Sec 1 to 3 (Chapter I Preliminary)The Uttar Pradesh Urban Buildings (Regulation of Letting, Rent and Eviction) Act, 1972

1. Short title, extent, application and commencement

(1) This Act may be called the Uttar Pradesh Urban Buildings (Regulation of Letting, Rent and Eviction) Act, 1972.

(2) It extends to the whole of Uttar Pradesh.

(3) It shall apply to-

U.P. Act no. II of 1959 

(a) every city as defined in the Uttar Pradesh Nagar Mahapalika, Adhiniyam, 1959;

U.P. Act no. II of 1916

(b) every municipality as defined in the United Provinces Municipalities Act, 1916;

U.P. Act no. II of 1916

(c) every notified area, constituted under the United Provinces Municipalities Act, 1916; and

U.P. Act no. II of 1914

(d) every town area, constituted under the United Provinces Town Areas Act, 1914:

Provided that the State Government, if it is satisfied that it is necessary or expedient so to do in the interest of the general public, residing in any other local area, may by notification in the Gazette declare that this Act or any part thereof shall apply to such area, and thereupon this Act or part shall apply to such area :

Provided further that the State Government, if it is satisfied that it is necessary or expedient so to do in the interest of general public, may by notification in Gazette-

(i) cancel or amend any notification issued under the preceding proviso; or 

(ii) declare that the Act or any part thereof, as the case may be, shall cease to apply to any such city, municipality, notified area town area or other local area as may be specified, and thereupon this Act or part shall cease to apply to that city, municipality, notified area town area or other local area, and may in the like manner cancel or amend such declaration.

(4) It shall come into force on such date1 as the State Government may me by notification in the Gazette appoint,

1- For Statement of Objects and Re Reasons See Uttar Pradesh Gazette Extraordinary, dated May 13, 1970. 

2. Exemptions from operation of Act

(1) Nothing in this Act shall apply to [the following; namely -:]4

[(a) any building of which the Government or a local authority or a public sector corporation [or a Cantonment Board]6 is the landlord; or ] 5

(b) any building belonging to or vested in a recognized educational institutions, [***]7 ; or

[(bb) any building belonging to or vested in a public charitable or public religious institution;

(bbb) any building belonging to or vested in a waqf including a waqf-alal-aulad;]8

Act No. LXIII of 1948 Act No. XXI of 1860 

(c) any building used or intended to be used as a factory with in the meaning of the Factories Act, 1948 [where the plant of such factory is leased out along with the building]2 ; or

(d) any building used or intended to be used for any other industrial purpose (that is to say, for the purpose of manufacture, preservation or processing of any goods) or as a cinema or theatre, where the plant and apparatus installed for such purpose in the building is leased out along with the building:

Provided that nothing in this clause shall apply in relation to any shop or other building, situated within the precincts of the cinema or theatre, the tenancy in respect of which has been created separately from the tenancy in respect of the cinema or theatre; or

(e) any building used or intended to be used as a place of public entertainment or amusement (including any sports- stadium, but not including a cinema or theatre), or any building appurtenant thereto; or

(f) any building built and held [***]3 by a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, or by a co-operative society, company or firm, and intended solely for its own occupation or for the occupation of any of its officers or servants, whether on rent or free of rent, or as a guest house, by whatever name called, for the occupation of persons having dealing with it in the ordinary course of business.

[***]4

[(g) any building, whose monthly rent exceeds two thousand rupees;

(h) any building of which a Mission of a foreign country or any international agency is the tenant;]8

(2) [Except as provided in sub-section (5) of section 12, sub-section (1-A) if section 21, sub-section (2) of section 24, section 24-A, 24-B, 24-C or sub-section (3) of section 29, nothing in this Act shall apply to a building during a period of ten years from the date on which its construction is completed :]

1 [Provided that where any building is constructed substantially out of funds obtained by way of loan or advance from the State Government or the Life Insurance Corporation of India or a bank or a co-operative society or the Uttar Pradesh Avas Evam Vikas Parishakd, and the period of repayment of such loan or advance exceeds the aforesaid period of ten years then the reference in this subsection to the period of ten years shall be deemed to be a reference to the period of fifteen years or the period ending with the date of actual repayment of such loan or advance (including interest), whichever is shorter:]2

[Provided further that where construction of a building is completed on or after April 26, 1985 then the reference in this sub-section to the period of ten years shall be deemed to be a reference to a period of [forty years]7 from the date on which its construction is completed.]5

Explanation- [(1)]3 –

[For the purposes of this section]6 --

(a) the construction of a building shall be deemed to have been completed for the date on which the completion thereof is reported to or otherwise recorded by the local authority having jurisdiction, and in the case of a building subject to assessment, the date on which the first assessment thereof comes into effect and where the said dates are different, the earliest of the said dates, and in the absence of any such report, record or assessment, the date on which it is actually occupied (not including occupation merely for the purposes of supervising the construction or guarding the building under construction) for the first time :

Provided that there may be different dates of completion of construction in respect of different parts of a building which are either designed as separate units or are occupied separately by the land lord and one or more tenants or by different tenants ;

(b) "construction" includes any new construction in place of an existing building which has been wholly or substantially demolished ;

(c) where such substantial addition is made to an existing building that the existing building becomes only a minor part thereof the whole of the building including the existing building shall be deemed to be constructed on the date of completion of the said addition. 

[Explanation-II--

The expression ‘bank’ means –

(i) a banking company, as defined in the Banking Regulation Act, 1949;

(ii) the State Bank of India constituted under the State Bank of India Act, 1955;

(iii) a subsidiary Bank. as defined in the State Bank if India (Subsidiary Banks) Act; 1959;

(iv) a corresponding new bank constituted under the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970;

(v) a Financing Bank or Central Bank (as defined in the Uttar Pradesh Co-operative Societies Act, 1965), not being a Land Development Bank; and

(vi) an other financial institution notified by the State Government in the Gazette as a bank for the purpose of this Act.

Explanation-III--

A building shall be deemed to be constructed substantially out of funds obtained from sources mentioned in the proviso, if the funds obtained from one or more of such sources account for more than one-half of the cost of construction.]1

(3) [***]2

2-A. [Special provisions for short term licnece -

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, a person occupying a building as owner or as tenant or in any other capacity (hereinafter in this section referred to as licensor) may permit any other person (hereinafter in this section referred to as license) to occupy for purely temporary residential accommodation for a period not exceeding three months without any order of allotment under section 16:

Provided that intimation of the grant of such licence shall be given jointly by the licensor and the licensee to the District Magistrate within one month from the date of occupation of the building or part by the licensee:

Provided further that the District Magistrate may by order extend the maximum period of such temporary occupation up to 6 months in the aggregate (including the original period of occupation) :

Provided also that similar licence shall not be granted again to any other person in respect of the same building or part within a period of one year from the date of vacation of the building or part by the last licensee.

(2) Such licensee shall not be deemed to be a tenant for purposes of section 20, notwithstanding that he pays or is liable to pay rent for such occupation.

(3) Such licensor shall not be deemed to have ceased to occupy such building or part within the meaning of section 12 merely on the ground of having granted such licence.

(4) The District Magistrate shall not make an allotment under section 16 in respect of the building or part vacated by the licensee except with the consent of the landlord. 

(5) If the licensee omits or refuses to vacate the building or part after the expiry of the period of licence the licensor may make an application to the prescribed authority for his eviction and the prescribed authority shall thereupon order his eviction, and its order shall be final: Provided that no order shall be made under this sub-section except after giving to the parties concerned a reasonable opportunity of being heard.

(6) The provisions of section 23 shall apply to an order made under subsection (5) as if it were an order made under section 21 or under section 22.

2-B. Constitution of Rent Control Tribunals -

(1) The State Government may, by a notified order, constitute one or more Tribunals (to be called Rent Control Tribunals) in each district and may likewise cancel or amend such order.

(2) Where a Tribunal has been constituted in a district under sub-section (1), the State Government may, by a notified order, confer all or any of the posers of the District Magistrate or the prescribed authority under this Act on such Tribunal. and thereupon, such Tribunal shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any other provision of this Act, be deemed to be the District Magistrate or the prescribed authority, as the case may be, for the purposes of this Act and all cases pending with the District Magistrate or with the prescribed authority, as the case may be, immediately before the constitution of such Tribunal shall stand transferred to the Tribunal and any further proceedings before the Tribunal shall continue from the stage at which a case is so transferred, and the cases shall be disposed of by the Tribunal.] 2

3. Definitions-

U. P. Act No. II of 1916 U. P. Act No. II of 1959 U. P. Act No. II of 1914 3-

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

(a) "tenant", in relation to a building, means a person by whom its rent is payable, and on the tenant's death --

[(1) in the case of a residential building, such only of his heirs as normally resided with him in the building at the time of his death;

(2) in the case of a non-residential building, his heirs;]1

[Explanation—

An occupant of a room in a hotel or a lodging house shall not be deemed to be a tenant;] 3

(b) "house tax" means the tax mentioned in section 128(1) (i) of the United Provinces Municipalities Act, 1916, or section 173 (1) (a) of the Uttar Pradesh Nagar Mahapalika Adhiniyam, 1959, or, as the case may be, section 14(1) (e) of the United Provinces Town Areas Act, 1914;

(c) "District Magistrate" includes an officer authorized by the District Magistrate to exercise, perform and discharge all or any of his powers, functions and duties under this Act, and different officers may be so authorized in respect of different areas of cases or classes of cases, and the District Magistrate may recall any case from any such officer and either dispose of it himself or transfer it to any other such officer for disposal : 

[Provided that nothing in this clause shall be construed to empower the District Magistrate to delegate his power to make or authorize the making of a complaint under section 33; ]1

(d) "prescribed", except in clause (e), means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

[(e) "prescribed authority" means a Civil Judicial Officer or Judicial Magistrate authorized by the District Judge to exercise, perform and discharge all or any of the powers, functions and duties of the prescribed authority under this Act, and different officers may be so authorized in respect of different areas or cases, or classes of case, and the District Judge may recall any case from any such officer and may transfer it for disposal to any other such officer;]2

(f) "assessment", in relation to a building, means the assessment or proportionate assessment, as the case may be, of the letting value thereof by the local authority having jurisdiction and "assessed" shall be construed accordingly;

(g) "family", in relation to a landlord or tenant of a building, means his or her-

(i) spouse,

(ii) male lineal descendants,

(iii ) such parents, grand parents and any unmarried or widowed or divorced or judicially separated daughter or daughter of a male lineal descendant, as may have been normally residing with him or her, and includes, a relation to a landlord, any female having a legal right of residence in that building ;

(h) "the old Act", means the United Provinces (Temporary) Control of Rent and Eviction Act, 1947;

(i) "building", means a residential or non-residential roofed structure and includes-

(i) any land (including any garden), garages and out- houses, appurtenant to such building;

(ii) any furniture supplied by the landlord for use in such building;

(iii) any fittings and fixtures affixed to such building for the more beneficial enjoyment thereof;

(j) "landlord", in relation to a building, means n, person D whom its rent is or if' the building were let, would be, payable and includes, except in clause (o), the agent or attorney, of such person;

(k) "standard rent", subject to the provisions of section 6,8,and 10, means-

(i) in the case of a building governed by the old Act and let out at the time of the commencement of this Act.

(a) where there is both an agreed rent payable therefor at such commencement as well as a reasonable annual rent which in this Act has the same meaning as in section 2(f) of the old Act, reproduced in the Schedule the agreed rent or the reasonable annual rent plus 25 per cent thereon, whichever is greater;

(b) where there is no agreed rent, but there is a reasonable annual rent, the reasonable rent plus 25 per cent thereon;

(c) where there is neither agreed rent nor reasonable annual rent, the rent as determined under section 9 ;

(ii) in any other case, the assessed letting value, for the time being in force, and in the absence of assessment, the rent determined under section 9;

(l) "State Government" means the Government of Uttar Pradesh;

(m) "local authority" means a Nagar Mahapalika, municipal board, notified area committee or town area committee [a Zila Parishad, a Development Authority established under the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973, or the Uttar Pradesh Avas Evam Vikas Parishad established under the Uttar Pradesh Avas Evam Vikas Parishad Adhiniyam, 1965]1 ;

[(n) "improvement" in relation to a building, means any addition to it or alteration thereof or the provision of any new amenity to the tenant, and includes all repairs made in any year the cost whereof exceeds the amount of two month's rent thereof ;

(o) “public building” means any building belonging to or taken on lease or requisitioned by or on behalf of the Central Government or a State Government (including the Government of any other State) and includes any building belonging to or taken or lease by or on behalf of any local authority or any public sector corporation;

(p) “public sector corporation” means any corporation owned or controlled by the Government and includes any company as defined in section 3 of the Companies Act, 1956 in which not less than fifty per cent of the paid up share capital is held by the Government;

(q) “recognized educational institution” means [any University established by law in India, or]2 any institution recognized under the Intermediate Education Act, 1921 or the Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Act, 1972 or recognized or affiliated under the Uttar Pradesh State Universities Act, 1973;

(r) “charitable institution” means any establishment, undertaking organization or association formed for a charitable purpose and includes a specific endowment;

Explanation—

For the purposes of this clause, the words ‘charitable purpose includes relief of poverty, education, medical relief and advancement of any other object of utility or welfare to the general public or any section thereof, not being an object of an exclusively religious nature; 

(s) “religious institution” means a temple, math, mosque, church, gurudwara or any other place of public worship [***]3 .]