We moved into this place, and both the broker and the landlord said two people could be on the lease but 4 could live there for the same rent. Three of us lived here, and we never met the owner until a month before our lease ended. Now she’s saying she wasn’t told about the extra person and wants to deduct ₹50,000 from our deposit. What can we do?

Indian law does not explicitly state that a fixed number of occupants must be on a lease. However, exceeding the agreed-upon occupancy can be grounds for a landlord to terminate the lease. Since the landlord was aware of three residents, contesting a deduction based on a fourth occupant might be difficult. However, you can try negotiating with the landlord, citing the broker’s and landlord’s prior agreement, to mitigate the deduction.