Registered rental deeds advisable

Experts point out how rental agreements, the only regulatory mechanism to govern a tenancy, are a namesake document.

These agreements are most often made by stamp vendors and document writers with no registration or accountability to any authority.

The ease of procuring them and their validity could be easily used by anti-social elements to get a range of ID proofs from Aadhaar to a passport.

A rental agreement most often is not even registered with the sub-registrar, making it very simple for wrong-doers.

“Brokers and mediators are poking fun of the law. Everyone, right from the stamp vendor to the revenue department which must look into the registration of rental properties, is systematically lethargic,” said Mr T.V. Ramana, an advocate for the railways.

By not registering rental agreements, the government is losing a chunk of revenue as many flats are given on rent with no information to the government about who stays where and who does what.

Above certain income limits, the rent paid to the owner is taxable.

In 2015, a draft model Tenancy Act was drafted, about 70 years after the Rental Control Act was passed. There has not been much movement on that front.

The police advises alertness to the owners also.