he next time you decide to rent out your dream dwelling unit, avoid falling for persons who are willing to pay higher than the normal rents. It is always better to err on the side of caution rather than draw the attention of Hyderabad police, in case the new tenants, who are paying more for the rent, have a criminal background. For, it could attract criminal cases on the house owners.
This advice to house owners on verification of basic information of tenants and record their antecedents comes directly from Hyderabad and Cyberabad police. Such a request has come in the wake of instances wherein the tenants have misused the rented premises for indulging in criminal activities or used the houses as ‘safe shelters’ to carry out their nefarious activities.
There have been situations in the past when things have gone wrong for the house owners, when they rented out their premises without checking or recording the background of tenants. In May of this year, a criminal case was registered against two house owners in Malkajgiri as they rented out properties to a group of persons who were allegedly circulating counterfeit currency.
“The group hailed from Jharkhand and took two houses on rent for a short period of time and set up an operation base. The house owner fell for high rent and did not bother to check the tenant’s credentials nor informed the police, although they noticed suspicious activity,” says DCP Malkajgiri, R Rama Rajeshwari.
Earlier in 2013, investigations into the Dilsukhnagar twin blasts case revealed that three of the accused persons, posing as students, rented a house in Abdullapurmet near Ramoji Film City.
During routine raids conducted on gambling houses and brothels, police in Hyderabad were surprised to know that the property owners did not bother to visit the rented units for months together. The tenants were asked by the owners to deposit the rent through online netbanking, a police official revealed.
In an attempt to prevent house owners getting caught in such tricky situations and stop anti-socials from availing houses on rent, the Cyberabad police have put in a tenant verification system in place. The individual Residential Welfare Associations (RWAs) in Hyderabad have been handed over special tenant verification forms. After filling it, the house owners should hand over the same to RWAs who in turn will give it at the local police station.
In Hyderabad, the police are asking the house owners to register their tenants through the Hawk Eye App. The App has facility to upload the photographs and other details of the tenant. Once the details are uploaded they form part of a database of the city police and can be checked at any point of time.
In accordance with law, the police also have the powers to seal the properties which are used for commission of any criminal offence. “If the house is sealed, the house owner has to face a lot of legal issues including attending the courts,” another police official said. The United Federation of Resident Welfare Associations has come out in full support to the new initiative. The members of RWAs feel that such associations should play a more active role because it concerns the safety of the colony residents.
Major Shiv Kiran of UFERWAS says that the house owners should insist on the tenants to furnish identity proof documents, a photograph along with nativity certificate and a letter from the employer.
“The RWA’s should share the information with the police to ensure that no ‘criminal’ stays put in the colony. It will ensure safety of not only of house owners but also other tenants staying in the colony,” Mr. Shiv Kiran said.
Basically, we want the house owners to be careful while letting out their properties. A comprehensive database will be created once all RWAs hand over the details of the tenants,”
Cyberabad Commissioner, C. V. Anand.
Published - July 21, 2015 12:00 am IST
