Context:
The Union Cabinet approved the Model Tenancy Act, a move that will help overhaul the legal framework with respect to rental housing across the country.
Relevance:
GS-III: Indian Economy (Growth and Development of Indian Economy)
Dimensions of the Article:
- What is the Model Tenancy Act?
- About the latest approval by the Union Cabinet
What is the Model Tenancy Act?
- Model Tenancy Act, 2019, a tenancy law in India, was designed to rebuild tenancy market seeking to replace archaic rental laws of India and to solve housing availability deficit.
- The Act seeks to penalize recalcitrant tenants for refusing to move out of their rental properties after the agreed-upon rental period expires. The landlord will be able to claim double of the monthly rent for two months and four times of the monthly rent after that as compensation.
- The Act stipulates that a landlord cannot refuse to provide essential utilities and access to common facilities. This has been a fairly common grouse of tenants in the past.
- The landlord will also not be able to increase the rent without giving at least three months’ notice to the tenant, and cannot increase rent in the middle of a rental term.
- In order to bring transparency, fix accountability and promote fairness in the rental housing segment, the policy proposes setting up of a rent authority.
- The Act will help in achieving the target of “Housing for All by 2022”.
About the latest approval by the Union Cabinet
- Approved act will help in rebuilding legal framework on rental housing in India which in turn boost overall growth.
- Act was passed with the aim of creating a vibrant, sustainable and inclusive rental housing market.
- It will help in creating adequate rental housing stock for all income groups and address the issue of homelessness.
- It will enable institutionalisation of rental housing by shifting it towards formal market.
- It seeks to facilitate unlocking of vacant houses for rental housing purposes and give a fillip to private participation in rental housing as a business model. This will help in addressing huge housing shortage.
-Source: The Hindu
