Model Tenancy Act 2021? Know Your Rights And Duties As Tenant Or Owner

The Central Government had first released the draft of the act 2 years back intending to bridge the gap with trust between tenants and landlords by clearly defining their responsibilities.

In a press release, the Government stated that the Model Tenancy Act will ease the unlocking of unoccupied residential properties for rental purposes. It is projected to provide momentum to private participation in residential rental properties as a commercial model for dealing with the shortage in housing, the government further said.

Here are some of the important features of this act:

• The government said that the Model Tenancy Act aims to create the best, sustainable and inclusive rental housing market in India. It will enable the creation of huge rental housing stock for all the income groups thereby solving the issue of home deficiency.
• The act will enable institutionalization of rental housing by slowly shifting it towards the formal market, it further said.
• The typical Tenancy Act talks about founding a rent authority to control renting of properties and to protect the interests of landlords and renters. The planned authority will also deliver a speedy settlement mechanism for the determination of disputes and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto, consistent with the act.
• It also controls the amount of security deposit - usually, there is a disagreement between property owners and tenants - to a maximum of 2 months of rent in case of residential properties and 6 months in case of commercial properties. Presently, this amount varies from one city to another. For example, in Delhi, the deposit is generally 2-3 times the monthly rent, but in Mumbai and Bengaluru, it can be over 6 times the monthly rent.
• Another important point where the mentioned act has provided a mechanism is freeing the properties. The Model Tenancy Act declares that if a property-owner has followed all the conditions mentioned in the rent agreement - giving notice, etc - and the renter fails to leave the property after the expiration period of tenancy or termination of tenancy, the landlord is eligible to double the monthly rent for two months and four times after that.
• Every property owner or the property manager has to send a notice to the renter in written or through E-mail at least 24 hours before in any condition if they want to enter in a rented property, the act defines.
• It has further described in depth the rights and responsibilities of both proprietor and renter and has also dealt with different issues which can create some disputes between both parties.