# Landlord cut your power, gas and water?

> A real case file from the Lahore High Court. Under section 12 of the Punjab Rented Premises Act 2009 a landlord cannot cut a utility without just cause, and the Rent Tribunal can order it restored. The twist: if your tenancy was not made under the Act, you pay a 5% fine every time you apply. In Sindh, cutting a tenant's utilities can mean jail.

- Topic: Property and inheritance
- For: Citizens
- A 12-slide carousel: https://failegal.site/media/landlord-cut-your-power-gas-and-water-utilities
- Published by FAI Legal on 2026-11-08

## The file: Lahore, 2013.

Lahore High Court, W.P. 25619 of 2013, 27 Feb 2020.

- **The tenancy** A father rents a property in Gulberg, Lahore.
- **The refusal** The landlord's sons refuse the rent. Even a money order.
- **The deposit** The tenant deposits the rent in court instead.

## Then the cut-off.

Sept 2013. The tenant's father dies.

- **Electricity** Disconnected.
- **Sui gas** Disconnected.
- **Water** Disconnected.

## The law: section 12.

Punjab Rented Premises Act, 2009.

> "Subject to the tenancy agreement, a landlord shall not (a) cut off, suspend or withhold, without just or sufficient cause, an amenity, utility or easement of the premises." (Punjab Rented Premises Act 2009 · s.12(2))

## What the Tribunal can do.

Section 12(4).

- **Restore** Order the landlord to restore the utility.
- **Do it yourself** Let the tenant restore it and take the cost out of the rent.
- **Repairs** The same for repairs the landlord will not make.

## The twist: a 5% fine.

Section 9: a tenancy not made under the Act.

- **Tenant** Deposits 5% of a year's rent before the Tribunal hears him.
- **Landlord** Deposits 10%.
- **Every time** A fresh application, a fresh fine. That is what this case held.

## No judge can waive it.

Supreme Court of Pakistan, C.A. 679-L of 2012, 21 Jun 2013.

- **The fine** Must be paid if the tenancy does not follow the Act.
- **Discretion** The Tribunal has none to waive it.

## In Sindh? Jail.

Sindh Rented Premises Ordinance, section 11.

- **No cut-off** Of electricity, gas or water without the tenant's consent, an authority's requisition or the Controller's direction.
- **Restore** The Controller orders it, or restores it at the landlord's cost.
- **Punishment** Simple imprisonment up to 6 months, or fine, or both.

## Even with a civil suit on.

Sindh High Court, Rent Appeal 942 of 1986, 26 Jan 1989.

- **The cut** The landlord's heirs cut the tenant's electricity.
- **Their defence** A civil court's interim view that he was not a tenant.
- **The ruling** That interim view did not stop his restoration case.

## Power cut by the landlord?

Your 4-step list.

- **Write it down** Dates, bills, messages.
- **Keep paying rent** If refused, apply to deposit it (Punjab, section 20).
- **Apply** Rent Tribunal in Punjab. Controller in Sindh.
- **Budget for the fine** 5% if your tenancy is not under the Act.

## Your case next?

Ask FAI for the section and the judgments.

- **My landlord cut the gas to force me out. What can I do in Lahore?**
- **Do I pay a fine to file in the Rent Tribunal without a registered agreement?**

## Sources

- Punjab Rented Premises Act 2009 · s.12(2): Obligations of landlord

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Educational legal information, not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts. Speak to a qualified lawyer about your situation. Review status: Pending advocate review.

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