12. Original tenancy agreement to be retained by the landlord and the tenant -

The tenancy agreement shall be signed in duplicate by both the landlord and the tenant, and one each of such original signed tenancy agreement shall be retained by the landlord and the counterpart of such agreement by the tenant.

13. Rent and other charges payable and receipt for payment thereof -

(1) Every tenant shall pay rent and other charges payable within such period as agreed to in the tenancy agreement. 

(2) Every landlord or his property manager shall, on receipt of payment towards rent and other charges payable within the stipulated period as in the tenancy agreement from the tenant, provide forthwith against acknowledgement, a duly signed receipt for the amount received by him:

Provided that where the payment of rent or other charges is made by the tenant to the landlord through the electronic mode, the bank acknowledgement thereof shall be the conclusive proof of such payment:

Provided further that it shall be open to the tenant to remit the rent or other charges to his landlord by cash, cheque, bank draft, postal money order or by any other mode recognized by the law.

14. Deposit of rent with Rent Authority-

(1) Where the landlord refuses to accept any rent and other charges payable or refuses to give a receipt, the rent and other charges shall be paid to the landlord by postal money order or any other method, in such manner as may be prescribed, consecutively for two months, and if the landlord refuses to accept the rent and other charges within such period, then the tenant may deposit the same with the Rent Authority in such manner as may be prescribed.

(2) The deposit shall be accompanied by an application by the tenant containing the following particulars, namely:-

(a) the premises for which the rent and other charges payable are deposited along with a description sufficient for identifying the premises;

(b) the period for which the rent and other charges payable are deposited;

(c) the name and address of the landlord or the person or persons claiming to be entitled to such rent and other charges payable;

(d) the reasons and circumstances for which the application for depositing the rent and other payable charges is made;

(e) such other particulars as may be necessary.

(3) Where the tenant is unable to decide as to whom the rent is payable during the period of tenancy agreement, the tenant may, in such case, deposit the rent with the Rent Authority in such manner as may be prescribed.

(4) Where the rent is deposited under sub-section (3), the Rent Authority shall enquire the case as to whom the rent is payable and pass orders as he may deem fit on the basis of the facts of the case.

(5) The withdrawal of rent and other charges payable, deposited under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), shall not by itself operate as an admission against the landlord or any other claim made by the tenant, if the landlord withdraws it to the extent of rent agreed upon under the tenancy agreement.

15.Repair and maintenance of property-

(1) Notwithstanding any agreement in writing to the contrary, the landlord and the tenant shall keep the premises in as good a condition as at the commencement of the tenancy, except for normal wear and tear, and shall respectively be responsible to repair and maintain the said premises as specified in the Second Schedule or as agreed to in the tenancy agreement.

(2) In case of common facilities shared among the tenants or with the landlord, the respective responsibilities of the tenant and landlord to repair and maintain those facilities shall be such as may be specified in the tenancy agreement.

(3) If the tenant fails or refuses to carry out the repairs referred to in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), the landlord may carry out the repairs and deduct the amount incurred for such repairs from the security deposit and the amount so deducted shall be paid by the tenant within a period of one month of the issue of notice by the landlord in that regard:

Provided that if the cost for such repairs exceed the security deposit, the tenant shall be liable to pay the excess cost including the security deposit so deducted to the landlord within a period of one month of the issue of notice by the landlord in that regard.

(4) In case the landlord refuses to carry out the repairs referred to in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), the tenant may carry out such repairs and deduct the expenditure incurred towards the same from the rent to be paid for the succeeding months:

Provided that in no case the deduction from rent in any one month shall exceed fifty per cent of the agreed rent for a month. 

(5) Where the premises is uninhabitable without the repairs and the landlord refuses to carry out the required repairs, after being called upon by the tenant in writing to do so, the tenant may abandon the premises after giving the landlord a fifteen days' notice in writing.

(6) Where the premises let out on rent becomes uninhabitable for the tenant due to an event of force majeure or the tenant is unable to reside due to occurrence of such event, the landlord shall not charge rent from the tenant until the said premises is restored by the landlord, subject to the provisions of this section, to be inhabitable:

Provided that where the rented premises becomes uninhabitable as specified in sub-section (5) or this sub-section and the landlord fails to carry out the required repairs to make it inhabitable or the said premises could not be made inhabitable, then, the security deposit and advance rent shall be refunded by the landlord to the tenant within a period of fifteen days of the expiry of the notice period, after making due deduction of liability of the tenant, if any.

16. Tenant to look after premises.

During the subsistence of tenancy, the tenant shall,-

(a) not intentionally or negligently damage the premises or permit such damage;

(b) inform the landlord in writing of any damage;

(c) take reasonable care of the premises and its contents including fitting and fixtures and keep it reasonably habitable having regard to its condition at the commencement of tenancy and the normal incidence of living.

17. Entry into premises

(1) Every landlord or the property manager may enter the premises let out on rent after serving a notice, in writing or through electronic mode, to the tenant at least twenty four hours before the time of entry under the following circumstances, namely:-

(a) to carry out repairs or replacement or to do or to get work done in the premises, or

(b) to carry out an inspection of the premises for the purpose of determining whether premises are in a habitable state; or

(c) for any other reasonable cause for entry specified in the tenancy agreement.

(2) The notice shall specify the day, time and reason for entry:

Provided that no person shall enter the premises before sunrise and after

Provided further that nothing contained in this section shall prevent the landlord from entering into the premises let out on rent without prior notice to the tenant in case of emergent situations like war, flood, fire, cyclone, earthquake or any other natural calamity, which may affect that premises.

18. Information as to property manager

In case the landlord has engaged a property manager, the landlord shall provide the following information to the tenant, namely:

(a) name of the property manager;

(b) proof that such property manager is authorized by the landlord;

(c) specific purposes for which the property manager has been authorized by the landlord and the period of such authorization; and

(d) if the property manager is a legal entity, the name of the entity and the person authorized in this behalf by that legal entity who may be contacted in relation to the tenancy agreement.

19. Duties of property manager and consequences of violation of his duties namely:-

(1) The duties of the property manager shall include the following,

(a) to collect rent against receipt;

(b) to do essential repairs on behalf of the landlord;

(c) to inspect the premises from time to time;

(d) to give notices to the tenant for,-

(i) proper maintenance of the premises;

(ii) delay in payment of rent;

(iii) revision of rent;

(iv) vacation of premises;

(v) renewal of tenancy;

(e) to help in resolution of disputes amongst tenants;

(f) any other matters relating to tenancy to be acted upon only on the instructions of the landlord.

(2) Where the property manager acts in contravention of the provisions of sub-section (1) or against the instructions of the landlord, the Rent Authority may, on an application made to it by the landlord or tenant in that behalf, remove the property manager or impose such costs on the property manager so as to compensate any loss incurred by the landlord or tenant due to such contravention.

20.Withholding essential supply or service

(1) No landlord or property manager shall, either by himself or through any other person, withhold any essential supply or service in the premises occupied by the tenant.

(2) In case of contravention of the provisions of sub-section (1) and on application made by the tenant in this behalf, the Rent Authority after examining the matter, may pass an interim order directing the restoration of supply of essential services immediately on service of such order upon landlord or property manager, as the case may be, pending the inquiry referred to in sub-section (3).

(3) The Rent Authority shall conduct an inquiry in respect of the application made by the tenant under sub-section (2), and complete the inquiry within one month of filing of such application.

(4) The Rent Authority may, after giving a reasonable opportunity of being heard, award a compensation not exceeding two months' rent to be paid by the person responsible for withholding the essential supply, so as to compensate the loss incurred.

(5) The Rent Authority may levy a penalty of a sum not exceeding twice the monthly rent to the tenant, if it finds that the application was frivolous or vexatious.

Explanation

For the purposes of this section, essential services includes supply of water, electricity, piped cooking gas supply, lights in passages, lifts, staircase, conservancy, parking, communication links and sanitary services.