00:00Hi folks, hope you all are having a great day.
00:03This is Advocate Aashi Pavard, Senior Legal Associate at NRI Legal Services.
00:08In this video, I will be touching the issues which are faced by NRIs pertaining to illegal possession of their
00:15properties in India
00:16and will be giving you some tips through which you can safeguard your properties.
00:22Being an NRI owner or landlord can be challenging and stressful at the same time,
00:27which is why it is imperative that the owner or landlord does follow few tips which may help him to
00:35secure his interest
00:36and also help him avoid any dispute in future with respect to his property,
00:42especially when the owner or landlord is mostly residing abroad.
00:46It is very important to look after these properties and to ensure all ownership documents are updated.
00:54Another important thing is to ensure that nobody illegally enters your property or attempts to occupy the same,
01:01taking advantage of your absence.
01:04So, in this scenario, first of all, it is highly recommended to appoint a caretaker in your property
01:11who looks after the daily affairs of your property in your absence.
01:15There can be two kinds of caretakers.
01:17First, when you appoint one of your relatives as your caretaker
01:22and second, when you hire someone to take care of your property on your behalf.
01:27Further, it is really important to investigate about the caretaker.
01:32You must look into his credentials or his background
01:35and try to keep someone with a reference from a trustworthy person.
01:40If a caretaker has a good reputation, then the chances of violation of terms of his appointment
01:46and any other dispute are less.
01:50Also, it is necessary to take from your caretaker his proper documents
01:54such as ID proof, address proof, so that he can be contacted anytime and remains traceable.
02:02In case a caretaker is appointed, then a caretaker agreement must be entered into with him.
02:08Such an agreement determines his capacity with relation to the property
02:13and at the same time protects the interest of the owner.
02:17If in future, such caretaker acts any way beyond his capacity,
02:22then such agreement plays an important role.
02:26Further, no caretaker can claim adverse possession on the property
02:30if the caretaker agreement is in the picture.
02:32For securing your interest in the property,
02:36the agreement should be executed properly
02:38and mostly under the guidance of a property lawyer.
02:43Landlord should make sure that all the terms of the agreement should be clear
02:48and all the terms should be discussed in the agreement in detail.
02:52It is extremely important to include all the clauses
02:57as to the period of agreement, charges, manners of payment, termination clauses, etc.
03:04Thus, it is imperative to have a thorough, well-written caretaker agreement.
03:09It is recommended by civil litigation lawyers
03:12that the payment or caretaker charges should be sent in the caretaker's personal account
03:18so that the same remains in reports and bank statements
03:23can be shown in support of the caretaker agreements in case of dispute.
03:29However, one should be aware of the fact that it is a prevalent practice in India
03:34that caretakers sometimes let illegal occupants enter their properties
03:39and even densities do not easily vacate the property
03:42because of which the property disputes with the illegal occupants are prevalent.
03:48Owners should keep in touch with the caretaker throughout
03:52and should keep a check on his whereabouts and conduct.
03:56This will help the owner be updated about the caretaker's conduct
04:01and his approach towards the property.
04:04Also, in addition to having the hired caretaker,
04:08you can request your relatives to keep a track of your property
04:12and to make note of any movement in the property.
04:16Secondly, the second way to protect your property from the illegal possession
04:21is to give the property on rent.
04:23When the property is under tenancy,
04:26it becomes clear that the owner has given permissive possession of the property
04:31to a tenant under the tenancy agreement.
04:34The rent or tenancy agreement must be executed
04:38to define the landlord-tenant relationship
04:40including the tenure of the tenancy, monthly rent, etc.
04:46Moreover, this helps NRI derive additional as well as stable income from such properties.
04:53Currently, the NRIs must get their shares separated from the properties
04:57which are jointly co-owned by them.
05:00In several cases, the co-owners of the property
05:03take illegal possession of the entire property
05:06on the pretext that the shares of the co-owners are not defined.
05:10Thus, this results into long litigation to seek the possession back from the joint co-owners.
05:17The jointly co-owned properties can be separated or partitioned
05:22through mutual consent of all the co-owners or through courts.
05:26When the share gets separated from jointly-owned properties,
05:30it becomes very easy to enjoy the property's possession and enjoy its fruits.
05:36After partition, NRIs must build a boundary wall to demarcate their property
05:41in case it's an empty land.
05:45Fourthly, NRIs can execute general power of attorney or special power of attorney
05:49in favor of a reliable person in India who will be responsible for the safety of the property.
05:56Through this document, the attorney holder gets the authority to immediately act
06:01if somebody is trying to encroach upon the property.
06:05This helps in saving a lot of time in taking action against the illegal trespasser.
06:12One thing I would like to add here is that NRIs should avoid giving the general power of attorney
06:18and give a specific power of attorney for that specific purpose.
06:23This reduces the chances of misuse of power of attorney.
06:27Another way to protect your property is to affix a board stating
06:32trespassers beware or trespassers will be prosecuted
06:35or this property belongs to such and such person on the property.
06:41Below this statement, a reliable contact number should also be given
06:45so that the local persons or the neighbors are also aware of the status of the property.
06:52If they see any suspicious movement or activity going on in the property,
06:57they can contact you on the given number.
07:00Having said that, NRI owners should not abandon their properties
07:04and should continue to keep a watch on their properties.
07:08The owners must visit their properties on their visit to India
07:12or they should ensure that their representatives visit the property on regular intervals
07:18and they should also keep a check on the property.
07:21It is recommended that proper legal advice be taken from a property lawyer
07:26before NRI owner leased property in the care of a caretaker.
07:31So that all the proper inclusions can be made in your caretaker agreement
07:36and you can secure yourself from illegal occupancy of your property.
07:41I hope you like this video.
07:43Thank you for watching this video and I am sure that these tips will help you.
07:47If you like this video, please like, share and comment and subscribe to our channel.
07:53Further, if you have any query, then please write us at
07:57query at the rate NRIlegalservices.com
08:00Thank you so much.
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