10/03/2026
C.P.L.A._5516_2024
Mst. Shaista Hussain vs Farzana Naheed and others
2026 SCMR 208
The Punjab Rented Primesis Act 2009 proceeds on the assumption that there is a relationship of landlord and tenant between the parties in an eviction petition. The object behind the enactment of the 2009 Act is set out in its preamble, viz., ‘'to regulate the relationship of landlord and tenant, to provide a mechanism for settlement of their disputes in an expeditious and cost effective manner and for connected matters. ” Where there is no relationship of landlord and tenant between the parties before the Rent Controller, he would have no jurisdiction to proceed with the matter.
It is a well settled proposition of law that the onus to prove the existence of a relationship of landlord and tenant between the parties is on the landlord who seeks the eviction of a tenant.
Eviction could not be sought before the Rent Controller without establishing the relationship of landlord and tenant. The relationship of landlord and tenant comes into existence as a result of a tenancy agreement. One of the most important circumstances'from which inference as to the existence of such relationship may be drawn is payment of rent. The fact that no rent was paid by the person in possession of the premises would negate the existence of such relationship. Payment of rent is not just a normal incidence of tenancy but a sine qua non for the relationship of landlord and tenant.
