Ex landlord not returning the advance money
1 month ago
Hi,
I am a resident of Hyderabad. For 1 year 8 months I was living in a flat and I was paying regular rent. There was no written agreement provided. Six month back, the landlord had hiked the rent by 6% and I was paying it regularly. Again, 3 months back, he wanted to increase the rent further by another 22% or I was asked to vacate. I preferred to vacate and helped him in finding another tenant which he got also within 7 days. I cleared all the dues (maintenance, electricity bill, rent) and didn't question him when he would pay my advance money.
However, the landlord after clearance of the dues and in spite of getting new tenant, still deducted my advance money (one month rent). On questioning these above actions, he misbehaved and was now not ready to pay money back. I even met the secretary of the building who was not keen in knowing anything and didn't take any action. It's more than one month, and there is no solution for this.
Can anyone suggest me, how I can go ahead with this.
In the absence of a rent/lease agreement, you lived a considerable period and left it making your claim of refund of advance deposit from the landlord the most difficult and infructuous being unenforceable under law. However, a dispute between a tenant and landlord is resolved under the state-specific Rent Control Act under which a Rent Controller or Addl. Rent Controller is appointed to deal with the dispute arising out of a rent agreement or otherwise between the parties. Serving a legal notice to the landlord, you can file an application explaining your grievance before the concerned Rent Controller to resolve the issue amicably. Reach out to an Advocate for guidance and steps.