The practice of renting residential properties has been well thought of over a while, especially during India’s evolution in the real estate market. Although many people think that renting out properties is a cash-generating process, landlords should never overlook the red flags before handing over rented properties to tenants. Majorly developed cities such as Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, etc are turning into rent-oriented residential areas. Mumbai houses various corporate offices and renowned educational infrastructures, the biggest city in Maharashtra.
Potential tenants look for cost-friendly, safe, and close-to-office rented properties. The landlord selecting the type of tenant results in the type of investment return on their end. The procedure including both offline and online tenant police verification in Mumbai has to be extensively carried out to guarantee personal safety. When a property owner rents out properties without proper security measures, he or she will be solely responsible for any mishaps that may or may not happen in the future.
Therefore to vet any tenant in terms of security threat or authenticity, the below-mentioned procedures should be followed to ensure safety and security.
- The main step while tenant selection is performing background checks. In this scenario, landowners find out a lot about the tenant’s behavior and consistency while paying rent or keeping the property safe and not damaging it.
- Property owners can establish communication with the tenant’s former landlords to ask about their characteristics. A landlord has the right to do a comprehensive analysis of the tenant’s reliability before renting out properties to them.
- The landlords are well within their rights to ask for references from the tenants to examine the applicant and confirm some essential facts. An individual with zero criminal cases or records can easily provide the landlord with the inquired references. Friends and family can verify the applicant.
Definition of tenant police verification
Indian Penal Code’s section 188 dictates the punishment of violators if found guilty of causing any sort of damage or not following government regulations. In the case of a criminally convicted tenant, the landlord will be held responsible for aiding and abetting illegal activity as stated under the rules of the Indian Penal Code. The punishment for this offense is imprisonment for a short period of one month along with a fine of Rs. 200.
Importance of tenant police verification
Renting out residential properties is a viable option for landlords given the increasing demand for tenants in Mumbai. With the increasing amount of revenue generated in renting, landlords often bypass the tenant verification process and rent their properties without proper investigation.
Tenant police verification is essential in identifying individuals with outstanding criminal cases as well as the apprehension of escaped convicts and enhancing the safety of the property. Imbuing the fear of the law in tenants helps in locating unauthorized residents and mitigating unlawful activities.
Below-mentioned points are an in-depth discussion of the importance of tenant police verification.
1. Assistance in the verification of criminal conviction
Landlords can investigate and find out more about the past conduct of the tenants through tenant verification. This can help them crosscheck the details provided by the renters and get a glimpse of any hidden criminal activities in the past. After extensive research and investigation, landlords can know entirely about a renter’s behavior, conduct, and criminal offenses from the past.
2. Negating unlawful transactions
Tenant verification informs the renters of the landlord’s extended control over their rented property.
3. Minimizing illegal operations on the compound
After the successful completion of tenant police verification, renter details are shared with the local police authorities. The situation bars the tenants from engaging in any kind of unlawful activity in and around the compound.
4. Assistance in tracking international authentication
A part of tenant verification suggests a background investigation by the police authorities. This helps in knowing everything about the renters whether they are from another country or domestic. In some instances, foreign tenants intend to extend their stay without paying extra for the additional days of accommodation.
Tenant police verification process in Mumbai
In Mumbai, tenant verification is done by either of the 2 processes. The reason is the written form that delivers the authentication to the agreement set by the landlord and the tenant. Authentication helps arrest violators.
1. Online tenant police verification process
Online police verification for tenants in Mumbai includes the following process:
- Find the nearest police station from the property’s location.
- Download the Mumbai police verification e-form from the website.
- Fill up the e-form with the landlord’s details, including full name, a passport-size photo digital copy, mobile number for contact, email address, and postal address.
- Mention the address of the rented property along with the beginning and termination date of their rental agreement.
- Tenant’s information, including full name, a recently clicked passport-size photo, a legal address, and an authentication proof number(PAN, Adhaar, Voter, or Passport) along with a digital copy of the provided authentication proof.
- Employment details of the tenant, including job designation, office address, phone number, and email address.
- Information on the tenant’s property agent who has first-hand information about the tenant. This includes the agent’s details as well as information on the tenant’s next of kin for troubled times.
- As the provided data cannot be changed after registration, crosscheck every detail before submission.
- Provide the Captcha details after submission.
- The police can call tenants and their landlords for any further inquiries.
- The police are instructed to keep a copy of the tenant’s credentials.
- The verification form for rental properties on the outskirts of Mumbai can be accessed in Marathi as well.
2. Offline tenant police verification process
The below-mentioned process is applicable for offline tenant verification:
- The landlord is responsible for providing every necessary detail of themselves as well as of their tenants, including photo ID, permanent address, passport-size photos, rent agreement, etc.
- After acquiring all the necessary papers, locate and proceed to the nearest police station and ask for an offline tenant police verification process.
- Acquire the tenant verification form.
- Read the instructions carefully before filling out the form. The land owner is needed to provide basic information, such as the landlord and the tenant’s initials, addresses, and contact info.
- Submit it to the authorities in the police station after proper signature.
- Make sure the provided information is correct as any misinformation may result in a police case.
Mumbai police clearance certificate
A police clearance certificate is essential for the completion of both offline and online tenant police verification in Mumbai. This guarantees that the landlord has acknowledged the legal documents obtained from a police officer or an official of the Indian government.
The failure to acquire tenant verification before leasing a property to a renter in Mumbai is considered a criminal offense. Therefore, all property owners should have all the necessary information registered in a police station before renting out their property or apartment to renters.
Cooperative Housing Society