POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR LETTING AND MANAGING A PROPERTY
This is not a power to sell, gift, exchange or mortgage. It conveys no title.
Executed at __________ on __________.
1. The Principal
I, __________, __________, aged __________ years, residing at __________ ("the Principal", "I", "me", "my"), whose residential status is: __________, execute this Power of Attorney.
2. The Attorney
I appoint __________, __________, aged __________ years, residing at __________, being __________ ("the Attorney"), to be my lawful attorney for the limited purposes set out below, and for no other purpose.
3. The Property
__________, situated at __________, in the State or Union Territory of __________ ("the Property").
4. My title
__________
5. Why I am granting this Power
I am unable to attend personally to the letting and day-to-day management of the Property, and I wish the Attorney to do so on my behalf, on the terms and within the limits set out here.
6. Nature and limits of this Power — read this first
6.1 This is a power of agency only. It does not sell, transfer, gift, exchange, mortgage, charge, release or otherwise dispose of the Property or any part of it, and it creates no right, title or interest in the Property in favour of the Attorney.
6.2 A power of attorney is not a conveyance. In Suraj Lamp & Industries (P) Ltd. v. State of Haryana, (2012) 1 SCC 656 the Supreme Court held that a transaction carried out by a power of attorney, an agreement to sell and a will does not convey title to immovable property. No person may treat this Power, alone or with any other writing, as evidence that the Property or any interest in it has been transferred to the Attorney or to anyone else.
6.3 The Attorney must not sell, agree to sell, gift, exchange, mortgage, charge, create any lien over, surrender, relinquish, partition or part with ownership of the Property; must not accept earnest money, advance or sale consideration for it; must not offer it as security for any borrowing by anyone; and must not create any interest in it other than a letting expressly permitted by this Power.
6.4 The Attorney has no interest in the Property, and no interest in the subject-matter of this agency. Any remuneration provided for below is payment for the Attorney's services only, and does not make this a power coupled with an interest within section 202 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872. I may revoke this Power at any time under section 201 of that Act, and it comes to an end automatically on my death, on my becoming of unsound mind, on my being adjudicated insolvent, or on the death or unsoundness of mind of the Attorney.
6.5 The Attorney may do nothing that I could not lawfully do myself, and nothing beyond what this Power expressly permits.
6.6 This clause prevails. Notwithstanding anything else in this Power, this clause 6 overrides every other clause of it. Every authority given anywhere else in this Power is to be read as subject to the prohibitions in this clause, and no clause of this Power is to be read as permitting anything this clause forbids.
7. Letting the Property
The Attorney may, on my behalf and in my name:
7.1 advertise the Property for letting, appoint and pay brokers, show it to prospective tenants or licensees, verify their identity, employment and references, and negotiate terms;
7.2 sign, execute and deliver leave and licence agreements, tenancy agreements or lease agreements in respect of the Property for a term not exceeding __________ months, and sign any renewal or extension for a further term not exceeding __________ months, and sign the inventory, condition report and handover documents that go with them;
7.3 collect rent, licence fee, security deposit, maintenance and every other sum payable by a tenant or licensee, and give valid receipts and discharges for them;
7.4 hold, apply and refund the security deposit strictly in accordance with the agreement under which it was taken;
7.5 give and receive notices under any such agreement, agree rent revisions within the limits of this Power, and terminate a tenancy or licence in accordance with its terms and with law;
7.6 take possession of the Property when a tenancy or licence ends, carry out a joint inspection and settle dilapidations and deductions;
7.7 complete police verification of occupants and make any intimation, registration or filing about the letting required by the police, the local authority or the society.
8. Registration of letting agreements
8.1 __________
8.2 As between me and the tenant or licensee, the registration of a compulsorily registrable letting agreement is to be attended to as that agreement provides, subject to any statute placing that duty on the landlord or licensor. The Attorney may pay out of rents collected any stamp duty and registration fee that falls on me, unless the agreement provides that the tenant or licensee bears it.
8.3 Nothing in this Power authorises the Attorney to present for registration any instrument other than a letting agreement signed under it, and in no case any instrument of transfer.
9. Managing the Property
The Attorney may, on my behalf and in my name:
9.1 pay out of rents collected the municipal and property tax, water and electricity charges, society maintenance, sinking fund and non-occupancy charges, insurance premiums and every other lawful outgoing on the Property, and obtain receipts for them;
9.2 arrange routine repair, maintenance, painting, waterproofing, pest control and replacement of fittings, and engage, supervise and pay plumbers, electricians, carpenters and other contractors;
9.3 apply for, hold, transfer, disconnect and reconnect electricity, water, gas, telephone, internet and other utility connections, pay their deposits and bills, and correct their records;
9.4 apply for mutation and correction of municipal and revenue records in my name, pay, question and contest property tax demands, and apply for and receive no-objection certificates and permissions relating to the Property;
9.5 insure the Property and its fittings, renew the insurance, and make, pursue and settle claims;
9.6 hold the keys of the Property and enter it for inspection in accordance with the rights reserved in the letting agreement.
10. The society or association
10.1 The Attorney may represent me before the co-operative housing society, apartment owners' association, condominium or resident welfare association in which the Property is held, correspond with it, obtain and lodge no-objection certificates for the letting and for the occupant's use of common facilities, pay maintenance, transfer and non-occupancy charges, receive notices and bills, and collect records, receipts and copies of the share certificate on my behalf.
10.2 The Attorney may not vote in my place at any general body meeting, may not stand for or hold office as my nominee, and may not consent on my behalf to any change in my membership, shareholding or nomination in that body, unless I give a separate written authority for that purpose.
11. Money, accounts and banking
11.1 The Attorney must keep every sum received under this Power separate from the Attorney's own money and must not mix them.
11.2 The Attorney may deposit into my bank account the cheques, drafts and electronic transfers received on my behalf, and may endorse instruments drawn in my favour for deposit into that account only.
11.3 The Attorney must render me a written account, with supporting bills, receipts and bank statements, on a __________ basis, showing every sum received and every payment made, and must produce the records for inspection whenever I ask.
11.4 The Attorney is entitled to reimbursement of proper out-of-pocket expenses incurred under this Power, and to remuneration only where this Power expressly provides for it.
11.5 Where I am resident outside India, the Attorney must credit all rent and other receipts to a Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) account maintained by me in India, and must not remit any sum abroad except on my specific written instruction and after the compliances required by the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and the tax reporting that applies to such a remittance.
11.6 A bank applies its own rules. This Power does not by itself entitle the Attorney to open an account in my name, to withdraw from any account of mine, or to obtain a chequebook, debit card or net-banking access. Any such facility needs the bank's own mandate, signed by me.
12. Tax
12.1 __________
12.2 The Attorney must tell every prospective tenant or licensee, before the agreement is signed, of my residential status, so that the tenant can comply with the tax deduction obligations that apply to the rent, and must give the tenant the details needed for that purpose.
13. Incidental powers
13.1 The Attorney may sign, verify and submit applications, undertakings, indemnities, affidavits and declarations reasonably required for the purposes set out above, and may appear before any municipal, revenue, electricity, water, police or registration authority for those purposes.
13.2 __________
13.3 __________
13.4 The Attorney may do everything else reasonably necessary for the purposes expressly set out in this Power. This clause does not enlarge the Attorney's authority beyond those purposes, and in particular does not permit anything prohibited by the clause headed "Nature and limits of this Power".
14. Ratification
I ratify and confirm everything the Attorney lawfully does within the authority given by this Power. I do not ratify, and I am not bound by, anything done outside that authority.
15. The Attorney's duties
15.1 The Attorney must act in good faith, with reasonable care and skill, in my interests, and must follow my lawful instructions.
15.2 The Attorney must make no secret profit, and must disclose any personal interest in a proposed letting or contract before it is entered into. The Attorney must not let the Property to himself or herself, or to a relative of the Attorney, or to a firm or company in which the Attorney has an interest, without my written consent to that particular letting.
15.3 The Attorney must keep me informed of anything materially affecting the Property, including any notice from a public authority, any dispute or encroachment, any damage, and any default by a tenant or licensee.
15.4 On this Power coming to an end for any reason, the Attorney must hand over to me or to the person I nominate all money, keys, documents, records, accounts and correspondence relating to the Property, and the original of this Power.
16. Indemnity
16.1 I will indemnify the Attorney against liabilities and reasonable costs properly incurred in doing what this Power authorises.
16.2 The Attorney will indemnify me against all loss, liability and cost arising from anything the Attorney does outside the authority given by this Power, or from the Attorney's fraud, wilful default or gross negligence.
17. Duration
17.1 This Power takes effect on __________ and remains in force until it is revoked under the clause headed "Revocation", or determines by operation of law, or expires under an express limit of time stated in this Power.
17.2 This Power comes to an end automatically on my death, on my becoming of unsound mind, on my being adjudicated insolvent, or on the death or unsoundness of mind of the Attorney (section 201, Indian Contract Act, 1872). Anyone dealing with the Attorney should satisfy themselves that it is still in force.
18. Revocation
18.1 I may revoke this Power at any time by notice in writing to the Attorney. I must give the Attorney reasonable notice of the revocation, failing which I am answerable for the damage that the want of reasonable notice causes (section 206, Indian Contract Act, 1872). The revocation binds the Attorney when it becomes known to the Attorney, and binds a third party when it becomes known to that third party (sections 207 and 208 of that Act).
18.2 On revoking, I will give written notice to the Attorney and, so far as I am able, to every tenant or licensee then in occupation, to the society or association, and to every bank, utility or authority that has acted on this Power. I may also publish a notice of revocation in a newspaper circulating where the Property is situated; and, if this Power has been registered or authenticated, I may lodge intimation of the revocation with the Registrar or Sub-Registrar in whose office it was registered or authenticated.
18.3 On revocation or expiry the Attorney must stop acting immediately, return the original of this Power to me, and comply with the clause headed "The Attorney's duties".
19. This Power does not replace anyone else's forms
A bank, a Sub-Registrar, a housing society, a utility provider and a tax authority each apply their own requirements. This Power supports the transactions described in it; it does not replace any mandate, form, affidavit, presentation formality or identification requirement that any of them may insist upon.
20. Governing law and jurisdiction
This Power is governed by the laws of India. Any dispute between me and the Attorney arising out of it is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts having jurisdiction over the place where the Property is situated.
21. Notices
Notices under this Power must be in writing and sent to the addresses stated above by registered post or courier with proof of delivery, and may in addition be sent by email to an address the parties have used for correspondence about the Property. A change of address takes effect only when notified in writing to the other.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have signed this Power of Attorney at __________ on __________.
SIGNED by the Principal
Signature: ______________________________
__________ (Principal)
[Affix passport-size photograph and left thumb impression where the Registrar, Sub-Registrar or notary requires it]
ACCEPTED by the Attorney
I accept this appointment, agree to act only within the limits set out above, and agree to account to the Principal as this Power requires.
Signature: ______________________________
__________ (Attorney)
Specimen signature of the Attorney: ______________________ — attested by the Principal: ______________________
WITNESSES
- Signature: ______________________ Name: ______________________ Address: ______________________ ID: ______________________
- Signature: ______________________ Name: ______________________ Address: ______________________ ID: ______________________
ENDORSEMENT OF AUTHENTICATION, NOTARISATION OR REGISTRATION (as applicable)
Where the Principal resides in India and the Attorney is to admit execution of, or present, a registrable document, this Power must be executed before and authenticated by the Registrar or Sub-Registrar within whose district or sub-district the Principal resides (section 33(1)(a), Registration Act, 1908). A notarised power is not recognised for that purpose.
______________________________________________________________