The tenancy agreement, and its registration with the Rent Authority, under the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act, 2017

After the Act commenced, premises it applies to are let or taken on rent only by an agreement in writing, which the landlord and tenant jointly inform to the Rent Authority in the form the Act's First Schedule specifies and which the Authority registers. The Act states that; how a tenancy from before the Act is brought in; what the information given to the Authority counts for as evidence; and the ceiling on the security deposit. The First Schedule's form, and the manner and period for informing the Authority, are not read for this section.

What such a document contains

In writing, and informed to the Rent Authority jointly
No person lets or takes on rent any premises except by an agreement in writing, which the landlord and tenant jointly inform to the Rent Authority in the form specified in the Act's First ScheduleSection 4(1), Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act, 2017 (Tamil Nadu Act 42 of 2017)
A tenancy from before the Act is brought in too
Where a written agreement for an earlier tenancy exists, it is informed to the Rent Authority; where none was made, the landlord and tenant enter into one and inform the Authority; where they fail to present one jointly or to agree, each separately files the particulars of the tenancySection 4(2), Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act, 2017 (Tamil Nadu Act 42 of 2017)
Registered by the Rent Authority, with a registration number
The Rent Authority, on receiving the information about the agreement, registers it and provides a registration number to the partiesSection 4(4), Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act, 2017 (Tamil Nadu Act 42 of 2017)
What the information given counts for as evidence
The information provided to the Rent Authority is taken as evidence of the facts relating to the tenancy and matters connected with it; in its absence, a statement in the agreement is not received as evidence of those facts in any court of lawSection 4(5), Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act, 2017 (Tamil Nadu Act 42 of 2017)
The ceiling on the security deposit
Save an agreement to the contrary, it is unlawful to charge a security deposit in excess of three times the monthly rentSection 11(1), Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act, 2017 (Tamil Nadu Act 42 of 2017)
The rent, the term, the deposit and the premises
The premises, the parties, the rent and when it is paid, the term, the deposit and the conditions of the tenancy. The First Schedule's form prescribes what is informed and is not read for this section; such agreements carry theseConvention rather than law

This document is under Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act, 2017 (Tamil Nadu Act 42 of 2017), which is the Act in force in Tamil Nadu. A tenancy in another State is under that State's own Act.

Not established

  • The form in which the agreement is informed to the Rent Authority is the Act's First Schedule, and the manner and the period for doing so are prescribed by rules. Neither is read for this section, so what the form asks for is not described here.
  • The Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act, 2017 applies to the areas it names or the State Government notifies, and not to every premises inside them — it exempts the classes its own sections and notifications exempt. Whether a particular premises is inside the Act is not established here; outside it, the general law of leases in the Transfer of Property Act governs the notice and the ending of the tenancy instead.

What this guide is not

Of the points listed below, five are fixed by the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act, 2017 (Tamil Nadu Act 42 of 2017) itself and one are convention — such documents carry them, and no provision read for this section requires them. This is a description of a kind of document and not a document — confirm the contents of any document in a particular matter with an advocate.

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