Rent Agreement Registration Now Mandatory In Chennai

Rent agreement is a key document meant to establish a transparent transaction between landlord and tenant. As per the Registration Act 1908, rent agreement above the period of 11 months must be registered with the office of Sub-Registrar in the respective district.

Now, the Tamil Nadu government has introduced the new rules under the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act, 2017, making the registration of rent agreements mandatory in the state.

The Act, modelled from the Centre’s Tenancy Act, will be aimed at maintaining a balance between the rights and responsibilities of both the owner and the tenant. The Act will replace the state’s the Tamil Nadu Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1960, which has been known to favour tenants.

Stamp duty charges to register a rent agreement in Chennai

The state of Tamil Nadu has straight-forward rule of 1 percent stamp duty on the total annual rental value. The maximum stamp duty is ascertained at Rs 20,000. Thus, one has to buy stamps of either 1 percent of the total annual rent or Rs 20,000, whichever is lower.

If one decides to go for a tenancy period of less than 11 months, then a stamp paper of Rs 20-100 can be used for the purpose. Although, as discussed above, this type of rent agreement is recognised in the legal corridors.

How to register a rent agreement in Chennai?

In order to register a rent agreement in Chennai, you have to buy the stamps of the requisite value as per aforesaid rates. Gone are the days when you had to buy traditional stamp papers from notary. Now, you can purchase e-stamped paper of any value from designated vendors.

You can also get the rent agreement format from these vendors and get it printed along the e-stamped paper. All you need is to make sure of certain points that must be there in the agreement. Plus, you will also need to put the details specific to your property and transaction.

Here is a quick checklist of points you must take care of:

• Total duration of tenancy
• Amount of security deposit paid by tenant
• Amount of rent to be paid by tenant in advance every month
• Penalty clauses in case a tenant delays the payment
• List of all the fixtures and items provided to the tenant as part of tenancy. This includes all the fans, tube-lights, geysers, RO water purifying system, sewage systems, so on and so forth
• Tenant’s responsibility of keeping the property in good condition, paying electricity charges, club house charges, telephone and internet bills as per his or her usage. Here, one must clarify as to who is responsible for paying routine society maintenance charges. It can be a part of the rent itself and thus payable by the landlord or paid separately by the tenant apart from the monthly rent paid to the landlord.
• Landlord’s responsibility of support in terms of providing for major repairs, payment of municipal taxes, etc.

Documents for registering a rent agreement in Chennai

In order to register a rent agreement, you need to submit the duly printed agreement on e-stamped papers at the Sub-registrar office. The process of registration takes around a week. Along with the rent agreement, you need to submit copies of the following documents:

• Property ownership proof: registry or municipal tax receipt
• Government ID proof of both landlord as well as tenant: Aadhar card, driving license, voter ID card, passport, PAN card.
• 2 passport size photographs

The agreement will also need to be signed by two witnesses.