A year on, only four States adopt Model Tenancy Law

The Model Tenancy Act was approved by the Cabinet on June 2, 2021, and circulated by the Ministry to all States and Union Territories on June 7, 2021

Representational Image. | Photo Credit: The Hindu

Over a year since the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry circulated the Model Tenancy Act (MTA), four States had revised their tenancy laws to be in line with the MTA, the Ministry said in a reply to the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

In response to a question by BJP MP Ashok Bajpai, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishore said in a written reply: “As per information available with MoHUA, the States of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Assam have revised Tenancy Acts on the lines of MTA (sic).”

The reply stated that the MTA aimed to balance the rights of tenants and landlords and to “create an accountable and transparent ecosystem for renting of premises in a disciplined and efficient manner”.

The MTA was approved by the Cabinet on June 2, 2021, and circulated by the Ministry to all States and Union Territories on June 7, 2021 “for adoption by way of either enacting a fresh legislation or amending existing rental laws suitably”, the reply said.

The draft MTA was put up for public consultation, during which around 500 comments or suggestions were received from various stakeholders, the reply said.