Karnataka Rent Act: Tenants who sublet without landlord’s consent will attract Rs 50,000 fine

Bengaluru: Tenants who sublet without the landlord’s consent will have to cough up a fine of Rs 50,000, a 900% increase that the government has proposed as part of amendments to the Karnataka Rent Act.

The Karnataka Rent (Amendment) Bill has been cleared by the scrutiny committee headed by Law & Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil. It is expected to be introduced in the upcoming legislature session. 

At present, the penalty for unauthorised subletting by tenants is Rs 5,000, or double the rent one receives from subletting till such time the cause of complaint ceases, whichever is more, or with imprisonment for a term up to one month. The penalty is being hiked to Rs 50,000. 

Landlords convicted of claiming or receiving payment to provide consent for subletting will have to pay a penalty of Rs 30,000, up from the current Rs 3,000. Imprisonment of up to one month is being dropped, according to the amendment proposed. 

Registration of brokers

Middlemen and brokers who fail to register with the government will have to pay a daily penalty of Rs 25,000, up from the current Rs 2,000, according to the amendment.

Under Section 20 of the law, middlemen have to register with the 'controller' (assistant commissioner in big cities, senior tahsildar in smaller cities and tahsildar elsewhere). 

Failure to register means penalty up to Rs 2,000 and imprisonment of up to one month. A daily penalty of Rs 20,000 will be levied for each day of contravention. The daily penalty at present is Rs 2,000.