Your tenant in Punjab has stopped paying or won't leave. You live abroad. What now?
A tenant who stops paying is a different problem from an occupier who never had permission. The route, and the speed, depend on which one you have.
Property · By Khalil Ahmad Bhullah, Founding Partner · 3 October 2026 · Pakistani law only
Many overseas Pakistanis let a house or shop through a relative or a dealer and hear nothing until the rent stops. The first thing to establish is whether the person in occupation is a tenant at all.
Tenant or illegal occupier?
If there is a tenancy, written or proven by rent payments, the dispute generally belongs before the Rent Tribunal under the Punjab Rented Premises Act, 2009. If the person entered without permission, or stayed after a licence to live there ended and never paid rent, the case may instead be one of illegal possession, which has its own remedies. Choosing the wrong forum costs months, so we look at the documents before advising.
The tenancy agreement matters
The 2009 Act expects tenancies to be in writing and the agreement to be filed with the Rent Registrar. Owners who let informally, or through a dealer who never filed anything, are not without a remedy, but proof becomes harder. Bank transfers of rent, messages and receipts all help. Send us whatever you have.
Grounds for eviction
The usual grounds include failure to pay rent, expiry of the tenancy period, subletting without consent, damage to the premises, and the owner's genuine need for personal use. Each ground needs evidence; a notice in the right form is often the first step.
Running the case from abroad
You do not need to fly back to start. A special power of attorney, signed through NADRA online, at a Pakistani mission or with an apostille where that route applies, lets us or a person you trust act for you. We file, appear, and send you a summary and the order after each hearing.
What not to do
- Do not cut utilities or change the locks yourself. It can expose you to criminal complaints and weakens your case.
- Do not hand original title documents to a relative or dealer to “sort it out”.
- Do not accept part-payments without a written note of what they are for.
Rent Tribunal cases are designed to be quicker than ordinary civil suits, but no honest lawyer can promise a date. What we can promise is a written view of the realistic route and the fee before anything is filed.
More detail is on our property disputes & qabza page.
Questions we get on this.
In most cases, yes. The case runs through a special power of attorney, and the court can be told why you are not present.
Usually you still have remedies, but proving the tenancy needs other evidence such as rent transfers and messages. We assess this from your documents.
No. If the occupier was never a tenant, the matter may be one of illegal possession, which follows a different route.