The Buyt Desk
We are fortunate that we live in a country where everyone has certain rights which they can leverage to avoid being exploited by someone. However, to use those rights, we must know them.
Every year thousands of individuals move into metro cities for employment and live on rent. They face many difficulties while living on rent. Most of the time, they chose to remain silent because of the fear of problems.
Nevertheless, would they be aware of Model Tenancy Act 2021, they would have never lived in fear. The article gives certain rights to tenants that intend to protect their sovereignty. Let’s check the rights a tenant gets from the Model Tenancy Act 2021.
Each state has its rent control agreement which tenants living in the state must know. It is more or less similar to what we have covered here.
Get an Agreement – It is mandatory for every tenant and landlord to have a signed rent agreement . It is an agreement between two parties for the rent amount and tenure. Many landlords try to avoid making the rent agreement to save some money. However, it is a violation of the law. Without a rent agreement, both landlord and tenant have no rights to claim in case of disputes.
No Throwing Out – The landlord cannot evict a tenant from the property without giving a valid reason. The reason could be using the property for commercial purposes, damage, not paying rent on time, etc. Whatever the case, the landlord must give a 3 month advance eviction notice.
Access to Basic Services – Getting basic facilities like water, electricity, and parking on the property comes under the tenant’s rights. A landlord cannot cut these facilities for tenants even if he is not paying the rent on time or there are dues to clear. If a landlord does so, the matter can be brought down to the concerned authorities and extend to the level of the landlord being penalized for causing the inconvenience.
Rent Limit – The property owner has to abide by the market rates to charge rent from the tenant. Additionally, he cannot increase the rent randomly. He can increase the rent only as per the agreement, and if someone wants to increase the rent contradicting the rent agreement, he has to give three-month prior notice to the tenant.
Heirs of Tenant – Suppose the person who signed the rent agreement dies in the mid-term, but his family wants to stay on the property till the tenure ends, then the landlord cannot evict the heirs. They can use the property till the end of the contract. The heirs include the deceased children, parents, deceased tenant spouse and children.
Property Maintenance – The property owner is responsible for any maintenance work. Whereas the tenant has to bear the utility and service costs he uses, such as electricity, water, parking, etc. Additionally, it is a must for the property owner to return the security deposit taken before the start of tenancy from the tenant within the month of the house being vacated. With mutual agreement, the landlord can deduct the last dues of electricity, water and other services from the deposit.
Right to Privacy – According to the Model Tenancy Act 2021, the property owner cannot barge into the property once rented. Doing this would be considered a breach of privacy. To visit the property, the owner of the property has to give prior notice to the tenant.
