While the notice itself does not state contracting COVID as the reason, tenant says senior building residents asked him to leave and then the landlord’s notice came
The Arunodaya building in Vile Parle where Neel Pandya and his fiancee currently reside. Pic/Rane Ashish
A Vile Parle resident, Neel Pandya, 35, and his fiancee were spending a majority of last week shopping for their wedding later this month when the latter began feeling unwell. On March 25, the couple got tested and his fiancee’s tests returned positive on March 27. Three days later, Neel received an eviction notice from his landlord, asking him to vacate the flat within two months.
“Even as I received a call from the BMC on March 27 about my fiancee testing positive, another BMC official was putting up a notice about the case at the building’s gate. While I dealt with the fact of her testing positive, the watchman came to my house and told me that one of the senior residents in the building had asked me to call them.”
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Neel and his fiancee reside in a ground-floor 1BHK flat of the Arunodaya building (old building) in Vile Parle West. It is a family-owned premise. “I was told by a senior member, Shashi Chaudhary, that I need to vacate the flat immediately. She told me that there are elderly people living in the building who might contract the virus. I tried to explain to her that the BMC had asked my fiancee to home quarantine as her case wasn’t severe. She then said that she would complain to the owner of my flat.”
In a few hours, Neel’s landlord’ wife, Suman Chaudhary called him. “I explained to her that since the house has two bathrooms, my fiancee would quarantine in the bedroom, while I would be in the hall,” Neel said. However, on April 1, Neel received a notice signed by landlord Kamal Chaudhary, calling for the termination of their leave and license agreement. The notice informed them that they had two months to “hand over possession of the same.”
Other residents’ claims
Shashi explained that the building has no society. “It is a family-owned property. We members of the Chaudhary family manage the affairs. We did not ask Neel to leave, the owner must have. Neel and I had a conversation, he was really upset about the whole thing. How is isolation possible in a 1BHK flat? The day his fiancee tested positive, he was roaming around the premises without a mask. What does this say about the person?” Shashi said.
Suman Chaudhary said, “Neel has been fighting with everybody. Even though his partner tested positive, he has been roaming around the building. He said he will be isolating at home but he is still calling people to meet him, including the Internet provider.”
Neel said he had called the Internet provider on March 27 before he got to know of the positive result. He refuted the allegations of the other residents. “There are multiple cameras in the building which can prove my point. I was forced to go out because the Internet provider was not being allowed to go to the terrace. It was important to have internet to stay in touch with doctors and worried family. Also, I had anyway tested negative.” He added, “I do not want to live here anymore now. I will be moving out.”
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