# India Property Gone Wrong? An NRI Owner's Triage

By Saurabh Garg, founder·10 min read·Published 2026-08-24
**Short answer:** Work out which clock you are on before you decide who to call. Almost every India property problem an owner abroad faces is a limitation question wearing a different costume, and the remedy that was available in month one is often gone by month nine. Name the problem, find the deadline attached to it, then act.

# Something has gone wrong with your India property. Start here.

**Work out which clock you are on before you decide who to call.** Almost every India property problem an owner abroad faces is a limitation question wearing a different costume. The remedy available in month one is often gone by month nine, and nobody writes to tell you it lapsed. Name the problem, find the deadline attached to it, then act.

This page is the triage. Each route below names what the problem is in law, the clock running on it, and the page that covers it end to end.

## The triage table

| What you are seeing | What it is in law | The clock that matters |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tenant stopped paying, will not leave | Civil dispute, not a crime | Section 106 notice first, then a suit that runs 2 to 7 years |
| Relative manages it, sends no accounts | Agency under the Contract Act | No hard deadline, but evidence goes cold |
| Someone is living in it who never had permission | Dispossession | Six months for the summary suit, twelve years before title is at risk |
| Builder has missed possession | RERA default | Complaint any time, appeal within 60 days of an order |
| POA holder you no longer rely on | Authority you can revoke | Revoke now, in a registered deed, before anything is signed |
| You want to sell and cannot fly | No problem at all | None, this one is routine |
| Records still name someone who died | Stale title | No deadline, but no buyer will close |
| Property tax unpaid for years | Charge on the property | 2% a month, compounding, attached to the flat |

## The tenant stopped paying and will not leave

You cannot remove the tenant yourself, and refusal to vacate is a civil dispute rather than a crime, so the police will not act on a call. They come in at the execution stage, after a decree. Before any suit you terminate the tenancy in writing under Section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act 1882: 15 days for a month-to-month tenancy, six months for a year-to-year one. A defective notice gets the suit dismissed and buys the tenant another year rent free.

Then plan for 2 to 7 years, and claim mesne profits at market rent in the plaint itself, because that is the only thing that makes sitting tight expensive. Full route: [how to evict a tenant in India as an NRI](/guides/how-to-evict-tenant-india-nri).

## A relative is managing it and will not account

A relative who manages your flat is your agent in law, whatever the family calls the arrangement. Under Section 213 of the Indian Contract Act 1872 an agent is bound to render proper accounts to the principal on demand. That sentence is the whole of your position, and it does not require you to accuse anybody of anything.

The signals are boring rather than dramatic: rent that arrives late and rounded, no tenant agreement you have seen, no receipts, and a reluctance to let anyone else inside the flat. The exit is to professionalise the role, not to start a fight. Full route: [is my relative mismanaging my India property](/guides/is-my-relative-mismanaging-my-india-property).

## Someone is living in it who has no right to be

This is the one with the shortest fuse on the page. A summary suit for possession under Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act 1963 has to be filed within six months of dispossession, and it does not require you to prove title. Miss that window and you are on the slower route under Section 5, which stays open far longer but asks more of you.

Behind both sits Article 65 of the Limitation Act 1963: twelve years of hostile, open and continuous possession can extinguish your right to evict at all. The first week decides which of those three clocks you spend the next few years on. Full route: [encroachment on your India property](/guides/encroachment-nri-property-india-what-to-do).

## The builder has missed possession

Section 18 of the RERA Act 2016 gives you a choice the day the builder misses the date in your agreement: exit with a refund plus interest, or stay and claim interest for every month of delay. The rate is not whatever the builder wrote into the agreement. State rules fix it, and across most states the formula is the State Bank of India's highest Marginal Cost of Lending Rate plus 2 percent.

Section 31 lets any aggrieved person file, and an NRI allottee qualifies. You file on the state portal, and several authorities hear complaints over video. Full route: [filing a RERA complaint from abroad](/guides/nri-rera-complaint-builder-delay).

## You granted a power of attorney and no longer trust the holder

A power of attorney is misused when the authority written into it is wider than the job you handed over. If that describes yours, the fix is to revoke and re-grant narrow, and to do it before anything gets signed rather than after.

Cap the replacement in the drafting: name the property, list the acts, exclude sale and mortgage in words, set an end date, and require the holder to account to you. Under Section 33 of the Registration Act 1908, a POA signed abroad has to be authenticated by an Indian consular officer or a notary before an Indian sub-registrar accepts it. Full route: [power of attorney misuse in India](/guides/nri-power-of-attorney-misuse-india).

## You want to sell and cannot fly to India

This one is not a problem, and it belongs on the page because owners treat it as one. Indian law does not require the seller at registration. It requires a person with valid authority to sign the deed and appear before the sub-registrar.

Use a Special Power of Attorney limited to this property and this sale, attest it where you live, register it in India, and your attorney holder closes the transaction. The buyer deducts TDS under Section 195 on the whole consideration rather than the 1 percent residents pay, so apply for a lower deduction certificate the day the price is agreed. Full route: [selling without visiting India](/guides/sell-nri-property-without-visiting-india).

## The records still name someone who has died

Your ownership arises on death. The government's records do not know that. Mutation is what updates them, and until it is done a buyer's lawyer will stop at a title naming a dead person.

Owners lose months here by chasing the wrong document. A legal heir certificate comes from the revenue office in weeks and covers pension, provident fund, insurance, utility transfer and starting mutation. A succession certificate is a court order under Sections 370 to 390 of the Indian Succession Act 1925, and it is limited to debts and securities. Neither transfers the house by itself. Full route: [succession certificate against legal heir certificate](/guides/succession-vs-legal-heir-certificate-nri).

## Nobody has paid the property tax in years

Arrears attach to the property rather than to the person, and they compound. Bengaluru runs at 2 percent a month plus 15 percent simple interest a year. Mumbai runs at 2 percent a month. The bill surfaces at the worst moment, which is closing day on a sale.

Both cities take payment online from abroad, and the receipt has a second use: if the flat is let, municipal tax paid during the year comes off gross rent before the 30 percent standard deduction under Section 24. Routes: [BBMP property tax from abroad](/guides/pay-bbmp-property-tax-bangalore-nri) and [MCGM property tax from abroad](/guides/pay-mcgm-property-tax-mumbai-nri).

## What every route on this page has in common

The first is documents. Six records answer different questions and only mean something read against each other: the registered sale deed, the Encumbrance Certificate, the mutation record, the current tax receipt, a CERSAI search and the electricity account. When all six agree and all name you, there is little for anyone to build on. That check is set out in [how to check your India property for fraud](/guides/property-fraud-nri-india-how-to-check).

The second is that somebody has to be in India. Every route above ends at a counter, a portal login, a sub-registrar or a courtroom. Distance is not what creates these problems. Distance is what stops you seeing them in month one, when the short clocks are still open.

## FAQ

**What should an NRI do first when something goes wrong with property in India?**
Identify the limitation period attached to the problem before doing anything else. A summary possession suit under Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act 1963 closes six months after dispossession. A RERA appeal closes 60 days after the order. An eviction needs a Section 106 notice served before any suit. The remedy you had in month one is often gone by month nine, and nothing tells you it lapsed.

**Can the police help an NRI recover property in India?**
Rarely at the start. Non-payment of rent, refusal to vacate and most possession disputes are civil matters, so the police will decline to act on a complaint. They assist at the execution stage, after a court passes a decree and directs them to. An owner who expects enforcement to be a phone call loses months waiting for one.

**Does an NRI have to travel to India to fix a property dispute?**
No. A registered Special Power of Attorney lets someone in India file, sign pleadings and appear for you. Several state RERA authorities hear complaints over video. What no one can do from abroad is the physical part: attending a counter, opening a locked flat, or having someone show up when a hearing is listed.

**How long do these disputes take in India?**
An eviction suit runs 2 to 7 years, and a clean summary non-payment case can close in 1 to 3. RERA authorities are meant to dispose of complaints inside 60 days, though real timelines run longer. Mutation and a legal heir certificate run in weeks. A succession certificate runs in months. The spread is why picking the right route first matters more than moving fast on the wrong one.

**Can someone take ownership of my India property by living in it?**
Yes, under Article 65 of the Limitation Act 1963, where possession is hostile, open and continuous for twelve years. The occupier has to prove every element and most fail on one of them. A tenant is a different case: possession began with your permission, so that clock never started.

**What proof should I demand from whoever handles a dispute for me?**
The filing number, the e-courts status link, dated copies of every order, and itemised bills with receipts. Any money recovered goes to your NRO account and no other account. If you get a reassurance instead of a document, you are being managed rather than represented.

## We are the person in India

66 MG Road runs the on-the-ground half of every route on this page for owners in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Gurgaon. One vetted manager per property, never a rotating desk. Dated photo proof from every visit. Itemised billing with vendor receipts at actuals. Rent to your NRO account. When something goes wrong you get the case number, the dated orders and the bills. See [what we do](/services) or [request a proposal](/proposal).

*Saurabh Garg, founder, 66 MG Road*

## Sources

- Section 106, Transfer of Property Act 1882, notice periods for termination of a tenancy (iPleaders): [https://blog.ipleaders.in/section-106-of-transfer-of-property-act-1882/](https://blog.ipleaders.in/section-106-of-transfer-of-property-act-1882/)

- Recovery of possession under Sections 5 and 6, Specific Relief Act 1963 (Drishti Judiciary): [https://www.drishtijudiciary.com/to-the-point/ttp-specific-relief-act/recovery-of-immovable-property](https://www.drishtijudiciary.com/to-the-point/ttp-specific-relief-act/recovery-of-immovable-property)

- The Limitation Act 1963, Articles 64, 65 and 112, periods of limitation for suits for possession (Bhatt & Joshi Associates): [https://bhattandjoshiassociates.com/what-is-the-period-of-limitation-for-a-suit-for-possession-of-immovable-property/](https://bhattandjoshiassociates.com/what-is-the-period-of-limitation-for-a-suit-for-possession-of-immovable-property/)

- Section 33, Registration Act 1908, powers of attorney executed outside India before an Indian Consul (Indian Kanoon): [https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1182132/](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1182132/)

- Section 18 of RERA, allottee's right to refund with interest or interest for delay (AZB & Partners): [https://www.azbpartners.com/bank/delayed-possession-legal-actions-homebuyers-and-allottees-can-initiate/](https://www.azbpartners.com/bank/delayed-possession-legal-actions-homebuyers-and-allottees-can-initiate/)

- Maharashtra RERA Rules 2017, Rule 18, interest at SBI highest MCLR plus 2 percent (IBC Laws): [https://ibclaw.in/maharashtra-real-estate-regulation-and-developmentregistration-of-real-estate-projects-registration-of-real-estate-agents-rates-of-interest-and-disclosures-on-website-rules-2017/](https://ibclaw.in/maharashtra-real-estate-regulation-and-developmentregistration-of-real-estate-projects-registration-of-real-estate-agents-rates-of-interest-and-disclosures-on-website-rules-2017/)

- Pending court cases and projected disposal time in India 2025, drawn from NJDG and India Justice Report data (India Data Map): [https://indiadatamap.com/2025/10/18/pending-court-cases-in-india-2025/](https://indiadatamap.com/2025/10/18/pending-court-cases-in-india-2025/)

Information on this page is as on 2026-08-24. Rules, rates, deadlines and government portals change without notice, so verify against the official source before you act. This page is for information only. It is not tax or legal advice, and it is not a substitute for a qualified adviser who knows your position.

## Compare and cost

- [The NRI Property Management Companies in India: A Comparison You Can Check](/guides/best-nri-property-management-companies-india)
- [What NRI Property Management Costs in India: The Four Models and What Hides in Each](/guides/nri-property-management-cost-india)
- [NoBroker NRI Services Review: What the Pages Promise and What They Leave Out](/guides/nobroker-nri-services-review)

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Source: [https://66mgroad.com/nri-property-problems-india](https://66mgroad.com/nri-property-problems-india) · 66 MG Road. Full LLM brief: https://66mgroad.com/llms.txt