The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is planning a major decision regarding rent agreements, which will directly impact both landlords and tenants.
To ensure better property protection, the government aims to encourage the registration of rent agreements.
Significant changes in the rent agreement rules are being considered, including lowering the stamp duty to make registration more affordable. The proposal is expected to be presented in the cabinet soon.
Lower Stamp Duty to Encourage Registration
Stamp and Registration Minister Ravindra Jaiswal stated that registering rent agreements will help reduce disputes between landlords and tenants.
The initiative is meant to protect the interests of both parties. Under the new rule, stamp duty for a one-year rent agreement will range from a minimum of ₹500 to a maximum of ₹20,000.
Currently, due to high stamp duty charges, only a few people register their agreements. Most agreements are made on a ₹100 stamp paper, which holds no legal validity.
In Uttar Pradesh, only 86,000 rent agreements were registered last year, even though lakhs of properties are rented out.
New Legal Validity and Online Portal
According to the new rule, only terms mentioned in a registered rent agreement will be legally valid and enforceable in court. To simplify the process, a new portal will be created with a fixed rent agreement format.
This format can be printed and saved, and after affixing the required stamp, it will gain legal validity.
Under the revised rules, stamp duty charges will be as follows:
Rent up to ₹2 lakh – ₹500 stamp duty
Rent up to ₹5 lakh – ₹5,000 stamp duty
Rent of ₹1 crore or more – ₹20,000 stamp duty
These changes aim to make the rental system more transparent and legally secure for both landlords and tenants.