The Union Cabinet has approved the Model Tenancy Act for circulation to all States / Union Territories for adaptation by way of enacting fresh legislation or amending existing rental laws suitably. It will help overhaul the legal framework with respect to rental housing across the country, which would help spur its overall growth.
The Model Tenancy Act aims at creating a vibrant, sustainable and inclusive rental housing market in the country. It will enable creation of adequate rental housing stock for all the income groups thereby addressing the issue of homelessness. Model Tenancy Act will enable institutionalisation of rental housing by gradually shifting it towards the formal market.
The Model Tenancy Act will facilitate unlocking of vacant houses for rental housing purposes. It is expected to give a fillip to private participation in rental housing as a business model for addressing the huge housing shortage.
Quotes of leading Real Estate Players
At long last, The Union Cabinet has approved the long-pending Model Tenancy Act. India’s States and Union Territories can now accordingly adapt and enact new laws or amend their current rental laws to dovetail with the Act. The Model Tenancy Act will help bridge the trust deficit between tenants and landlords by clearly delineating their obligations and will eventually help unlock vacant houses across the country. To ensure speedy redressal of disputes, the Act also proposes to establish separate Rent Court and Rent Tribunal in every state/UTs to hear appeals for matters connected to rental housing. This Act can fuel the rental housing supply pipeline by attracting more investors, and more rental housing stock will help students, working professionals and migrant populations to find urban accommodation (especially in COVID-19-like exigencies). Once implemented in all fairness across states, it will go a long way in formalising and stabilising the rental market. It would also revive the fortunes of not just the rental market but the housing sector at large. However, even while the Model Tenancy Act is a step in the right direction (providing a clear roadmap for states to follow) it will remain to be seen to what extent the states will toe the central government’s line - Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants
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The Model Tenancy Act is expected to further strengthen the ongoing formalisation and institutionalization of the residential segment in the country. The Act lays down contract guidelines for such tenancies and also outlines an effective redressal mechanism, addressing a long running uncomfortable and often litigious relationship. This coupled with the Affordable Rental Housing Complex guidelines released last year, will certainly attract institutional players like pension and sovereign funds eyeing the very large untapped residential market of the country. This could further open up the feasibility of residential REITs in the long term. The regulatory frameworks will also guarantee stable rental yields in the long term, thus providing viable entry options for risk-averse institutional players - Anurag Mathur, CEO, Savills India
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The Model Tenancy Act will protect the interest of both renters and the landlord. While tenants have to submit at least a year's rent as security deposit it will also address the overstay by tenants and make eviction easy for landlords. Even if states set up the regulatory framework, it is up to the developers as to how comfortable they would be to engage in this housing segment as the rental yield that varies anywhere from 2% to 3% may not be lucrative enough for them. Compared to this, the developers pay higher interests on their loans for project development - Kaushal Agarwal, Chairman, The Guardians Real Estate Advisory
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The Model Tenancy Act will boost supply in the rental housing segment. There are many homes that are vacant as people fear to give them on rent. The Act will make renting more lucrative for both, landlords and tenants, by plugging the many gaps that currently exist in policies regulating the rental housing segment. The model tenancy law will eliminate anomalies and give a boost to the real estate sector - Pritam Chivukula, Co-Founder & Director, Tridhaatu Realty, Hon. Secretary, CREDAI MCHI
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The approved Model Tenancy Act (MTA) will help to regulate and promote rental housing in the country and will play a crucial role in increasing the supply of rental homes, which in coming times, will be an essential requirement with rising population. The Act will help in building a better tenancy market. The terms and conditions of the rental tenancy are clear to both landlords and tenants and reduce a significant number of disputes that take place due to unwritten agreements, thus the move will benefit both the landlords and tenants by creating a cohesive and sustainable environment. The approved framework will boost the overall rental housing market in India - Rohit Poddar, Managing Director, Poddar Housing and Development
