Rent agreement generator

A rental without a written agreement is how deposits disappear and disputes start. This tool drafts a standard Leave and Licence agreement: thirteen clauses, the property schedule, and a witness block, with the state-specific act referenced.

It is a draft, and we say so plainly: print it, have it stamped and notarized, and only then sign. If you would rather a professional handle the whole chain, that is what our legal layer does.

What it does

• Thirteen standard clauses owners and tenants actually fight about, pre-written
• State-aware: references the right rent act for ten Indian states
• Schedule and witness blocks included, print-ready
• Free to generate; stamping and notarization happen offline

Leave and Licence versus lease: the words matter

Most Indian residential rentals are not leases. They are Leave and Licence agreements, and the difference is not pedantry. A lease transfers an interest in the property to the tenant under Section 105 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. A licence, defined in Section 52 of the Indian Easements Act, 1882, grants only permission to occupy. No interest in the property passes, which is why every well-drafted Leave and Licence agreement contains a clause saying exactly that.

Owners prefer the licence structure because it keeps the occupant from acquiring tenancy rights under state rent control law, and because recovering possession at the end of the term is far simpler. Maharashtra built its whole rental market on this format, and the Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999 recognises it specifically. Other states use the same structure with their own acts in the background.

This generator drafts the standard Leave and Licence format: the one the Maharashtra sub-registrar's records return, with thirteen clauses, a property schedule, and a witness block. Pick your state and the draft references the right act, mapped for ten states including Karnataka, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.

Registration, stamping, and the 11-month convention

The famous 11-month agreement exists because of Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908: a lease of immovable property for a term exceeding one year must be registered. Keep the term at eleven months and, in most states, registration becomes optional. That single rule shaped the Indian rental market.

Maharashtra is the big exception. Section 55 of the Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999 requires every Leave and Licence agreement to be registered, whatever its length, and puts the responsibility on the landlord, with a fine and even imprisonment provided for in the Act. Maharashtra also made this easier than anywhere else: online registration with Aadhaar-based verification means you can register without visiting the sub-registrar at all.

Stamping is a separate obligation from registration. Every agreement must be executed on stamp paper of the correct value, or e-stamped or franked, under the state's stamp act. An unstamped or under-stamped agreement is not admissible as evidence under Section 35 of the Indian Stamp Act, which means the document you would rely on in a dispute is exactly the document the court will not look at. Our stamp duty calculator gives you the figure for your state before you buy the paper.

The clauses that decide disputes

Of the thirteen clauses in the draft, a few do almost all the work when things go wrong.

• Licence fee and deposit. The rent, the interest-free refundable deposit, and the due date (the draft uses the first five days of each month). The deposit clause also records how the deposit was paid: mode, date, bank, reference. Disputes about whether the deposit was ever paid are common and entirely avoidable.
• Lock-in and notice. The lock-in period is the months neither side can walk away; the notice period (30 days is the standard) governs exit after that. The generator lets you set both. An agreement silent on lock-in invites a tenant who leaves in month two.
• No tenancy. The clause stating the licensee acquires no tenancy rights and cannot sublet, assign, or mortgage. This is the clause that keeps a licence a licence.
• Possession and damages. The draft provides for double the daily compensation if the licensee overstays after expiry. It sounds harsh until you have an occupant who will not leave.
• Maintenance and utilities. Who pays society maintenance (the licensor, in the standard format) versus electricity and gas (the licensee). Ambiguity here produces a hundred small arguments.
• Escalation. If you expect renewal, record the escalation percentage now. The market norm is 5 to 10 percent a year; the generator inserts the clause when you set a figure.

How to use the generator, step by step

The form mirrors what the sub-registrar's format asks for, so fill it the way the document will be read.

1. Pick the state. The draft references that state's rent act and sets the court of jurisdiction.
2. Set the commercial terms. Start date, term in months (11 is the default), lock-in, notice days, rent, deposit, and escalation if any. The end date computes itself.
3. Fill both parties in full. Names, PAN, age, mobile, and current address for licensor and licensee, plus an ID type and number for the licensee. Incomplete party details are the most common reason registrations get bounced.
4. Describe the property in Schedule I. Building, flat and floor number, road, area in square feet, and for Maharashtra registrations the CTS number, village, and district. This schedule is the legal description of what is being licensed; vague schedules make weak agreements.
5. Print and execute. The draft is free and stays on your device. What makes it binding happens offline: print it on stamp paper of the correct value or e-stamp it, sign with two witnesses, and notarise or register as your state requires.

The mistakes that cost money

• Signing on plain paper. The wording can be perfect; without stamping the agreement is close to worthless as evidence, and rescuing it later means penalties of up to ten times the unpaid duty.
• Skipping registration in Maharashtra. The 11-month trick does not work there. Section 55 makes registration mandatory for every Leave and Licence agreement and puts the penalty on the landlord.
• No record of the deposit payment. A deposit handed over in cash with nothing in the agreement about mode and date becomes a he-said-she-said at move-out. The draft's deposit clause exists to prevent exactly this.
• Leaving lock-in and notice blank or contradictory. An agreement with a 6-month lock-in in one clause and "either party may terminate with 15 days notice" in another is an invitation to litigate. Set both numbers deliberately.
• Not pairing the agreement with a condition record. The agreement governs money and term; it says nothing about the state of the geyser. Do the move-in inspection checklist on day one and attach it.
• Forgetting the police verification of the tenant. Several states and most housing societies require it. It is the owner's obligation in many cities, and it is cheap insurance.

Executing an agreement when you live abroad

NRI owners sign rent agreements from abroad all the time; the mechanics just need planning. The cleanest route in Maharashtra is online registration: both parties complete Aadhaar-based verification and the agreement registers without anyone visiting an office. Where that is not available, the standard instrument is a Power of Attorney: a parent, sibling, or property manager in India executes and registers the agreement on your behalf. A POA executed abroad must be signed before the Indian consulate or notarised and apostilled, then stamped (adjudicated) in India within the statutory window after it arrives. We keep a worked template and the exact steps in our POA guide.

Two NRI-specific points worth building into the agreement itself: have the rent paid into your NRO account and name the account in the payment clause, and record the tenant's TDS obligation, since rent to a non-resident owner attracts deduction under Section 195. The guide to renting out your flat from Singapore or Dubai walks the full sequence, and managing tenants from abroad covers what happens after the ink dries.

Where this fits when 66 MG Road manages the property

For managed properties, the agreement chain is something we run rather than something we hand you. We prepare the draft, coordinate stamping and registration (including the online Maharashtra route), collect the tenant's documents and police verification, and file the executed agreement in your document vault next to the move-in report and the rent receipts. The generator on this page is the same format we start from; the service is everything around it, and the numbers are on the pricing page if you want to weigh it against doing this yourself each time.

Common questions

Is a generated rent agreement legally valid?

The draft becomes enforceable once it is printed on stamp paper of the correct value or e-stamped, signed by both parties with two witnesses, and notarised or registered as your state requires. The tool gives you the text; the stamping and registration are yours to do.

Which states does it cover?

The clause set is the Maharashtra Leave and Licence format, with act references and court jurisdiction mapped for ten states including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, West Bengal, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Rajasthan.

Why are most rent agreements made for 11 months?

Because Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908 makes registration mandatory for leases exceeding one year. An 11-month term keeps registration optional in most states. Maharashtra is the exception: Leave and Licence agreements there must be registered whatever the term.

What is the difference between Leave and Licence and a lease?

A lease transfers an interest in the property to the tenant; a licence only grants permission to occupy. Owners prefer Leave and Licence because the occupant acquires no tenancy rights and recovering possession at the end of the term is simpler.

Who pays for stamp duty and registration of the agreement?

It is negotiable. The common convention is that the tenant pays, though the draft's default is both parties equally, and whatever you choose should be recorded in the registration clause. What matters legally is that the duty is paid at all.

Can an NRI sign a rent agreement from abroad?

Yes. Maharashtra's online registration with Aadhaar verification works from anywhere. Otherwise a Power of Attorney holder in India can execute and register on the owner's behalf; the POA itself must be consularised or apostilled abroad and stamped in India.

Is notarisation enough, or does the agreement need registration?

They are different things. Notarisation only attests the signing. Registration with the sub-registrar is what Section 17 of the Registration Act requires for terms over a year, and what Maharashtra requires for every Leave and Licence agreement. For an 11-month term outside Maharashtra, a stamped and notarised agreement is the common standard.

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