Kerala Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1959
No: 16 Dated: Jun, 08 1959
THE KERALA BUILDiNGS (LEASE AND RENT CONTROL) ACT, 1959
(Act 16 of 1959)
An act to regulate the leasing of buildings and to control the rent of such buildings in the State of Kerala
WHEREAS it is expedient to regulate the letting of buildings and to control the rents of such buildings and to prevent unreasonable eviction of tenants therefrom in the State of Kerala;
BE it enacted in the Tenth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
1.Short title, extent, application and commencement.— (1) This Act may be called the Kerala Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1965.
(2) It applies to the areas mentioned in the Schedule
(3) The Government may, by notification in the Gazette, apply all or any of the provisions of this Act to any other area in the State with effect from such date as may be specified in the notification, and may, by like notification, cancel or modify such notification or withdraw the application of all or any of the provisions of this Act from any area mentioned in the schedule :
Provided that no such notification shall be issued unless it is supported by a resolution passed by the local authority or authorities, if any, of the areas affected by the notification.
(4) lt shall come into force on the 3rd day of Aprial ]q59 and remain in force up to and inclusive uf the 31st day of March 1962.
2.Definitions.- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires.-
(1) "building" means any building or hut or part of a building or hut let or to be let seperately for residential or non-residential purposes and includes.--
(a) the garden , grounds, wells, tanks and structures, if any, appurtenant to such building, hut, or part of such building or hut, and let or to be let along with such building or hut ;
(b) any furniture supplied by the landlord for use in such building or hut or part of a building or hut,
but does not include a room in a hotel or boarding house,
(2)"Accommodation controller" means any person appointed to perform the functions of an Accommodation Controller under this Act ;
(3) "landlord" includes the person who is receiving or is entitled to receive the rent of a building, whether on his own account or onbehalf of another or on behalf of himself and others or as an agent, trustee executor, administrator, receiver or guardian or who would to receive the rent or be entitled to receive the rent, if the building were let to a tenant.
Explanation .--A tenant who sublets shall be deemed to be a landlord within the meaning of this Act in relation to the sub-tenant ;
(4) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act ;
(5) "Rent Control Court" means the court constituted under section 3
(6) "tenant" means any person by whom or on whose account rent is payable for a building and includes the surviving spouse, or any son or daughter, of a deceased tenant who had been living with the tenant in the building as a member of the tenant's family up to the death of the tenant and a person continuing in possession after the termination of the tenancy in his favour, but does not include a Kudikidappukaran as defined in the Kerala Stay of Eviction Proceedings Act, 1957 (Act I of 1957) or a person placed in occupation of a building by its tenant or a person to whom the collection of rents or fees in a public market, cart-stand or slaughter-house or of rents for shops has been farmed out or leased by a municipal council or local board or Panchayat or Corporation;
(7) "unconsiderable rent" means any rent which is more than double the maximum of the fair rent that could be fixed for a building under section 5.