Uttar Pradesh govt to bring in a new tenancy-related ordinance

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to promulgate a tenancy-related ordinance aimed at safeguarding the rights and interests of both the landlords and tenants and check disputes between them.

The ordinance was approved in a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday night and is likely to receive Governor Anandiben Patel's assent soon, said an official on Saturday. Amid the Covid pandemic, the ordinance was cleared by the state Cabinet not in the physical meeting but through the circulation of the draft ordinance among concerned ministries and its eventual approval by the chief minister.

Under the provisions of the new extra-ordinary enactment titled the Uttar Pradesh Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Ordinance, 2021, a rent agreement would be mandatory for any property to be given on rent now, official sources said on Saturday.

The ordinance also provides for setting up of a rent authority and any new rental agreement will have to be registered with it. The authority will issue a unique identification number to every rent agreement and within seven days of receiving it, the authority will have to upload the details of the tenant on its website.

Details of tenants may not be shared with the authority if the duration of the tenancy is for less than 12 months, said officials, adding the ordinance also provides for regulating the rent of existing tenancies. Not paying the house rent for two consecutive months will lead to the eviction of the tenant, the officials said, adding the rent authority and appellate tribunal will have to settle any dispute within 60 days.

The tenant and the property owner will jointly decide the duration of the tenancy and any renewal of the agreement, they said. The points mentioned in the agreement will continue to be applicable to the successor of both the tenants and landlords in the case of the death of either.

The new law lays down responsibilities of the landlord, formulae for the increase in rent on renewal of the lease, details of the rent authority which will consider cases of dispute etc.

"Once this law is in place, there will be much more transparency in the agreement between the tenant and landlord and therefore, there will be no scope for petty disputes or at least, there will be much more clarity on several issues,” said an official. “For example, the law will make it clear whose responsibility it would be for painting, paying maintenance, water, power bills etc," the officials explained.