As an owner of property, renting the same involves risk of unpaid rents, damage to property, never-leaving tenants, etc. As a person/family, renting a property involves another set of risks, like sudden eviction orders, unjust increase in rent, etc. Sometimes, a situation may arise when the tenancy dispute gets emergent in a way that immediate orders are required from the Court to make the other party act in a way, or to stop them from doing something. This is what we call stay orders in general. Know how to get stay order on rented property and related aspects of laws.

Landlord-Tenant Disputes on Rented Property

When it comes to tenancy disputes, the following may lead to circumstances wherein the parties may seek stay order on rented property:

• Non-payment of rent
• Prolonged Stay
• Forced Eviction
• Sub-lease disputes
• Property damage by tenant
• Property damage not repaired by landlord
• Unpaid security deposit

What is a Stay Order on Rented Property?

When the Landlord does or attempts to do an act which may harm your legal rights as a tenant in a rented property, you may seek Court orders restraining the Landlord with immediate effect, from acting in such a manner harming your rights. When the Court issues legal orders restraining the Landlord against the action which was pointed out in the application, the same may be termed as Stay orders in general. In legal terms, it is an Injunction order, and the landlord is said to be injuncted by the Court from acting in a certain way.

When we talk about stay order on rented property, it is It may be noted that Injunction or Stay Orders are not confined to rented property, or even to matters related to property. An Injunction order may be passed against a person counterfeiting registered trade mark, or someone manufacturing allegedly poisonous products, or even against a marriage which is about to be solemnized against the law.

When to apply for Order of Stay on Rented Property?

When a legal matter is ongoing between the landlord and tenant regarding tenancy, or circumstances so arose that a civil suit is set to be initiated, in both the cases, an application seeking stay order on rented property may be sought. Order 39 Rules 1 and 2 of the Civil Procedure Code 1908 deals with injunctions.

The said application seeks injunction till the matter is concluded with the Court’s final decision, so that the state of rented property does not change during pendency of case before the Court. There are specific conditions when an application for stay order on rented property may be initiated before the Court of appropriate jurisdiction. The urgency has to be obvious, and the party should be able to convince the Court of the circumstances which support the issuance of stay orders on rented property against the landlord or tenant, as the case may be.

Conditions for Stay Order on Rented Property

Throughout the years, Courts have come up with different interpretations which eventually laid three rules which warrant the issuance of stay orders:

• Prima Facie Case
  The petitioner/applicant should be able to make a prima facie case before the Court regarding the injustice/harm that he may suffer due to ongoing situation. In other words, the person hearing about the matter should be able to sense the possible damage at first sight.
   
• Balance of Convenience
  The petitioner/applicant should be able to prove before the Court the grave inconvenience he/she may suffer if injunction orders are not issued with immediate effect. Simplifying the same, the balance of convenience should be in favour of the petitioner/applicant only, and not otherwise.
   
• Irreparable Injury
  Situation of the matter should be such that in the absence of injunction orders, the petitioner/applicant may potentially suffer injury which may not be repaired/fixed easily. The petitioner/applicant should be able to convince the Court that the consequences of the act pleaded against would be irreversible.

Timeline for Stay Order
Once an application seeking stay order is presented before the Court, the urgency of the matter has to be conveyed to the Court. The Civil Lawyer should be able to convince the Court that if the matter is not heard and if relief is not granted immediately, irreparable damage will be caused and no further relief would be helpful, considering the nature of circumstances, resulting in injustice to the petitioner/applicant. If the Court is convinced, notice may be issued to the opposite party, with the hearing scheduled within a day or two.

The application may be decided on merits. If the other party seeks time for filing a written statement, the Court may hear the parties on an interim basis and allow filing of a written statement later. The process may usually take 5-7 days before the question of stay order on rented property is decided by the Court. If the matter is way too urgent based on circumstances so portrayed, the Court may even hear only one party and accordingly issue orders. In that case, an order for stay may be issued the same day or the next day.

What happens if Stay orders are not obeyed?

If the Court has issued a stay order on rented property and the landlord refuses to comply with the same, or vice versa, there is a legal remedy for the same. Order 39 Rule 2(a) of CPC lays that if a person refuses to comply with the injunction order passed by the Court and acts against the same, such an act will be taken as Contempt of Court. It may lead to attachment of property or be punished to imprisonment as well for 3 months.

Written By: Advocate Kishan Dutt Kalaskar