1. Heard Mr. Hareendran K. P., learned counsel for the tenant and Mr. Shafeek A., learned counsel for the landlord.

2. The landlord as well as the tenant have preferred revision petitions arising out of the common order passed by the Rent Control Appellate Authority on 8th April 2026. While the tenant revisionist contends that the fixation of fair rent at the rate of Rs. 4,000/- is unrealistic, the learned counsel for the landlord would submit that the fixation of fair rent should be from the date of the report filed by the Advocate Commissioner.

3. The tenant runs a tailoring shop in the schedule property. It appears to be a small shop room in which the tenant has been carrying out his tailoring business since 1990. Admittedly, he was paying a monthly rent of Rs. 175/-and at the time when the application for fixation of fair rent was filed in the year 2018, he was paying a rent of Rs. 500/-. An Advocate Commissioner was appointed to determine the fair market rent. The Advocate Commissioner carried out an inspection of all shop rooms in the locality in the year 2022 and in the report filed, it is observed that a hotel nearby, similarly sized to the petition schedule shop, is paying a rent of Rs. 5,000/- per month, a stationery shop having the same size as the schedule property is paying a rent of Rs. 2,500/-per month, and there are a few similarly situated rooms where the tenants are paying monthly rent of more than Rs. 1,000/-. These three figures were available to the Rent Control Court at the time of fixation of the fair rent. The tenant was paying Municipal tax and the same was also taken into consideration. The tenant did not take any exception to the report filed by the Commissioner and hence the said report has to be accepted and based on the said report, the determination of fair rent has been made.

4. The Rent Control Court proceeded on the basis that had there been no commercial development in the area, the tenant would have surrendered the premises much earlier, considering  the  fact  that  the  shop  is  located  in  a commercially important area where a lot of other shops are also located. Considering the inflation and resultant reduction in the purchasing power of money, variations in the cost of living index, the fair rent was fixed at Rs. 4,000/- per month. The court, in deciding the matter, had taken into consideration that the landlord could not produce any reliable material like cost of construction of the building, annual rental value, a revision or fresh imposition of taxes, and that the Commissioner’s report also did not reveal any similarly situated shops.

5. The appellate authority, in deciding the objection raised by the tenant, has taken into consideration that the petition schedule building is situated at Chirakkara Town, Thalassery. The building is near Ayyalath School, Thalassery, Unity Hospital, Royal Enfield Showroom and Maruti Suzuki Nexa Showroom, which are situated within a radius of 300 meters from the petition schedule building. The petition schedule building also lies approximately 250 meters to the north of the Indian Oil Petrol Pump situated near Thalassery-Coorg  Road.  Hence,  it  can  be  concluded  that  the  petition schedule building is situated in a commercially prominent area and hence the rent of Rs. 500/- per month is extremely meagre, considering the cost of living and the importance of the locality. The Appellate Court has also considered the hotel referred to in the report of the Commissioner, which is situated about 50 meters away from the petition schedule building and is paying a rent of Rs. 5,000/- per month. Other facts, as narrated in the order of the Rent Control Court, were also taken into consideration.

6. The First Appellate Court, on consideration of the Division Bench judgments of this Court in Francis P.J. v. C. D. Jose (2025 KHC OnLine 357)  and Thomas M. Joshua v. Church of South India Trust Association (2019 (3) KHC 316)  and the Full Bench decision of this Court in Rahul v. K. Sudeesh (2023 KHC 329) , was of the view that taking into consideration the factors such as the general growth of the city, prevailing inflationary trends in the economy and the increase in land value constitute valid grounds for granting a periodical increase of fair rent. The order of the Rent Control Court directing periodical enhancement at the rate of 15% once in every three years was reduced to 10% every three years.

7. Learned counsel for the landlord accepts that in the absence of any document to show that the landlord is not entitled to enhancement of the fixation of fair rent from the date of institution of the said proceeding, the same has to be from the date of the report dated 27th July 2022.

8. In the impugned order, there is no reference to this date while fixing the fair rent. However, in both the orders, there is no definite finding that the buildings and shop rooms that were considered could be said to be comparable and  having the same kind of facilities. Undoubtedly, in the matter of fixation of fair rent, the prevailing rent of similar buildings at the time of the passing of the order could be a factor in determining the fair rent. At the same time, it has to be seen whether the comparable buildings have similar kinds of facilities and also the condition of the building. Undoubtedly, over a passage of time, the area has become commercial. The situation in 1990 is markedly different. The tenant has been running a tailoring shop since 1990.

9. Considering the similar rooms that have been taken into consideration by the Advocate Commissioner in the report, we are of the view that a fair rent in 2022 would be Rs. 3,000/- per month with a periodical increase of 10% from August 2025. The order impugned is modified to the aforesaid extent. The petitioner shall pay the arrears of rent based on this order till July 2025 within a period of three months from the date. However, the petitioner shall continue to pay the revised rent, i.e. at the rate of Rs. 3,300/- from August 2025, and shall continue to pay all future monthly rents within the 10th of each succeeding month. The rent from the month of August 2025 shall be paid within one week from the date.

10. The petitions accordingly stand disposed of.