CHENNAI: The State government is mulling over whether to enact the Model Tenancy Act proposed by the Centre or just repeal the 45-year-old Tamil Nadu Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, which governs house rentals and tenancy.
The move comes after the Union government urged the states to amend the State Rental Acts on the lines of the Draft Model Tenancy Act, 2015 by 2019. The Union government has set amendment to the State’s Rent Control Act on lines of the draft Act as one of the conditions to avail funds for housing.
Officials in the Housing department feel that the enactment of the Model Tenancy Act would require establishment of rent control authorities and rent control tribunals, which will lead to unnecessary administrative expenditure. Sources said the provisions of the Model Tenancy Act can be met by merely repealing the existing Rent Control Act since the law of contract is competent enough to deal with tenancy issues.
Officials feel that once the Model Tenancy Act is implemented, then the rental lease agreements, having a tenure of more than 11 months or having a monthly rental value of more than certain amount, have to be compulsorily registered in Tamil Nadu. It is learnt that Tamil Nadu officials are likely to hold discussions and take the view of the Law Secretary before taking a final decision.
The model Act drafted by the Central government has more owner-friendly features. For example, it allows the rental agreements to have a clause for periodic rental revision and also limits the right to possession of the tenant only to the time period mentioned in the agreement.