This page provides a statutory reference to the Transfer of Property (Amendment) Act, 2002, which amended section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 relating to the duration and termination of certain leases of immovable property in the absence of a written contract, local law or usage.
Overview #
The Transfer of Property (Amendment) Act, 2002 is a short but practically important amendment law. It substitutes section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 and clarifies how certain leases of immovable property are to be treated when there is no contract, local law or usage to the contrary.
The amendment deals mainly with notices terminating leases. It distinguishes between leases for agricultural or manufacturing purposes and leases for other purposes, prescribes the required notice period, states when the notice period begins, and reduces technical objections to termination notices where proceedings are filed after the statutory period has expired.
Object of the legislation #
The object of the Amendment Act is to make the law on termination notices under section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 clearer and less technical. Before disputes are taken to court, landlords and tenants frequently rely on statutory notices to terminate tenancies. The amendment aims to ensure that such notices are judged by their substance and statutory compliance, rather than defeated merely by curable defects in calculation of the notice period.
In practical terms, the amendment supports certainty in lease termination by specifying that the relevant period starts from the date of receipt of notice and by validating notices where the suit or proceeding is filed only after the full statutory period has actually expired.
Scope and relevance #
This Amendment Act is relevant to leases of immovable property where the parties have not provided a contrary contractual term and where no local law or usage changes the position. It is especially important in landlord-tenant disputes, eviction suits, property management, conveyancing due diligence, lease drafting, and litigation involving termination of monthly or yearly tenancies.
For lawyers and legal researchers, the Act is important because it does not create a complete lease code by itself; instead, it modifies the operating rule in section 106 of the principal Act. The amended provision must therefore be read with the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, the terms of the lease deed, applicable rent control laws, registration requirements and local property law where relevant.
Selected important provisions and themes #
- Section 1 gives the short title: the Transfer of Property (Amendment) Act, 2002.
- Section 2 substitutes a new section 106 in the Transfer of Property Act, 1882.
- Amended section 106(1) provides that, in the absence of a contract, local law or usage to the contrary, leases for agricultural or manufacturing purposes are deemed to be from year to year and terminable by six months’ notice.
- Amended section 106(1) also provides that leases of immovable property for other purposes are deemed to be from month to month and terminable by fifteen days’ notice.
- Amended section 106(2) states that the notice period begins from the date of receipt of the notice, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force.
- Amended section 106(3) prevents a notice from being treated as invalid merely because the period mentioned in it is short, if the suit or proceeding is filed after the statutory period has expired.
- Amended section 106(4) requires the notice to be in writing, signed by or on behalf of the person giving it, and served by post, personal delivery, delivery to family or servants at residence, or by affixation to a conspicuous part of the property where delivery is not practicable.
- Section 3 contains transitory provisions applying the amended section 106 to pending suits or proceedings based on notices, and to notices issued before commencement where no suit or proceeding had yet been filed.
How to use this Bare Act #
- Use this Amendment Act as a reference for understanding the present statutory structure of section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882.
- When drafting or checking a lease termination notice, verify the purpose of the lease because the notice period differs for agricultural or manufacturing leases and other leases.
- Check the date of receipt of the notice, because the amended provision makes receipt the starting point for computing the statutory notice period.
- In litigation, examine whether a technical defect in the notice period is cured because the suit or proceeding was filed after the full statutory period had expired.
- Read the amendment with the lease deed, applicable rent control legislation, registration law and local property law before advising on termination or eviction.
Related Bare Acts and statutes #
This page is a reference introduction to the Bare Act material and should not be treated as legal advice. The PDF appears to reproduce the short amending statute; users should verify the latest text of section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, along with applicable State rent control laws and local property rules before relying on it in practice.
