The Maharashtra government has directed home owners to not take action against their tenants if they are unable to pay rent due to the ongoing nationwide lockdown to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

A circular issued by Sanjay Kumar, the additional chief secretary of the Maharashtra Housing Department, asked landlords to postpone the recovery of rents for at least three months and also directed them to not evict tenants during this period.

Maharashtra is the worst-hit Indian state in the Covid-19 pandemic. Till Friday morning, there were a total of 3,205 patients in the state. Of this, 300 people have recovered and 194 have died. The number of cases in Maharashtra is nearly two times that in Delhi, the second worst-hit region in India.

In India, there are now 13,835 cases, including 1,767 recoveries and 452 deaths.

The circular noted that people’s employment and income was affected as there were no financial transactions across markets and factories due to the lockdown. “Several people are faced with difficult financial situations,” the circular said, according to PTI. “Large number of people are not able to pay their regular rents. Hence, rent recovery should be postponed for at least three months and no tenant be driven out for non-payment of rent.”

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