During the last few years, it has been observed that the number of basements in Def Col on rent are increasing with each passing month. Even the new buildings are rented out to commercial establishments, Lawyers, Gymnasiums, Clinics, Property dealers etc. The residents staying nearby these basements are suffering the most and have no authority to complain about these issues.
What is the Burning issue?
• Most of the new and old basements are generally taken on rent by the lawyers who would make a group of 3-4 lawyers to share the cost of rent as well as common facilities like steno, pantry, receptionist etc.
• The landlord’s greed of few thousand in rent sometimes results in losing their basements forever for peanuts!!
• They keep getting clients from all over Delhi NCR as most of the courts are near Def col. These “outsiders” park their cars in front of the Lawyer’s offices for long hours and at times leave only late evening.
• These vehicles parked by the lawyers, their staff, visitors for long hours, the residents who are already facing parking issues of their own cars try to request these tenants but finally get into heated arguments as they are threatened with legal notices and cases to harass the House owners who at times lose lacs if they start fighting cases.
• The legal fee has no limits for the residents but its FREE FOR LAWYERS, which makes them vulnerable at all times
What’s The Solution for The Residents (If Any)? • The landlords need to give away their personal greed to make money from the Basements, which were allowed by the authorities to be used for storage only.
• The residents must start vacating the basements as per the agreement and try to not rent it out in future to have peace of mind.
• In case of renting the basements, the parking issues must be mentioned in the agreement itself to safeguard them in case of legal proceedings.
• The RWA’s must support the residents, especially senior citizens, widows and ladies who are helpless in fighting this strong army of lawyers, commercial tenants and others.
• Lastly, the best solution would be not to build basements in future, as it may strengthen the building for long term as there are seepage, water entry during monsoon etc issues in basements.
As this is an alarming issue it needs to be addressed by the residents as well as all the concerned authorities to safeguard the house owners who get trapped due to their financial needs and at times lose their hard-earned property or lives due to unnecessary harassment by the tenants when asked to vacate the basements!!!
by Ajay Kumar (A-440, 9999055994)
