Guide
My tenant will not pay,
or will not leave
A tenant who stops paying, or stays after the agreement has ended, is one of the most common problems for an owner who lives abroad. The law gives a route, but the route depends on one thing: whether the agreement was written down and registered.
Where this applies This page covers rented property in Pakistan. The rules described are from Punjab, which has its own rent law. Other provinces have their own laws, and an advocate there will tell you how they differ.
What this is about
In Punjab the law requires a rent agreement to be in writing and registered with the rent registrar. That registered agreement is what a rent tribunal looks at. Without it, the owner starts from a much weaker place.
Eviction is not something an owner can do alone. It goes through the rent tribunal, on grounds the law lists: rent unpaid, the term ended, a breach of the agreement, or the premises used for something else.
What has to be in place
What has to be in place.
The rent agreement, and whether it was registered.
A record of what was paid and when it stopped.
An advocate in the district, with a power of attorney.
Note Your advocate confirms which of these apply to your case.
The documents you will be asked for
The papers usually asked for.
- The rent agreement.
- Proof of ownership: the record extract or the deed.
- Rent receipts or bank records.
- Your power of attorney.
How an advocate helps from where you are
What an advocate does.
- Tells you whether the agreement will hold before the tribunal, and what to do if it was never registered.
- Sends the notice the law requires, in the form it requires.
- Files with the rent tribunal and appears for you.
- Recovers the arrears where the tribunal orders them.
What to ask before you agree
- Will my rent agreement hold before the tribunal, and what if it was never registered?
- Which notice has to go first, and how long before we can file?
- Have you recovered arrears for an owner living abroad?
- What do you need from me, and by when?
- What is your fee, and what is not included in it?
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Also relevant
Words you will meet
- rent tribunal
- The court that hears rent cases in Punjab.
- rent registrar
- The office where a rent agreement is registered in Punjab.
- eviction
- A tenant being made to leave by order of the tribunal.
- tenant
- The person renting the premises.
Sources
Official pages read on 11 September 2026. The page says only what these say, and what an advocate does; nothing specific to your case.
Checked
11 September 2026
Pakistan. Sources listed at the end of the page.