Landlords flouting tenant verification rules: Police
Despite directive, only 300 house owners applied for police verification of tenants between August 25 and September 22, says joint commissioner of police
LUCKNOW Landlords continue to flout tenant verification rules in the state capital despite directives by the police in this regard since August 25, said officials.
Only 300 house owners applied for police verification of tenants between August 25 and September 22, according to the data shared by joint commissioner of police (law and order) Upendra Kumar Agarwal.
The murder of a 23-year-old woman at the rented accommodation of a property dealer at Dayal Residency on Faizabad road raised several questions over people with criminal background having easy access to rented houses without any police verification.
The accused Aditya Pathak, 24, from Ballia, who had criminal cases in his name, was staying in a house owned by a former UP Police official.
When asked about him, SHO (Chinhat) Alok Kumar Rao said the man lives in Bhopal and has been summoned for questioning.
“Verification will be mandatory for private companies, service providers and landlords,” the JCP had said while holding a press conference on August 25.
“It will be the responsibility of service providers and landlords to get the verification of tenants done, for which two months will be given from the time of the order. After this, action will be taken against those failing to comply with it,” stated the order.
A house owner/landlord needs to visit the UP Police website, and can apply for verification by selecting the ‘character verification’ tab under citizen services or through the UP Cop app, said officials.
“The reason for making police verification of tenants mandatory comes in the wake of a trend that has come to our notice… many criminal activities are undertaken by natives of other places who come and live in rented places in Lucknow. After a crime, when we seek their information, the landlord has no clue about them,” the JCP had said.
He said after a month, only 300 people had so far registered for police verification through the website. “We have given two months to house owners/landlords to comply with the order. After that, we will start taking strict action,” said the JCP.
“It is alarming that tenants with criminal backgrounds are getting easy access to high-rises and independent houses. The local police, along with Resident Welfare Associations, should immediately check the background of tenants,” said Vivek Sharma, vice-president of Jan Kalyan Mahasamiti.
