Can griha pravesh be done while someone else is still occupying the flat?

Question

My landlord claims the new tenants wanted to do griha pravesh... just 5 minutes of incense burning according to him... by the 14th of July... as the next two months are apparently inauspicious... I could not accomodate them and he blames me for losing the tenants... I am vacating before end of this month... though i am paying for the whole month... am just wondering if he made it up, as I know griha pravesh is much more complicated than 5 minutes of incense burning... and frankly am worried he will try to extract extra rent on the pretext of not getting tenants...

Answer 1

As long as you are the tenant and paying rent, you decide what happens there and you have all right not to let strangers in with their rituals.

It's reasonable to ask if potentially new tenants can have a quick look, but that's it.

Answer 2

Graha pravesh generally is done with a new house one builds/owns/buys, not when one is renting. But there is a much more minor ceremony that people do when renting. In Tamil it is called a Paal Kaatchi ceremony. Basically, once they get possession of the place, they will come and do a small puja (light the lamp/burn incense) and boil milk (paal katchi).

Generally they wait until they get possession so I don't think it is done with someone else still living there.