UP, Assam, TN, and Andhra Pradesh implement the Model Tenancy Law

Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishore stated in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on July 25 that Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Assam had changed their tenancy legislation in accordance with the Model Tenancy Act (MTA).

As per information available with MoHUA, the States of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Assam have updated Tenancy Acts along the lines of MTA(sic), Kishore responded in response to a query from BJP MP Ashok Bajpai.

In his statement, he stated that MTA seeks to strike a balance between the rights of both tenants and landlords and to establish a transparent and accountable environment for the orderly and effective rental of real estate.

According to his response, the MTA was authorised by the Union cabinet on June 2, 2021, and on June 7, 2021, it was distributed to all the states and Union Territories (UTs) for adoption through the appropriate enactment of new legislation or amendment of existing rental laws.

The response stated that the draught MTA was made available for public discussion, during which time 500 comments or ideas were made by various parties.

The Model Tenancy Act was given the Cabinet's approval on June 2, 2021, and it will now be distributed to the states and union territories for adoption. It aims to make it easier for vacant homes to be made available for rental housing.

According to Census 2011, there are more over one crore unoccupied homes in urban areas nationwide. The rise of rental housing has been constrained by the existing rent control rules, which have also discouraged owners from renting out their vacant homes out of concern that the tenant may not vacate the premises.

The Act aims to promote rental housing by balancing the interests of both landlords and tenants. MTA will be prospective in nature and unaffected by current tenancies. Owner and tenant must mutually agree to the terms of a written lease in order to determine the rent and lease term.

In order to overcome the severe housing shortage, it is anticipated to boost private investment in rental housing.

The proposed model tenancy law was released by the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry in July 2019. It aims to create a separate court to handle all tenancy-related disputes as well as an independent institution to register tenancy agreements in each state and union territory.