The Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act 2017 has been enacted on the lines of model Tenancy Act indicated by the Government of India. The Act repeals the Tamil Nadu Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1960. The new legislation aims to regulate the tenancy of buildings as per the terms and conditions of the tenancy agreement executed by the land lords and the tenants and also to safe guard the interest of the land lords and the tenants in case of disputes. As per the provisions of this law, all tenancy agreements should be written agreements and shall be compulsorily register with the Rent Authority. The registration of the tenancy agreement with the rent authority is independent of the registration requirement of the tenancy agreement under the Registration act, 1908. Since, most of the transactions are done through the tenancy registration portal with minimum interface of the Rent Authority. The tenancy registration portal eases the process of registration of the tenancy agreement with much convenience to the general public.
Tamil Nadu is the most urbanized State in India having an urban population of about 3.5 crores which is 48.44 percentage of the total population of 7.2 crores as per 2011 census. The growth rate of urban population in the last decade has been 27.16 percentage. With rapid pace of urbanization, one of the biggest challenges is the availability of affordable housing in urban areas. As per 2011 census, Tamil Nadu is having 23.4 percentage of rental housing. In order to regulate the rental housing stock, the Government has enacted the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act 2017, to facilitate Landowners and Tenants and to provide affordable Housing for All. The said Act is come into force w.e.f. 22.02.2019.