Courts are the right place for serious disputes. They are the wrong place for a disagreement about a cracked tile or a late rent payment — but with few alternatives, that is where many such matters end up, adding to a backlog of more than five crore cases.
The Model Tenancy Act approach
The Model Tenancy Act, 2021, approved by the Union Cabinet as a template for states, proposes taking rental disputes out of the civil courts altogether. States that adopt it set up a three-tier structure:
- Rent Authority — registers agreements on a digital platform and handles matters such as rent revision.
- Rent Court — hears appeals from the Rent Authority and eviction matters.
- Rent Tribunal — hears appeals from the Rent Court.
It also sets time limits for deciding matters — for example, the PRS summary notes 60 days for appeals and 90 days for cases of non-payment of rent or failure to vacate — and caps the security deposit at two months’ rent for residential premises and six months’ for non-residential. Adoption is a state decision, so the rules where your property is located are what apply.
What landlords, tenants and societies can do now
- Put every tenancy in writing, with the society as a party where it requires one.
- Keep evidence as you go — inspections, receipts, notices — so a disagreement can be settled on facts.
- Use mediation first. Under the Mediation Act, 2023, a signed settlement is binding and enforceable.
Each dispute resolved this way is one less file in a queue that also holds criminal trials, family matters and commercial cases that genuinely need a judge.
Sources
- PRS Legislative Research — The Model Tenancy Act, 2021
- ThePrint — What could change under the Model Tenancy Act
General information, not legal or financial advice. UNETRA is a technology platform; regulated services are provided by partners under their own terms.