CHENNAI: The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) will be reviewing the State’s draft to introduce the Model Tenancy Act, 2017. After the State drafted the TN Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Rules - 2017, the housing secretary has been summoned by the Prime Minister’s Office to discuss the implementation of the Model Tenancy Act, 2017, according to official sources.
It is learnt that the housing secretaries of Maharashtra and Haryana are also being summoned to discuss the implementation of the Model Tenancy Act in their respective states. The Model Tenancy Act has become necessary as the Rent Control Acts in the states have become restrictive and need to be overhauled.
According to government data, rental housing, which was 54%in 1961, declined to 27 per cent in 2011. Even Niti Aayog has recommended rental housing to achieve the goal of housing for all.
Sources claim there are 11 million houses lying vacant in urban areas, which could be unlocked to ease the housing shortage.
In Tamil Nadu alone, vacant houses account for six per cent of the total 89.17 lakh housing stock available in the country. The State faces a shortage of 1.5 million homes. The ownership of homes in urban areas in Tamil Nadu is quite low, going by the national figures. The ownership ratio in Tamil Nadu is 57% in 2011 while that of India (urban area) is 67% in 2011.
Similarly, the share of rented housing increased during 2001-11 in the State as well as Chennai and Coimbatore. Rented houses account for 40 per cent in urban areas of Tamil Nadu and the ratio is quite high in Chennai and Coimbatore where the rented housing ratio is 50 per cent and 53 per cent respectively.
As per the Model Tenancy Act, no premises can be rented or let out except by an agreement in writing, which shall be informed to the rent authority by the land-owner and tenant jointly. This comes after the National Sample Survey Office, in its observation in 2012, said 71 per cent of tenants in rental accommodation don’t have any agreement.
The Centre hopes that the implementation of the new Tenancy Act will promote entrepreneurial opportunities giving a fillip to construction of rental housing units across the country.
