Rent control | Karnataka govt promises action, says 'will protect interests of tenants'

Successive governments have forgotten the law, admits Minister Krishna Byre Gowda.

Belagavi: Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda Tuesday told the Legislative Assembly that the government would focus on regulating rents and protecting the interests of tenants, while conceding that successive administrations had "forgotten" a law that exists for this purpose.

Gowda said this during the passage of the Karnataka Rent (Amendment) Bill, which removes imprisonment clauses for various offences while hiking penalty amounts.

Senior BJP lawmaker S Suresh Kumar recalled that the Rent Control Act was strong when he started practice as an advocate in 1981. "We had House Rent Courts (HRC). Most of our cases were before small causes courts and HRCs. Today, the Rent Control Act has lost its relevance. Tenants don't have protection. There's no control over rents being fixed," he said.

"The middle-class and lower-middle-class families are suffering. The government should think about protecting them. Most of their salaries go towards rents," Kumar, a former Minister, said.

Gowda said the Rent Act and other such laws were enacted in the 1960s and 1970s when "state-controlled economy" existed. "There was state-led development. That's why we had laws on urban land ceiling and rent control. But in the last 35-40 years, we've shifted to market-led development with the theory that there will be automatic checks and balances," he said.

The Minister acknowledged the need to protect tenants from exploitation. "We also need to make people aware. We will focus on that," he said. "We have forgotten implementing the law. We have given up on the main substance of the original law. We must reactivate it."

The Assembly passed the Karnataka Rent (Amendment) Bill, which Gowda said was based on a draft law circulated by the Union government. "The original Act contained imprisonment clauses for minor offences. We're decriminalising minor offences as is being done across the country," he said.

Some of the amendments

The Bill omits Section 53 from the original Act that dealt with cognisance of offences and powers to prosecute.

Any landlord or tenant failing to present a copy of the tenancy agreement or other particulars as required by law will now face a penalty of up to Rs 2,000 and an additional Rs 5,000. At present, the law carries a fine of Rs 2,000, simple imprisonment of up to one month and a daily fine of Rs 500.

Middlemen or agents who fail to register with the government face up to Rs 2,000 in fine and daily penalty of Rs 20,000. At present, there is a fine of Rs 2,000, a one-month imprisonment and a daily penalty of Rs 2,000.