.02.2021, i.e., the date on which the Rent Controller passed his final order after remand.
Fair rent of Rs.32,000/month shall be payable from 18.03.2024, i.e., the date of the Appellate Authority’s enhancement order.
5% annual increase from 2024 onwards shall apply.
Arrears from 2013 to 2021 shall not be recovered under rent control proceedings, though the landlord is free to pursue a civil remedy.
“Civil Claim for Arrears May Be Filed – Limitation Issue Left Open”
Interestingly, the Court did not foreclose the landlord’s right to recover the differential rent for the period between 2013 and 2021, but clarified that this must be pursued through a civil suit, not through rent control proceedings. However, the Court consciously refrained from adjudicating limitation, observing:
“We have a doubt as to whether the landlord would be in a position to claim arrears of rent from 2013 onwards… The question regarding limitation is a matter to be adjudicated in the civil suit. Therefore, we leave this question.”
This leaves the door open for the landlord to seek arrears for the 2013–2021 period, subject to limitation and proof of claim, in a regular civil forum.
A Balanced Verdict: Statutory Rights Harmonised with Fairness
While recognizing the landlord’s right to fair rent based on prevailing market conditions and the premises’ commercial value, the Court refused to convert that right into an instrument of oppression merely because judicial machinery failed to function promptly.
The Court concluded: “The rent control law, rooted in public policy, cannot be allowed to operate as an instrument of oppression against a tenant… The framework is intended to balance and safeguard the legitimate interests of both the landlord and the tenant.”
Rent Control Revisions Partly Allowed, Appellate Order Modified
The Kerala High Court set aside the retrospective recovery of rent arrears from 2013 to 2021, holding that such a burden would unjustly punish the tenant for delay caused by the system.
It directed the tenant to pay Rs.25,000/month from 24.02.2021 and Rs.32,000/month from 18.03.2024, with 5% annual increase thereafter.
The landlord is at liberty to file a civil suit for arrears from 2013, with the question of limitation left open.
This ruling is a significant precedent for practitioners handling long-pending rent control matters, emphasizing that equity and procedural fairness must temper the exercise of statutory rights, especially where delay is systemic and not attributable to either party.
Date of Decision: 25 November 2025
