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IMy family of five moved into a property in 1992. The house was in raw condition—just walls, windows, and doors, with no electricity meter and faulty wiring. My father hired workers to paint and renovate the house and repeatedly asked the owner to install a meter, but he kept delaying.
In 1996, the electricity department raided the house. About 15 people, some in uniform and some not, arrived and told us to vacate so they could seal the property due to the missing electricity meter. My father called the owner from a nearby shop’s landline, but the owner refused to come, claiming he was a government employee and could lose his job. He told my father to “handle it.” My father managed the situation well and settled the issue with the electricity department (DESU, Delhi). Despite having the opportunity to put the meter in his own name, my father honestly registered it under the owner’s name.
We never had a formal rent agreement. The owner would show up occasionally to collect cash or, sometimes, a cheque. Over the years, he started demanding large sums—₹50k, ₹70k, ₹40k—promising that he would sell the house to us. In 2016, my father passed away, and in 2017, the owner came asking for ₹70k. We paid him and even have a written acknowledgment in his handwriting.
After that, he vanished. His phone number was out of service, and later, it was reassigned to someone else. We lost all contact.
The Current Issue:
Fast forward to 2025—out of nowhere, an elderly woman (around 65-70 years old) shows up at our house. She barges in without introduction and demands that we vacate or hand over money in exchange for the property. She claimed to be the wife of the original owner and said that he had passed away. However, we had never seen or heard of her before.
She was rude and even made threats, saying in Hindi, “Agar aap log seedhe tarike se nahi manoge toh mujhe ungli tedhi bhi karni aati hai.” (Translation: “If you don’t comply the easy way, I know how to make things difficult.”)
At this point, I lost my patience and responded, “Ungli tedhi karni hum logo ko bhi aati hai, aur aap itni der se dhamki de rahe ho jabki hum aapko jaante bhi nahi.” (Translation: “We also know how to handle things the hard way, and you’ve been threatening us while we don’t even know who you are.”)
She was accompanied by a man we had never seen before. She refused to show any ID or ownership papers and wouldn’t even provide her phone number but insisted we give her ours.
Key Points:
1. We have been paying house tax.
2. We maintain the property—painting, plumbing, electrical repairs, complete rewiring, seepage treatment, termite control, etc.—without any assistance from the owner.
3. The piped gas connection is in my late father’s name.
4. The MTNL landline is in my late father’s name.
5. My siblings got married here, and their children were born here.
6. Our official documents—bank records, credit cards, passports, Aadhaar, voter IDs, and PAN cards—are all registered at this address.
My Questions:
What legal steps should I take to protect our rights to this property?
How do I deal with this sudden claim from a stranger with no proof of ownership?
Would appreciate any advice from legal experts or those with similar experiences.
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CSorry to say this, This is not your house unless you had a legal transfer. Since the person is not alive there is no corroboration to your payments and it’s hearsay in court. You may be able to get adverse possession but it’s going to be a long battle and infact you paying bills on the owners name will go against you in court
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IBecause my father helped the owner when the property was getting sealed by the electricity department and he was hiding because he had government job . My father settled the whole thing and he also had the option to register the electricity meter on his name but he did not because back then it was easy to manipulate things
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IYes we want to talk to her but she is not listening did not even share her number. She straight away started threatening us and my mom is 62 she told her to calm down but she raised her voice and said lots of inappropriate things We offered her water and then tea she pushed the tray away twice . Tell me how will we contact her if she won’t share her number ? Same thing happened when her husband passed away we had no contact point if we had her number we could have spoken to her . We want to find a solution but how will we find a solution with this kind of behaviour.
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CNAL. My mother has a property with many tenants living for 30-40 years. Some claim to be owners saying they have been living for long time, born there, electricity line in their name, etc., But the corporation recognizes my mother as the sole landlord of the premise and tax bills are issued in her name too. Those tenants are paying rent to us too (even though the amount is almost nothing) and we are trying to find an amicable solution since we want to develop this property.
I would advise to sit and formally talk with the lady who’s claiming to be the landlord. Litigation and “ungli tedhi” will drag the matter only
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LDear tyr1699, in Mumbai, in many other places, landlords have developed the land and have given the current tenants a flat in the new building. It is very amicable. More than 50% consensus is needed. Land is in your name. Destroy the building and the tenants have nothing then.
You can also force them to take electricity from your meter. And cut their connection. They won’t be able to fight that. Step by step you can strengthen your grip.
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BThey have some entitlement under the tenancy right, since they are enjoying the uninterrupted possession for over 12 years.
They cannot be evicted from the property.-
MThe adverse possession law is messed up. OP will get to keep the house by law, and that’s a little morally challenging.
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SGoing by the logic you are explaining, if o solve the current issue you have with the lady, will I become the owner of the house?
Somewhere you want to stake claim which is not correct. Go to the local registrar office and get EC which will have the name of the owner. That will be your starting point. -
MMy father allowed a person from his village to live in her property for a short while without any lease. Now it is 15 years, and he has not paid any rent, and he is going to court every month to get possession of the property. We have all the ownership documents, but we can’t do anything. He even contacted my father, saying that if we pay him 15 lakh, he will leave.
What I learned from it is that possession is as good as ownership.
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VThis post is the perfect “janhit main jaari” advertisement for not giving your property on rent. If you do, replace tenants in 10 months.
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I don’t know if Delhi has Rent Control Act or it has the concept of protected tenants, where old tenant are protected cannot be asked to vacate unless certain conditions are met. It better you consult some local lawyer.
Also, at this point you don’t have to do anything. Just stay put and don’t give in to her threats. File a police complaint though saying some random person came in and threatened you.
If she wants to get you out she will have to go down the legal route and you will have to defend. You ll need a good lawyer though.
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LAdverse possession would still be applicable had you not given rent time to time. You can still argue and build a case on Adverse possession if u paid that rent in cash and there’s no recipt or record of that . If there’s isn’t you have a good case. Get in touch with a local lawyer they will guide you.
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LYou are living there. Ok. Are you paying rent every month? Do you know the current owner? Stranger may be the real current owner too. Did you check. I get it that your mother is 62 and probably doesn’t want to leave that place. You are not the owner. But you are an occupant currently. See if you can get the property in your name by registering with whatever calculations and amount. Get a home loan. Pay the current owner. Fight for it. Surprised to hear that you are not in touch with the earlier owner’s family members.
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