Material impairment of rented premises under rent law justified eviction after substantial structural alterations by tenants.

Tenants' permanent structural alterations, including removal of roofs, partition walls and doors, enclosure of the verandah, merging of shops, construction over open land, and alteration of access, were held to amount to material impairment of the value or utility of the demised premises under Section 13(2)(iii) of the East Punjab Rent Restriction Act, 1949. The Court applied the test whether the tenant's acts substantially diminished the quality, strength or intrinsic worth of the premises from the landlord's point of view. On the evidence, the changes were substantial and permanent, transformed the premises into a materially different structure, and affected its fitness for practical use. Eviction was therefore warranted.

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Issues: Whether the tenants' structural alterations, additions, and conversion of the demised premises amounted to acts likely to impair materially the value or utility of the building under Section 13(2)(iii) of the East Punjab Rent Restriction Act, 1949.

Analysis: The evidence, including inspection reports and witness testimony, established that the tenants had removed roofs, partition walls, and doors, enclosed the verandah, merged several shops into a different configuration, constructed a new roof over open land, and altered access by demolishing part of the boundary wall and creating new structural features. The question whether such acts materially impaired value or utility was treated as a mixed question of law and fact requiring application of correct legal principles. The governing test is whether the tenant's acts substantially diminish the quality, strength, or intrinsic worth of the premises, and the assessment is from the landlord's point of view. On that standard, the permanent and substantial changes had transformed the premises into a materially different structure and affected its fitness for a desirable practical use.

Conclusion: The alterations fell within Section 13(2)(iii) and constituted material impairment of the value or utility of the demised premises, warranting eviction.

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