Chennai: After sleeping for years the state has unveiled a bill in the Assembly to smoothen the relationship between tenants and landlords by bringing in the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Right and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act, 2017.
Under the new bill, online registrations of lease agreements are essential and the obligations of both the landlord and the tenants, terms for evicting a tenant and division of maintenance responsibilities have been redefined.
The Act, introduced by housing minister Udumalai K. Radhakrishnan, seeks to repeal the Tamil Nadu Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1960, and states that the landlord shall intimate the tenant two months prior to the expiry of the 12 months and the landlord should not accept an advance amount which is more than three months of rental charges.
The Act also defines about the misuse of premises and in such case empowers the landlord to vacate the tenant. The misuse of premises also includes encroachment of additional space by the tenant, causing a public nuisance or causing damage to the property. The minister also said that the government is to constitute rent courts and the presiding officer of these courts shall be a district judge of the Tamil Nadu State Judicial Service, the minister added.
However, the recent moves by the state, including an amendment in the Tenant’s act and the provision of powers to local bodies to issue building plan approvals, have earned a mixed response from the public.
“Giving power to local bodies is essential, as the Chennai Metropolitan Area is increasing. But the local bodies should also have the infrastructure and adequate manpower to deal with it” said former Credai member Chitti Babu.
“The government has been making a series of announcements and amendments to the existing acts that government housing and urban development, but the truth is that the changes are not helping the industry due to the high registration charges and fees collected under the town planning head,” said D. Vijayakumar a small realtor based in Tambaram.
latest amendments
On June 22, local administration minister S.P. Velumani announced granting of full powers to local bodies to sanction building plans. The complex procedure is causing a delay in building construction, the minister said. At present, local bodies cannot give planning permission for buildings up to an area of 4,000 sq. feet in the case of residential projects. In the case of commercial and public buildings, the local bodies can give permission only for an area of 2,000 sq. feet.
