MUMBAI: Bombay High Court recently upheld the right of the tenants of an 80-year-old dilapidated Kalbadevi building to redevelop it after the landlords failed to take steps for its redevelopment within a statutory time limit.
Justices Ajay Gadkari and Kamal Khata Nov 26 allowed a petition by 38 tenants of Kalyan Bhavan, a cessed building. They quashed and set aside Mhada‘s July 8 order to the landlords to submit a redevelopment proposal and the July 10 letter of intent (LoI) permitting them to undertake the building’s redevelopment. The judges directed Mhada to issue the LoI to the petitioners.
On a petition by the landlords to have the building vacated, HC on Feb 14 had said they could apply to Mhada under the amended Section 79A for redevelopment. Under Section 79A, owners are given the first opportunity to submit a proposal for redevelopment within six months of the notice along with 51% consent of the occupants or tenants.
As the landlords failed to take appropriate steps within the stipulated six-month time limit, which expired on Nov 17, 2023, Mhada in Dec 2023 issued a notice to the tenants to submit a redevelopment proposal.
Senior advocate Girish Godbole for the tenants said HC was not informed of the fact that six months had lapsed in Nov 2023 when it passed the Feb 14 order. He said the tenants obtained 65% consent. Godbole said by reissuing the order on July 8, Mhada tried to overreach the HC order. It could not give a fresh opportunity to the landlords once the statutory period expired on Nov 17, 2023.
Mhada’s advocate Akshay Shinde said it understood the Feb 14 order to give a fresh notice to the landlord. There was no intention to breach it.
The landlords’ advocate Shobit Shukla said even they understood the Feb 14 order to have given them an opportunity to redevelop the property. Thereafter, they held meetings with tenants.
Shukla said that the landlords are ready to redevelop the property. Stating that the reply is “untenable”, the judges said the Feb 14 order is “unambiguous” and in no way extended the six-month limitation for the landlord. On the contrary, it indicated the rights of the tenants by referring to an Oct 2023 decision that there is a time limit within which the owner must submit a redevelopment proposal. It also reiterated that if the landlords failed to take steps for redevelopment, the tenants/occupants would have the option to reconstruct the building. “Thus, the tenants would have a right to reconstruct the building but not redevelop the building. That was not a case of cessed buildings. This is a case of a cessed building where the Mhada Act applies,” Justice Khata wrote for the bench.
The judges, in conclusion, held that “tenants clearly have a right to redevelop the property” under Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR) 2034.
