Tenant [premises]

“tenant” means any person by whom or on whose account or behalf the rent of any premises is or, but for a special contract, would be payable, and includes any person continuing in possession after termination of his tenancy and, in the event of death of any tenant, also includes, for a period not exceeding five years from the date of death of such tenant or from the date of coming into force of this Act, whichever is later, his spouse, son, daughter, parent and the widow of his predeceased son, who were ordinarily living with the tenant up to the date of death of the tenant as the members of his family and were dependent on him and who do not own or occupy any residential premises, and [in respect of premises let out for non-residential purpose his spouse, son, daughter and parent who were ordinarily living with the tenant up to the date of his death as members of his family and were dependant on him or a person authorised by the tenant who is in possession of such premises,] but shall not include any person against whom any decree or order for eviction has been made by a court of competent jurisdiction:

Provided that the time limit of five years shall not apply to the spouse of the tenant who was ordinarily living with the tenant up to his death as a member of his family and was dependent on him and who does not own or occupy any residential premises:
Provided further that the son, daughter, parent or the widow of the predeceased son of the tenant who was ordinarily residing with the tenant in the said premises up to the date of death of the tenant as a member of his family and was dependent on him and who does not own or occupy any residential premises, shall have a right of preference for tenancy in a fresh agreement in respect of such premises [on condition of payment of fair rent]. This proviso shall apply mutatis mutandis to premises let out for non-residential purpose.

One can not claim tenancy right in the following circumstances :

3.  Exemption. – Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to –
(a) any premises owned by –

(i) the Central Government, or

(ii) any State Government, or

(iii) a Government undertaking or enterprise, or

(iv) a statutory body which is not a local authority, or

(v) a Cantonment Board constituted under the Cantonments Act, 1924, or

(vi) a local authority;

[(aa) any premises being a wakf property exclusively for wakf Lillah (other than Wakf ul Aulad)];

(b) any tenancy created by the Central Government or any State Government in respect of the premises taken on lease or requisitioned by that Government;

[(c) any tenancy where the lease with due consent of the tenant has been registered under the Registration Act, 1908, after the commencement of this Act, and the fact of such consent has been recorded in the instrument so registered];

(d) any premises rented to a foreign mission or international agency;

[(da) any tenancy created by a foreign mission or an international agency, either by way of lease or otherwise];

(e) any premises let out for residential purpose, not being a premises within the purview of clause (c), which carries more than –

(i) [six thousand and five hundred rupees] as monthly rent in the areas included within the limits of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation or the Howrah Municipal Corporation, or

(ii) [three thousand rupees] as monthly rent in other areas to which this Act extends;

(f) any premises let out for non-residential purpose, which carries more than –

(i) [ten thousand rupees] as monthly rent in the areas included within the limits of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation or the Howrah Municipal Corporation, or

(ii) [five thousand rupees] as monthly rent in other areas to which this Act extends.

Explanation. – Where any premises is let out partly for residential purpose and partly for non-residential purpose, the provisions of clause (f) shall apply to such premises in proportion to respective areas.

Sub-tenancies

26.  Creation and termination of sub-tenancy to be notified.

 (1) Where after the commencement of this Act, any premises is sublet, either in whole or in part, by the tenant with the previous consent in writing or the landlord, the tenant and every sub-tenant to whom the premises is sublet, shall give notice to the landlord in the prescribed manner of the creation of the sub-tenancy within one month from the date of such subletting and shall, in the prescribed manner, notify the termination of such subtenancy within one month of such termination.
(2) Where before the commencement of this Act, the tenant has, with or without the consent of the landlord, sublet any premises either in whole or in part, the tenant and every sub-tenant to whom the premises has been sublet, shall give notice to the landlord of such subletting in the prescribed manner [within two years of the commencement of this Act] and shall, in the prescribed manner, notify the termination of such sub-tenancy within one month of such termination.
(3) Where in any case referred to in sub-section (2), there is no consent in writing of the landlord, and the landlord denies that he gave any oral consent, the Controller shall, on an application made to him in this behalf either by the landlord or by the sub-tenant within two months of the date of receipt of the notice of subletting by the landlord or the issue of the notice by the sub-tenant, as the case may be, by order, declare that the interest of the tenant in so much of the premises as has been sublet shall cease and that the sub-tenant shall become a tenant directly under the landlord from the date of the order. The Controller shall also fix the rents payable by the tenant and the sub-tenant to the landlord from the date of the order. Rent so fixed shall be deemed to be the fair rent for the purposes of this Act.

37.  Tenant may get supply of electricity to the premises without permission of the landlord.

(1) If any landlord refuses or withholds his consent for obtaining a separate electric connection to a tenant, the tenant desiring to get such supply from a licensee as defined in clause (h) of section 2 of the Indian Electricity Act, 1910, may apply to the Controller setting out the scheme for such supply.
(2) On receipt of such application, the Controller may, after giving the landlord and the owner of the premises if he be not the landlord, an opportunity of being heard, give permission to the tenant to get the supply in accordance with the scheme set-out in the application or any modified scheme.
(3) On such permission being given, the landlord or the owner, as the case may be, shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, be deemed to have given the requisite consent under sub-section (2) of section 12 of the Indian Electricity Act, 1910, and the licensee shall not be liable to the landlord or the owner for trespass for the steps taken for the supply of electricity in accordance with the provisions of this section.

♦ Bharatia under West Bengal Thika Tenancy (Acquisition and Regulation) Act, 2001 is different from premises Tenant –

“Bharatia” means any person by whom or on whose account, rent is payable to [for any structure including pucca structure, if any, or part thereof,] owned by a Thika tenant, but excludes any person paying rent to a Bharatia and any [resident of any structure including pucca structure, if any,] forfeited by the State Government under sub-section (2) of section 6, irrespective of the status, the said person may have enjoyed earlier;

West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1997
West Bengal Premises Tenancy Rules, 1999