12.7.19

Centre issues draft tenancy act

The Centre issued the draft of a Model Tenancy Act aimed increasing the renting of property, ensuring security for both the landlord and tenants and setting up an independent authority in every state for the registration of all tenancy agreements, along with a separate court for resolving tenancy related disputes.

Union minister for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Puri had said that the National Democratic Alliance government would put in place a contractual framework between tenants and landlords.

“This is one of the low-hanging fruits of the first 100 days of this ministry. It has already been through the Cabinet. By and large. this is an idea to leave to the states to unlock the large inventory of homes which stand constructed and we will allow the states to determine what they want to do with them. The idea is to slowly move in the direction of utilizing contracts between the landlord and the tenant,” he said.

According to officials aware of the development, home minister Amit Shah, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari, railways minister Piyush Goyal and housing minister Hardeep Puri took part in a meeting to give in-principle approval to the draft policy.

Sitharaman, presenting the 2019 Union budget, had said India’s current tenancy laws were “archaic” as they do not address the relationship between the lessor and the lessee fairly.

The draft policy, placed in the public domain, has invited public feedback until August 1. It proposes to set up a robust grievance redressal mechanism comprising the Rent Authority, Rent Court and Rent Tribunal.

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