Evicting a Tenant and Bangladesh Rent Law: Grounds, Notice, Advance and Rent Increases

In this guide: When can a tenant be evicted? Grounds under section 18 · Eviction notice and the eviction suit: how a landlord evicts lawfully · Illegal eviction: cutting utilities or locking a tenant out · Advance, security deposit and rent receipts · How much and how often can rent be increased? · When the landlord refuses rent: depositing rent with the Rent Controller

The short answer

In Bangladesh a landlord can evict a tenant only through the court and only on a ground the law allows. Under section 18 of the House Rent Control Act 1991, a tenant who pays the permitted rent and keeps to the tenancy terms is protected. The grounds for eviction include non-payment (rent not paid by the agreed date or, if none, by the 15th of the next month), subletting without written consent, damage, nuisance to neighbours and the landlord’s genuine need to rebuild or live there. The landlord first ends the tenancy by written notice, then files an ejectment suit. Self-help eviction is unlawful.

When can a tenant be evicted? Grounds under section 18

Section 18 of the House Rent Control Act 1991 says no court will order a tenant out while the tenant pays the permitted rent in full and keeps to the terms of the tenancy. Eviction is possible where:

• Rent is not paid on time: the tenant loses protection if rent is not paid by the date in the agreement or, where no date is agreed, by the 15th of the following month.
• Subletting: the tenant sublets all or part of the premises without the landlord’s written consent.
• Breach of the tenant’s duties: for example damaging the premises or using them in a way the Transfer of Property Act (section 108) forbids.
• Nuisance: the tenant’s conduct is a nuisance or annoyance to neighbouring occupiers.
• Improper use: the tenant uses the premises, or lets them be used, for a purpose the Act forbids.
• Landlord’s genuine need: the landlord honestly needs the premises to build or rebuild, or to live in himself or for the person for whose benefit the building is held.

Two safeguards protect tenants against abuse of the last ground. First, the mere end of the lease period, or a sale of the building, is not on its own a good reason if the tenant is willing to pay the full permitted rent. Second, if a landlord evicts for his own need but does not start work within two months, or lets the premises to someone else within six months, the Rent Controller can order the old tenant restored or compensated.

The Act covers residential and non-residential premises, so shops and offices are included. Premises of the Government, RAJUK and the other development authorities named in the Act are excluded.

Eviction notice and the eviction suit: how a landlord evicts lawfully

Lawful eviction has two stages: ending the tenancy, and then getting a court decree if the tenant does not leave.

1. Notice to quit: send a written notice, preferably by registered post with acknowledgement and also by hand against signature. If the agreement sets a notice period, follow it. Where it does not, a month-to-month tenancy is ended under section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act by 15 days’ notice expiring at the end of a month of the tenancy. The notice should name the premises, state the ground (for example arrears for named months, or genuine need with reasons), and give the date by which the tenant must hand over vacant possession.
2. Ejectment suit: if the tenant stays on, the landlord files a suit for eviction (and, if relevant, arrears of rent and compensation for use) in the civil court, usually the Civil Judge (formerly Assistant Judge) or Senior Civil Judge (formerly Senior Assistant Judge) court depending on value.
3. Decree and execution: if the court decrees eviction, possession is delivered through the court’s execution process, with police help if needed.

A tenant who leaves must hand over vacant possession to the landlord. Putting someone else in possession instead can be punished, on the landlord’s complaint to the Controller, with a fine of up to ten times the standard rent.

Keep copies of the agreement, rent receipts or bank records, every notice and its postal receipt. In eviction cases, the landlord’s paperwork usually decides how quickly the case ends.

Illegal eviction: cutting utilities or locking a tenant out

A landlord cannot evict a tenant by force, even when the tenant is in arrears. Cutting off water, gas or electricity, removing doors or fittings, blocking the stairs or roof, changing the locks or throwing out belongings are all forms of self-help eviction.

• Offence under the Act: section 24 punishes a landlord who wilfully disturbs the tenant’s use of the premises, removes or damages fixtures, or stops a supply or service the tenant is entitled to. The fines in the Act are small (up to Tk 500 for a first offence, up to Tk 1,000 after that), but a finding against the landlord weighs heavily in any later case.
• Criminal law: forced entry, wrongful restraint or confinement, intimidation and damage to belongings may also be offences under the Penal Code.
• Police: in a 2015 public interest case, the High Court directed the police to accept tenants’ complaints and protect them from forced eviction and utility cuts. The full written judgment was never finalised, so treat it as persuasive rather than settled.
• Electricity: section 32 allows a tenant to obtain an electricity connection from the supplier without the landlord’s permission.

A tenant facing a lockout can complain to the Rent Controller, report to the police, and ask the civil court for an injunction. A landlord who wants the premises back should use notice and the court, which is slower but safe.

Advance, security deposit and rent receipts

Section 10 of the Act sets two rules that are widely ignored in practice but are still the law:

• A landlord may not demand or take any premium, salami, security deposit or similar payment on top of rent for granting, renewing or extending a tenancy.
• A landlord may not take advance rent of more than one month without the Rent Controller’s prior approval.

Section 23 provides fines for breaking these rules, generally linked to the amount wrongly taken. Complaints must be made in writing to the Controller within six months.

Under section 13, the landlord must give a signed receipt immediately for every rent payment, in the prescribed form, and keep the counterfoil. Refusing a receipt can be fined up to double the rent collected. Paying by bank transfer or mobile banking also creates a record, but a receipt is still the safer proof.

In January 2026 Dhaka North City Corporation issued a rent guideline that, among other things, speaks of one to three months’ advance. That is administrative guidance, not law. Where it differs from the Act, the Act prevails, so a landlord who takes more than one month’s advance without approval is taking a legal risk.

How much and how often can rent be increased?

The Act controls rent through the idea of standard rent (মানসম্মত ভাড়া). Either the landlord or the tenant can apply to the Rent Controller to fix it. The yearly standard rent is set at 15 per cent of the market value of the premises, worked out under the rules. Once fixed, standard rent applies from the month after the application and can be re-fixed every two years.

• Rent increased above the standard rent cannot be recovered (section 7).
• A landlord can add a fair amount for real improvements or furniture provided, and for certain taxes (sections 8 and 9).
• Many landlords and tenants never apply for standard rent, and the agreed rent then applies. A rent increase clause in a written agreement is the main protection for both sides.

“No increase within two years” is often quoted as an absolute rule. In fact, the Act’s two-year rule is about the Controller re-fixing standard rent; the 2026 city corporation guideline repeats it as guidance. If your landlord demands a sharp increase, ask in writing for the basis, and consider applying to the Controller.

A written agreement should state the rent, the increase terms, the notice period, utilities, maintenance and the handover condition. A lease for more than one year, from year to year, or reserving a yearly rent must be registered (Registration Act s.17). Our guide on agreements on stamp paper explains stamp paper and signing.

When the landlord refuses rent: depositing rent with the Rent Controller

Some landlords refuse to accept rent so that they can later claim the tenant is in arrears. Section 19 of the Act gives tenants a way out.

1. Offer by money order: send the rent by postal money order. If the landlord refuses it and it comes back, deposit the rent with the Rent Controller within 15 days of the return.
2. Doubt about who to pay: if there is a genuine dispute about who is entitled to rent, for example between heirs after the owner’s death, deposit it with the Controller within 15 days of the due date.
3. Landlord cannot be found: the tenant can deposit within 15 days of the due date, and the Controller must notify the landlord within 7 days of the first deposit.

Each deposit is made by written application giving the premises, the period, the reason and the names and addresses of the parties. Keep every deposit receipt. A tenant who deposits correctly is treated as having paid, so the landlord cannot rely on those months as arrears. Money left unclaimed with the Controller for three years is forfeited to the Government.

Rent Controller orders can be appealed to the District Judge within 30 days.