Bill introduced in Assam Assembly to protect interest of landlords and tenants

On Monday, Assam government brought The Assam Tenancy Bill, 2021, which was introduced in the house by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pijush Hazarika on behalf of the Housing and Urban Development Minister Ashok Singhal that ensures that there will be no artificial cap in fixing of a rent which protects the interests of both landlords and tenants.

The Assam government brought a bill to establish rent authority to regulate renting of premises in a bid to defend the interests of both the parties equally and to provide a speedy dispute resolution.

The rent fixed will not be higher or lower than the ongoing market, it shall be market driven and as determined by the mutual agreement between the tenant and the landlord.

“The agreement between the landlord and the tenant shall be the main premise of the Assam Tenancy Bill, 2021, which shall be binding on both the landlord and the tenant,” the statement of Objects and Reasons of the bill said.

By setting up a Rent Authority, Rent Court and Rent Appellate, the procedure of settling landlord-tenant disputes has been simplified and made quicker by before.

The eviction of tenants in cases of non-payment of rent or non-fulfillment of conditions of the agreement has also been simplified to reduce the fear of the landlord losing right to its property.

This new bill has been formulated on the basis of a Model Tenancy Act, approved by the Union Cabinet on June 2, 2021. This new bill also clearly specifies duties and obligations of each party on maintenance and upkeep of the premise.

The Assam Urban Areas Rent Control Act, 1972 will stand repealed with the enactment of this new bill.

On account of the bill, there will be no financial burden on the state exchequer.