First, we will understand the meaning of “Rental Agreement”. Rental Agreement is the agreement or contract between the owner of the property and the renter who wishes to take possession of the property temporarily and this agreement is made in a written form on the paper. The owner of the property is also known as lessor and the renter is known as lessee or we can define them as landlord and tenant. It is better to create a rental agreement because there are many disputes arising day by day relating to a rental agreement. Sometimes, it is seen that the renter or the tenant or lessee doesn’t pay the rents on time or not following the common rules and regulations of the rental agreement or creating any other disputes. If the landlord or lessor creates a rental agreement with the tenant or lessee then in future if any disputes arise because of the tenant or lessee, the landlord or lessor will have no problem to bring action against the tenant or lessee. Sometimes, the rental agreement serves as a beneficiary document for the tenant or lessee because sometimes it is seen that the landlord or lessor creates problems for the tenant or lessee. The landlord or lessor forces the tenant to vacate the property without any reason or creates other problems so that the tenant vacate the property or sometimes tries to increase the rent which does not come under their agreement and so on. So, in these types of situation, a tenant can use this rental agreement as a weapon against the landlord or lessor.

When an individual wants a rented property:

1. When an individual or person is away from home for his or her jobs.
2. When an individual or person is away from home for his or her higher studies.
3. When an individual or person or institute wants the property for commercial purpose and so on.

So, these above-mentioned individuals create a rental agreement with the landlord or lessor so that both the parties don’t face any problem in the near future.

Types of Rental Agreement:

1. 11- Month Rental Agreement: Here, both the parties that are the landlord or lessor and the tenant or lessee create a rental agreement for 11 months. This rental agreement is not required to be registered but it is better to notarize it since it is an 11-month agreement which is less than a year.
2. Long Term Lease: These long term leases have a time period in years. These agreements are not so much used by the individuals. Under this agreement, the tenant or lessee pays a large amount of sum to the landlord or lessor as upfront and this amount is returned to the tenant or lessee when the agreement comes to an end. It is seen that these agreements are mostly created for residential purposes.
3. Commercial Lease: These agreements are created and signed by both the parties mainly for commercial purposes or we can say for business deals. These agreements have a long duration since it is mainly used for business purposes or commercial purposes.

Points to Remember to create a Rental Agreement:

1. Security Deposit, Monthly Rent and Maintenance Charges: The monthly rent, security deposit and other charges should be specified in the agreement clearly to avoid the problems in the near future.
2. Lock-in period: It states that the minimum period for which parties cannot terminate the rental agreement. If any party steps back after making the agreement then they have to pay the losses. This lock-in period must be specified in the rental agreement.
3. Permission for Pets: If the party has any pet then he or she should specify that to the landlord and it should be mentioned in the agreement.
4. A consequence of overstay: If the agreement ends up or the agreement period is over then the tenant should vacate the property otherwise he or she has to pay a penalty for overstay. The tenant can also renew the agreement if the landlord is ready for the renewal of the agreement.
5. Late Payment of Rent: A tenant must pay the rent within the specified time as mentioned in the agreement otherwise he or she has to pay penalty for it to recover the loss of the landlord or owner of the property.
6. Food Habits: If any landlord does not want any tenant to consume alcohol or any non-vegetarian food then it should be mentioned in the agreement to maintain the peace of the premise.
7. Owner’s Authenticity: A tenant before taking temporary possession of a property, he or she should ask for the documents from the landlord which clearly mentions that he or she is the owner of the property.
8. Deductions from the Security Deposit: It is always seen that the landlord or the owner of the property deduct some amount from the security deposit and it is the duty  or responsibility of the tenant to get clear knowledge of the deductions from the landlord.
9. Payment Receipts: it is the duty or responsibility or right of the tenant to ask for payment receipt from the landlord or the owner of the property.
10. Registration of the Agreement: An rental agreement which has had its validity more than 11 months must be registered otherwise if any disputes arise in the near future then this agreement will not serve as primary evidence in the courts and it should be remembered that an unregistered agreement is considered as collateral evidence.

Documents Required for Rental Agreement:

1. Original copy of ownership proof or a copy of the title to the property is required.
2. 2 passport size photograph of both the parties and the witnesses.
3. Adhaar card
4. Voter ID or passport or driving license which is authorized by the government.
5. If the tenant is a registered company then an authentication letter is needed from the company.

Procedures to be followed to create a Rental Agreement:

1. The first step is to draft the rental agreement including all the necessary terms, conditions and obligations.
2. Now, get the rental agreement printed on the stamp paper of a specified value.
3. Both parties must sign the rental agreement.
4. Now, get a signature of 2 witnesses on the drafted rental agreement.
5. Both the parties and the witnesses must appear before the sub-registrar office along with passport size photograph and identity proofs.
6. Now, the registration deed is made when the stamp duty is paid.

Conclusion:

We have put our efforts to gather important information on the rental agreement. We can conclude from the above body that landlord or lessor should create a rental agreement so that they don’t face any problem in the near future relating to this matter. It is seen that many times the landlord or tenant faces problems from each other regarding rents and many issues come up which pull them to the court sometimes. So, it is better to consult with a lawyer or an expert to make a rental agreement or to handle any dispute. For professional legal help, contact [email protected], leave a comment below or contact here.