LLP Tenant Harassment Complaint

If you are dealing with harassment complaint when an LLP is involved, this guide sets out the legal position, the documents you will need, the usual steps and the mistakes that cost people time. The firm of Advocate B.K. Singh handles this work from offices in Dwarka, New Delhi and Vaishali, Ghaziabad.

In short. A tenant harassed by a landlord, or a landlord harassed by a tenant, can complain to the police for threats, trespass, hurt or intimidation, apply to the Rent Controller or Rent Authority if essential supplies are cut, and file a civil suit for injunction and damages. Neither side may use force or self-help: eviction and recovery of rent must go through the rent law or civil court.

Harassment between landlords and tenants usually starts with money or possession. The landlord wants the premises back or more rent; the tenant stops paying, refuses to leave or damages the property. What follows can be ugly: electricity and water cut off, locks changed, belongings thrown out, goons at the door, abusive calls, threats to family members, or, on the other side, a tenant who abuses the owner, sublets without consent, blocks access to the rest of the building or files false complaints. The law gives both sides remedies, and they are faster and more effective when you choose the right one early.

This page explains, as of October 2026, what counts as harassment in a tenancy, the complaints you can make to the police, the Rent Controller in Delhi, the Rent Authority in Uttar Pradesh and the civil court, the evidence that decides these cases, and how the answer changes for a flat, a shop, a PG room, an office or an industrial shed, and for banks, companies, NRIs and senior citizens on either side of the tenancy.

Law

Delhi Rent Control Act 1958, section 45; UP Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act 2021, section 20; Specific Relief Act 1963, sections 6 and 38; BNS sections 115, 126, 127, 324, 329, 351 and 352; BNSS sections 126, 164, 173, 174 and 175.

Where to complain

Police station (SHO); Rent Controller in Delhi or Rent Authority in UP for cut supplies; civil court for injunction and possession; magistrate if police do not act.

Time limits

Possession suit after forcible dispossession: 6 months (Specific Relief Act, section 6). Report threats and lockouts the same day. Rent Authority in UP is to decide supply complaints within one month.

Who can complain

Tenants, licensees and their family members; landlords and their family members; companies, LLPs and banks through authorised officers.

Key evidence

Rent agreement or lease, rent receipts or bank transfers, photographs and videos, call recordings and messages, electricity and water bills, police complaint copies, witness details.

What the law forbids

Self-help eviction by force or by cutting supplies, and tenants damaging property or obstructing the owner's lawful use.

What counts as harassment in a tenancy

Harassment is not a single legal offence in a landlord-tenant dispute. It is a word for conduct that the law treats under different heads: cutting off electricity or water, changing locks, removing belongings, entering without notice, threatening or abusing, damaging property, blocking access, or making false complaints. Each of these has its own remedy, and the first job is to identify which conduct you are facing so that the complaint names the right provision and goes to the right office.

From the tenant's side, the commonest complaints are cutting of essential supplies to force the tenant out or to extract higher rent, forced entry or lockout, removal of goods, threats by the landlord or people he sends, refusal to return the security deposit coupled with intimidation, and harassment of women tenants. From the landlord's side, the complaints are threats and abuse by the tenant, damage to the premises, unauthorised subletting or change of use, non-payment combined with refusal to vacate, encroachment on common areas or other floors, and false police or court complaints filed to delay eviction.

The basic rule protects both sides equally: nobody may take the law into their own hands. A landlord cannot evict a tenant, even one who has stopped paying or whose lease has ended, except through the Rent Controller, Rent Authority or civil court. A tenant cannot hold the premises hostage, damage them or intimidate the owner. When one side breaks that rule, the other side's complaint becomes much stronger.

The law behind a harassment complaint

When the landlord is harassing the tenant

A landlord who wants the premises back must file an eviction petition or suit on a ground the law recognises: bona fide need, non-payment, subletting, misuse, expiry of a lease outside rent control, and so on. Cutting off electricity or water, removing the main door, changing the lock while the tenant is out or throwing belongings onto the street are not eviction; they are illegal acts, and they usually help the tenant. A tenant who is locked out can file a complaint for criminal trespass and mischief and, within six months, a suit under section 6 of the Specific Relief Act to get possession back without having to prove anything except possession and dispossession.

Where supplies are cut, the fastest route in Delhi is an application under section 45 to the Rent Controller, if the tenancy is covered by the Act, and in UP an application to the Rent Authority under section 20. For tenancies outside rent control, such as Delhi premises let at more than ₹3,500 a month, the remedy is a civil suit for mandatory injunction directing restoration, with an application for interim relief. The electricity distribution company (BSES, Tata Power DDL or NDMC in Delhi; PVVNL in Noida and Ghaziabad; DHBVN in Gurugram) can also be approached where the connection is in the tenant's name or the landlord has disconnected a separately metered supply.

Threats and abuse go to the police. A written complaint describing each incident with date and time, supported by recordings and messages, is the starting point. If the landlord sends people to frighten the tenant, name them if possible and note vehicle numbers. A security deposit dispute, on its own, is a civil money claim; it becomes a police matter only when it comes with threats, force or cheating.

When the tenant is harassing the landlord

A landlord facing a hostile tenant has two tracks running in parallel: recover possession and arrears through the proper forum, and stop the harassment in the meantime. The first track means an eviction petition before the Rent Controller in Delhi, a petition before the Rent Authority in UP, or an eviction suit in the civil court where rent control does not apply, usually after a notice terminating the tenancy under section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act. The second track means a police complaint for threats, abuse, damage or trespass into parts of the building not let to the tenant, and a civil injunction to stop the tenant from making structural changes, subletting or interfering with common areas.

Landlords often ask whether they can stop the tenant's electricity or lock the gate to force payment. The answer is no, and doing so turns a strong eviction case into a weak one, because the tenant then has a section 45 or section 20 application, a police complaint and the court's sympathy. Collect evidence instead: send rent demand notices, photograph damage, keep a log of incidents, and file the eviction case promptly.

False complaints are a real problem. Some tenants file police complaints or cases alleging harassment to delay eviction. The answer is to respond in writing to each complaint with documents, attend any police enquiry with the rent agreement and payment records, and, where a false FIR is registered, consider anticipatory bail and quashing before the High Court. Knowingly giving false information to a public servant and false charges of an offence are themselves offences under the BNS.

Rent Controller, Rent Authority and the civil court

In Delhi, the Delhi Rent Control Act 1958 still governs tenancies within its scope, mostly old tenancies at low rents. For those, the Rent Controller decides eviction and section 45 supply complaints, and appeals go to the Rent Control Tribunal. Most new tenancies in Delhi are at rents above ₹3,500 a month and fall outside the Act, so the civil court decides both eviction and harassment-related injunctions. The Rent Controllers sit in the district court complexes.

In Uttar Pradesh, including Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad, the UP Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act 2021 applies to urban premises, with Rent Authorities at the first level, Rent Tribunals above them and civil court jurisdiction barred on matters the Act covers. Tenancies must be in writing and intimated to the Rent Authority; an unintimated tenancy can complicate the landlord's case. The Rent Authority's power to restore supplies within a month is one of the quicker remedies anywhere in NCR.

In Haryana, including Gurugram and Faridabad, rent disputes are governed by the state's urban rent law, which also restricts cutting off amenities, and civil courts hear disputes outside it. In all three states, criminal conduct (threats, hurt, trespass, damage) goes to the police and magistrate regardless of which rent law applies.

Police complaint for landlord or tenant harassment

Go to the police station with jurisdiction over the property with a written complaint, two copies and supporting material on a pen drive or printed. The complaint should give names and addresses of both sides, the tenancy details, a dated account of each incident, the specific acts (threat, abuse, trespass, damage, hurt), witnesses and what you want: registration of an FIR, a warning to the other side, or preventive action. Get a receipt or diary number on your copy. In Delhi and UP you can also file an e-FIR or online complaint for some offences.

Not every incident is cognizable. Simple abuse or a minor scuffle may be recorded as a non-cognizable report under section 174 of the BNSS, after which you need the magistrate's permission for investigation. Criminal trespass into a house, hurt, threats of serious harm and damage to property are usually cognizable. If the SHO refuses to register an FIR for a cognizable offence, send the complaint to the DCP or SP under section 173(4), and then apply to the magistrate under section 175(3). For offences punishable with three to seven years, the police may first hold a preliminary enquiry of up to 14 days.

Where tempers are running high, police can move the Executive Magistrate (the SDM or ACP acting as Executive Magistrate in Delhi) for security proceedings under section 126 of the BNSS, and in a genuine dispute over possession likely to cause a breach of the peace, proceedings under section 164. These do not decide who is right; they keep the peace while the civil or rent case does.

How to file a harassment complaint, step by step

This is the order that works for most tenant or landlord harassment situations in Delhi NCR.

1. Secure yourself and the evidence

   If there is violence or an immediate threat, call 112. Photograph and video the incident, the lock, the cut supply or the damage, and save messages and call logs. Note the names of neighbours who saw what happened.

2. Put the facts in writing

   Write a dated chronology from the start of the tenancy: agreement, rent paid, the dispute, each incident. Attach the rent agreement, receipts or bank statements, electricity and water bills, and any notices exchanged.

3. File the police complaint

   Submit the written complaint at the police station, get a diary number, and follow up with the beat officer and SHO. If no action follows, escalate to the DCP or SP and then the magistrate under section 175(3) of the BNSS.

4. Approach the Rent Controller or Rent Authority

   If supplies are cut and the tenancy is covered, apply to the Rent Controller in Delhi under section 45 or to the Rent Authority in UP under section 20 for interim restoration. Ask for an early date; these applications are meant to be heard quickly.

5. Send a legal notice

   A notice to the other side recording the incidents, demanding that they stop and stating the action you will take often ends the harassment. It is also evidence later. A landlord's notice can be combined with termination of the tenancy.

6. File a civil suit if needed

   For a lockout, file a suit under section 6 of the Specific Relief Act within six months. For continuing interference, threats to dispossess or refusal to restore supplies outside rent control, file a suit for injunction with an Order 39 application for interim relief.

7. Keep paying, keep records

   A tenant should keep paying or tendering rent, by bank transfer or money order if the landlord refuses to accept it, and keep proof. A landlord should keep issuing receipts and accounts. Whoever is clean on money usually does better in court.

Type of harassment and where it goes

Women, senior citizens and families

Harassment of women tenants, such as repeated unwanted visits, comments, stalking, entry into the room in their absence or threats, is treated seriously. Complaints can be made at any police station, which has a women's help desk, or online, and a woman's statement is recorded by a woman officer where the offence requires it. Delhi has a women's helpline (181) and the national emergency number 112 works across NCR.

Senior citizen landlords who are threatened by tenants can approach the senior citizens' cell of Delhi Police or the local police station, and the district administration for help. The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007 protects senior citizens mainly against children and relatives; it is not a tenant eviction law, though tribunals under it have ordered eviction of children who harass their parents. A senior citizen landlord's need for the premises can support an eviction case under rent law.

Where a family member such as a son or daughter-in-law occupies property and harasses the owner, the dispute is not a tenancy at all. The remedies may lie under the senior citizens' law, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 or a civil suit, and the choice depends on who lives there and on what basis.

Harassment involving flats, societies and builders

In builder projects and housing societies, harassment complaints often involve a third party: the RWA or maintenance agency cuts power backup or water for unpaid maintenance, blocks a tenant's entry or vehicle sticker, or demands tenant registration fees. Maintenance agencies can enforce dues under the maintenance agreement and the society's rules, but cutting essential services to an occupant is open to challenge, and the tenant and owner should both write to the society and, where needed, apply for an injunction.

If the landlord is a builder or promoter who still holds unsold flats and lets them, the tenancy is an ordinary tenancy; RERA protects allottees against promoters about the project, not tenants against landlords. An allottee harassed by a promoter over possession, maintenance or common areas has remedies before RERA or the consumer commission, but that is not a landlord-tenant harassment complaint.

Owners letting flats should register the tenant with the police for verification (Delhi Police and UP Police both have online tenant verification) and, in UP, make sure the tenancy is intimated to the Rent Authority. These steps protect the landlord if the tenant later turns hostile, and protect the tenant from being labelled an unauthorised occupant.

How it differs by property type

For a residential flat or house, the main remedies are those described above. For a PG room or hostel, the arrangement is often a licence rather than a tenancy; a licensee has fewer protections against removal, but forcible removal, withholding belongings and threats are still offences, and the licence agreement's notice period must be followed.

For a shop, office or showroom, tenancy is often commercial and outside rent control. Disconnecting electricity to a running business causes measurable loss, so the tenant can claim damages along with an injunction; the landlord, for his part, can rely on lease clauses on use, signage, hours and subletting. For an industrial shed, warehouse or factory in an industrial area, the authority's rules (Noida, Greater Noida, YEIDA, DSIIDC, HSIIDC) may affect who can let and on what terms; harassment often takes the form of blocking trucks, cutting power or refusing access to machinery, and an urgent injunction is usually the right remedy.

For agricultural land given to a tenant or sharecropper, the dispute belongs to the revenue law (the UP Revenue Code 2006 or the Delhi Land Reforms Act 1954), not urban rent law, and the revenue courts and Tehsildar are the proper forum for possession; threats and violence still go to the police.

When a bank, company, LLP or NRI is involved

Banks often occupy premises as tenants for branches and ATMs, and some banks let out property they own or have acquired. A bank as tenant facing a landlord who obstructs access or cuts power will usually file a civil suit for injunction through its law department and local counsel; a bank as landlord deals with tenants through the same civil and rent routes as any owner. A bank recovering a loan from a borrower is a different matter; harassment by recovery agents is covered by RBI's rules on recovery practices and the banking ombudsman, not landlord-tenant law.

Companies, LLPs and startups as tenants or landlords act through authorised officers under a board or partners' resolution. Leases between businesses often have arbitration clauses; disputes over rent, deposit and damage under such a lease can go to arbitration if the tenancy is outside rent control, while threats and violence remain police matters. NRI landlords usually act through a power of attorney holder in India; make sure the attorney has express power to file police complaints and suits, and keep the tenant verification and agreement on file.

In harassment complaints that come to Advocate B.K. Singh's office, the case usually turns on two pieces of paper: a written rent agreement and proof of rent payments. Where both exist and are in order, the side doing the harassing tends to back off quickly once a notice or a complaint lands. Where neither exists, the case becomes a contest of oral versions.

Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurugram: practical points

In Delhi, police complaints go to the local police station and can be escalated to the DCP of the district; Rent Controllers sit at Tis Hazari, Saket, Karkardooma, Rohini, Dwarka, Patiala House and the other district complexes, and civil suits go to the civil judge or district judge depending on value. The Delhi Police online tenant verification and e-FIR systems help with documentation.

In Noida and Greater Noida, under the Gautam Buddh Nagar Police Commissionerate, complaints go to the local police station and the ACP or DCP; the Rent Authority under the 2021 Act handles supply complaints and eviction; and civil suits go to the court at Surajpur. Ghaziabad has its own Police Commissionerate and district court. In Gurugram, the Police Commissionerate and the district court at Gurugram handle complaints and suits.

Across NCR the pattern is the same: police for criminal conduct, the rent forum for supplies and eviction where rent law applies, the civil court for injunction and possession everywhere else.

Evidence checklist for a harassment complaint

• Rent agreement or lease, and police verification form
• Rent receipts, bank transfer statements or money order receipts
• Electricity and water bills, meter photographs and disconnection notices
• Photographs and videos of the lock, damage or cut supply, with date and time
• Call recordings, WhatsApp messages and emails, with the phone kept safe
• Names and numbers of witnesses (neighbours, guards, RWA office-bearers)
• Copies of earlier police complaints with diary numbers
• Legal notices sent and received, with postal proof
• Medical report if anyone was hurt
• List of belongings removed or damaged, with bills if available

Mistakes that weaken a harassment complaint

• Retaliating in kind. A tenant who stops paying because the landlord cut the water, or a landlord who cuts the water because the tenant stopped paying, hands the other side a counter-complaint.
• No written agreement. Without a rent agreement, the first fight is about whether a tenancy exists at all.
• Waiting too long after a lockout. The six-month window under section 6 of the Specific Relief Act closes; after that you must prove title.
• Vague police complaints. 'He harasses me' gets a diary entry. Dated incidents, named people and specific acts get action.
• Exaggeration. Adding offences that did not happen invites a quashing petition and damages your credibility for the real complaint.
• Ignoring the rent forum. Where the Rent Controller or Rent Authority has power to restore supplies quickly, filing only a police complaint wastes time.

Cost, time and what to do this week

A police complaint costs nothing to file. Rent forum applications for restoration of supplies are meant to be quick, often days to weeks for interim orders. Civil suits for injunction take longer to finish, but interim relief, if justified, can come at the first or second hearing. Court fees depend on the relief and the state's court fee law; professional fees vary with the work, and we do not quote figures.

This week, write down every incident with date and time, collect the agreement and payment proof, and save recordings and messages in two places. File the police complaint for any threat, trespass or damage. If supplies are cut, apply to the rent forum or file for an injunction. Send a legal notice if the harassment is continuing but not violent. Keep paying or accounting for rent.

Related pages: rent control petitions, eviction suits, forcible dispossession complaints, criminal trespass cases, injunction against interference, rent agreement drafting, notice of termination of tenancy, filing an FIR and police complaints and replying to an eviction notice.

If you want your papers checked before you act, the team of Advocate B.K. Singh at Legals365 can review them and tell you the next step: talk to a lawyer.

When an LLP is a party

A limited liability partnership under the LLP Act 2008 is a body corporate, separate from its partners, with perpetual succession. It owns property, signs contracts and sues in its own name, and a partner's liability is limited to the agreed contribution except in cases of fraud. Every LLP needs at least two designated partners, at least one of whom is resident in India, and the designated partners answer personally for its statutory compliance.

The LLP agreement is the governing document, much like a company's articles. It decides who can sign, how decisions are taken, which matters need the consent of all partners, and how partners join and leave. It must be filed with the Registrar of Companies, and so must every change to it. Each partner is an agent of the LLP for its business, so a third party dealing in good faith can usually hold the LLP to a partner's act. For sale deeds, loans and litigation, though, sub-registrars, banks and courts ask for a partners' resolution or authority letter naming the partner who signs. Check the LLP's master data on the MCA portal: LLPIN, status, designated partners and registered charges.

The difference from an ordinary firm under the Partnership Act 1932 is real. Partners of an LLP are not jointly liable for its debts, and one partner is not personally liable for another partner's wrongful act. That is why lenders and landlords commonly take personal guarantees from LLP partners. The difference from a company matters too: there is no oppression and mismanagement remedy before the NCLT, so partner disputes are settled under the LLP agreement, usually by arbitration, or by a civil suit, and in serious cases by winding up through the NCLT.

Every LLP files an annual statement of account and solvency and an annual return with the ROC. Late filings attract additional fees for each day of delay, and an LLP that has stopped doing business can be struck off. The 2021 amendment decriminalised many defaults, but filings in arrears still block loans, registrations and government contracts at the worst moment. The IBC applies to LLPs, so a creditor can start insolvency proceedings against an LLP that defaults above the threshold.

In practice: name the LLP exactly as registered, ending in LLP; attach the partners' resolution and a copy of the LLP agreement to any deed, lease or plaint; and if the LLP was converted from a firm or a private company, confirm that property held in the old name has been mutated. Conversion vests the assets in the LLP by law, but municipal records, development authorities and sub-registrars still need to be updated before the property can be sold or mortgaged smoothly.

Frequently asked questions

Can my landlord cut off electricity or water to make me leave?

No. In Delhi, section 45 of the Delhi Rent Control Act forbids it for covered tenancies, and in UP, section 20 of the 2021 tenancy Act forbids it for all urban tenancies under the Act. Outside rent control, a civil court can order restoration by mandatory injunction. Cutting supplies is not a lawful way to evict.

My landlord changed the locks while I was out. What can I do?

File a police complaint for criminal trespass and mischief the same day, with photographs. Within six months you can file a suit under section 6 of the Specific Relief Act to get possession back without proving title. Ask for urgent interim relief if your belongings are inside.

Can a landlord enter my rented flat without permission?

The landlord can inspect on reasonable notice if the agreement allows, but cannot enter at will. Repeated entry without consent can be criminal trespass and grounds for an injunction. Put objections in writing.

My tenant is threatening me and not paying rent. What should I do?

File a police complaint about the threats and start eviction and arrears proceedings before the rent forum or civil court. Do not cut supplies or lock the tenant out. Keep sending written rent demands and record each incident.

Will the police help in a landlord tenant dispute?

Police act on criminal conduct such as threats, hurt, trespass and damage, but do not decide rent or eviction. If the SHO does not register an FIR for a cognizable offence, write to the DCP or SP and then apply to the magistrate. For a heated possession dispute, police can start preventive proceedings.

What is the Rent Authority in Noida and Ghaziabad?

Under the UP Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act 2021, the Rent Authority is the first-level forum for tenancy matters in urban UP. It can order restoration of essential supplies, decide eviction and rent disputes and award compensation. Appeals go to the Rent Tribunal.

Does the Delhi Rent Control Act apply to my tenancy?

It applies to premises within its scope, but residential and commercial premises let at more than ₹3,500 a month are excluded. Most new tenancies in Delhi are therefore outside it and go to the civil court. Older low-rent tenancies remain under the Act.

My tenant filed a false harassment complaint against me. What now?

Respond in writing with the rent agreement, payment records and any recordings, and attend the police enquiry. If an FIR is registered on false allegations, consider anticipatory bail and a petition for quashing in the High Court. Knowingly false complaints are themselves offences.

Can I get compensation for harassment by my landlord?

In UP, the Rent Authority can award compensation of up to two months' rent for withholding essential supplies. Otherwise, damages are claimed in a civil suit. Criminal courts can also order compensation in some cases.

Is a PG or hostel resident protected from harassment?

A PG resident is often a licensee, with fewer rights against removal at the end of the licence. But threats, force, withholding belongings and entry into the room without consent are still offences. The licence notice period must be followed.

Can I complain to RERA or the consumer commission about my landlord?

Usually not. RERA deals with promoters and allottees about real estate projects, and a tenancy is not a consumer service. Landlord-tenant harassment goes to the police, the rent forum or the civil court.

How long does a harassment complaint take?

A police complaint can lead to action within days if the evidence is clear. Rent forum orders restoring supplies are meant to come within weeks. Civil suits take longer, but interim injunctions can be granted early.

Are LLP partners personally liable for its debts?

Generally no. The LLP pays its obligations from its own assets, and a partner is liable only to the extent of his contribution unless he gave a personal guarantee or acted fraudulently.

Can an LLP buy property in Delhi or Noida?

Yes. An LLP can buy, lease and mortgage property in its own name through an authorised partner. Leasehold authorities such as the DDA or the Noida Authority have their own transfer rules and charges, so check those before the deal.