COVID-19 lockdown: Delhi government warns landlords against forcing students & labourers for rent

In the midst of the arising health and economic crisis due to the outbreak of the pandemic COVID-19, the Delhi Government warned landlords of potential legal action if they are found guilty of forcing students and labourers to pay rent during the lockdown. The government revealed that the decision of releasing such order is taken after “instances of landlords forcing students for immediate payment of rent or face eviction” was brought to its notice.

The order released by the Delhi government states, “If any landlord is forcing labourers and students to vacate their premises, they shall be liable for action under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.”

The order also states, “Wherever the workers, including migrants, are living in rented accommodation the landlords shall not demand payment of rent for a period of one month.”

On March 29, a similar order was released by the Ministry of Home Affairs when large groups of migrant labourers flocked to Delhi's borders in the hopes of returning home.

The closure of economic activities due to the extended nationwide lockdown until May 3 in order to control the spread of the pandemic COVID-19 is making people face loss of job opportunities, cash crunch and income imbalance. The order against the inhumane act of landlords came as a relief especially for daily wage earners and students belonging to low economic strata.

The total number of coronavirus cases in India has reached 23,134. The deadly virus has claimed 722 lives so far. However, on the positive side, a total of 5,058 infected people have recovered.

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