8Cases in which standard rent may be fixed by court

(1) In any of the following cases, namely:--

(a) where, for any reason whatsoever, any dispute arises between a landlord and the tenant regarding the amount of standard rent payable in respect of any premises in accordance with the provisions of the Second Schedule; or

(b) where, at any time on or after the 2nd day of June, 1944, any premises are first let and the rent at which they are let is, in the opinion of the court, unreasonable;

the court may, on an application made to it for the purpose or in any suit or proceeding, fix the standard rent at such an amount as, having regard to the provisions of this Act and the circumstances of the case, the court deems just.

(2) Where there is any dispute between the landlord and the tenant regarding the amount which is a lawful increase of the standard rent, the court may determine such amount.

(3) Where for any reason it is not possible to determine the standard rent of any premises on the principles set forth in the Second Schedule, the court may, on an application made to it for the purpose, determine the standard rent, and in so doing, shall have regard to the standard rent of similar premises in the same locality and other circumstances of the case.

(4) Infixing the standard rent of any premises under clause (b) of sub-section (1), the court shall fix an amount which appears to it to be reasonable and no standard rent so fixed shall exceed seven and one-half per cent. of the reasonable cost of construction of such premises.

Explanation.--For the purposes of this sub-section, the "cost of construction", in respect of any premises, includes the market value of the land comprised in the premises at the time of the completion of such construction.

(5) The standard rent shall in all cases be fixed as for a tenancy of twelve months:

Provided that where any premises are let or re-let for a period of less than twelve months, the standard rent for such tenancy shall bear the same proportion to the annual standard rent as the period of tenancy bears to twelve months.

(6) Where the court determines the standard rent of any premises under this section, the court shall determine the standard rent of the premises in an unfurnished state, and may also determine an additional charge to be payable on account of any fittings or furniture supplied by the landlord and it shall be lawful for the landlord to recover such additional charge from the tenant.

(7) In every case in which the court determines the standard rent of any premises under this section, it shall specify a date from which the standard rent so determined shall be deemed to have effect:

Provided that in no case, the date so specified shall be earlier than six months prior to the date of filing of the application for the determination of the standard rent or, as the case may be, of the institution of the suit or proceeding in which the standard rent is determined.