Internal tiff between landlords can't put tenants' lives at risk, rules HC

Kulsum Mahal building in Santacruz. Pics/Sneha Kharabe

In a victory for the ageing tenants of a building in Santacruz, the Bombay High Court has accepted their plea for the redevelopment of their crumbling, 55-year-old building that was being held up over a dispute between the landlords.

The tenants of Kulsum Mahal located at Kolekalyan, Kalina, had been requesting redevelopment of the ground plus two storey structure for the past four years. However, in a major setback, one of the legal heir landlords got into a bitter tussle with the co-owners, seeking a higher share on the basis of a disputed will, which the high court has been hearing since 2017.

The crumbling façade of the building

Heir trouble
Advocate Nilesh Gala, who represented the tenants, said, "The legal heir had also raised concern about the Memorandum of Understanding between 13 tenements (used for commercial and residential purposes), the landlords and the developer back in October 2015. Though the MOU was executed, the legal heir was refusing to sign the development agreement because of the internal dispute between the landlords. Interestingly, six out of the thirteen tenants, are aged above 75."

The last straw for the tenants was the eviction notice from BMC on June 11, 2018, asking them to vacate their houses as the building was declared highly dangerous for habitation. The 13 tenants and developer, M/s Supreme Realtors, immediately moved the high court seeking intervention to allow redevelopment at the earliest. The plea before the court was that the building is dilapidated, the tenants, developer and even the majority of the landlords were willing to go ahead with the redevelopment agreement and it was only because of one landlord's internal dispute that the life and limb of the tenants was being put in grave danger, the lawyer said. The matter was taken up on priority by Justice Gautam Patel and the order was passed accordingly.

The order
Advocate Gala said, "The court was kind enough to allow the tenants and developer to intervene, and on hearing all parties concerned, passed an order stating that a dispute between a legal heir and other landlords cannot come in the way of redevelopment, which would otherwise not only endanger the life of the people but public at large, too."
He added, "On the basis of the high court order, the development agreement will finally be executed and the building will undergo redevelopment soon. The tenants will abide by the BMC's eviction notice and will shift to alternative locations." When asked about the order setting a precedent, advocate Gala, replied in the affirmative, and said, "This order is a welcome move for similar issues over redevelopment, where tenants have been suffering owing to a dispute between the landlords."