Tenant ejectment: the grounds under rent restriction law

Ejectment petitions go to the Rent Controller under the provincial rent restriction ordinance (e.g., Punjab Rented Premises Act 2009). You cannot evict by civil suit — the statutory grounds are exhaustive.

The main grounds

Default in payment of rent (the most litigated — tender/ deposit conduct matters); personal bona fide need of the landlord (genuineness is tested hard: sale offers and subsequent conduct are scrutinised); subletting without consent; use inconsistent with the tenancy; and structural need for demolition/reconstruction where the Act provides.

Procedure and defences

The Rent Controller frames issues from the petition and reply — the Controller can order deposit of rent pending trial and strike off the defence for default. Tenant defences run on: rent paid/tendered, the need not being bona fide, landlord's own available alternative premises, and the Act's protections for old tenancies.

Search 'bona fide personal need ejectment' in SanadAI for the verified authorities — Rent Controller orders and the High Court's revisional jurisprudence.