Illegal Possession of Property

One of the many land disputes that NRIs bring to property eviction lawyers, is the illegal occupation of the property. Usually what happens with them is that they trust someone with their life's assets and one day wake up to realize that their property is under other person's control.

The illegal occupation of property would continue to loom large unless NRIs aware themselves about all the precautions required.

A piece of Property is one of the most effective ways that an individual establishes his status in society. This means more to NRIs as their assets is a significant connection with their roots. For any person, there could be four situations concerning the property:

• The individual owns the property and resides in it. This makes him owner cum resident.
• The person owns the property but has rented it to somebody else in a proper manner. He ensures to use proper documentation with the right tenant. In such a case, every aspect of the dealing is covered and protected under the Rent Act of the Indian Constitution.
• The person is the owner and has all the documents. In some unfortunate cases, some trespassers may occupy the property by force. He would probably be able to handle this kind of a situation since trespassers by definition would not be able to prove anything.
• An individual is the owner but does not reside there himself and does not enter into a well-formulated agreement with the tenant. Instead, he appoints a caretaker for the property.

He can do this in one of the two manners; he

• Chooses to have a 'Leave or License' Agreement, which means that he has given permission to the other person to stay in his property as caretaker and had the right to revoke the agreement anytime. Or,
• Tells another person to look after the property but on the basis of verbal assurance and trust.

In the second situation, the NRIs mostly have to pay the price of their absence. The caretakers become forced occupants, leading to increased number of problems - causing people to seek property eviction lawyers. In India, prolonged occupancy tends to favour the possessor.

To protect one from any future problems and false litigations it is important you consult some experts like property eviction lawyers, to get all revenue records of the property in order.

In the case of assets being inherited an individual has to be careful with the title deed. If he does not have it, then he should file a formal police complaint. Also, it is required to issue public notices in at least two local newspapers to clearly state the ownership status. Also, it is important to acquire certified copies of all the documents related to the real estate. Property eviction lawyers can guide people on all such matters.

Another crucial phase is to ensure that all payments (electricity bills, water bills, telephone bills, etc.) are made in the name of the owner. To make sure that the records and documentation for that particular property are in order all taxes need to be paid on time.

It is said that "Prevention is better than Cure" and in situation of illegal occupation of property it is very true. It is always best to prepare a legal agreement with the tenants or maintain proper documents to prevent any issue.