Owner blames for Termite damage Not refund deposit demand money threaten action
2 years ago
Dear Sir, Was staying in a flat in Hyd (Aug19-Apr21). No rent agreement made. 13K rent & a 2-mth deposit verbally agreed. Owner in US & building managed by Secretary (Owner's friend) who stays in the building. Have no pending dues on rent, maintenance, electricity, etc. All transfers were on time & done online. Full building termite-infested for years but no one informed us. We noted minor pest activity during lockdown (June 20) & upon inquiry got to know that a severe problem exists & everyone including Owner & Secretary knew. In July we did pest control on infested areas through a local vendor & as suggested got Terminator Spray to use as & when needed. Subsequently, we got transferred to B'lore and moved out on 8th April. Once we vacated, the owner informed us that he had made repairs/replaced a few cupboards, door frames, etc. some of which were of the time even before we moved in. He says he has spent 20k for the same & by holding us responsible is not only withholding our security deposit amount (22K) but also is now (2 months after we vacated) demanding 25k more claiming as compensation for his initial investment for interiors. If we fail to pay the amount we are being threatened with action against us. Please help & suggest what best can we do in case this moves ahead since presently I am in Bangalore and if any legal/police action is registered at Hyderabad will cause severe hardship not only due to the current pandemic (Covid) but also a considerable drain on my time, effort & financials. Thanks.
You need not worry. File permanent injunction suit against the secretary as he is a stranger.
Ayantika Mondal @ Prime Legal
Responded 2 years ago
If the situation escalates any further the you can register a complaint with the rent controller in Hyderabad against your owner for not disclosing information about the sever termite problem beforehand, These are the usual tactics to extort money from the helpless tenants. You can choose not to give in to the secretary's futile demands.
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As per your narration, it is quite clear that your owner has been at fault since its inception. You need not to give in to the demands of your owner. If at all they file any complaint against you then you have the option to exercise filing a counter FIR u/S 153(4) CrPC for extortion and cheating.
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There is no legal action that he can take apart from filing a false case which can be easily dismissed.
In case required you can initiate ODR- Online Dispute Resolution process through Vidhi Samaadhaan, to know more click at this link https://www.vidhikarya.com/online-dispute-resolution