Model Tenancy Act Adoption by State: Deposit Caps, Rent Authority and Eviction Rules Across India

Every law based on the 2021 model uses the same 2 months' rent cap for homes. The two older laws allow 3x monthly rent, and even that gives way if the agreement says otherwise.

For shops and offices the newer laws allow up to 6 months' rent. Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have no separate commercial cap, so a business tenant there is held to the same 3x figure unless the agreement sets a different one.

These are targets written into the model law, not promises. Subletting and misuse cases get the shortest clock at 30 days, while most eviction grounds, including unpaid rent, sit in the 90-day group.

Adoption has been slow and uneven, with no new law in 2024. Passing a law is also not the same as switching it on: several of these start only on a date the government notifies.

A tenant who stays past the end of the tenancy pays 2x the monthly rent for the first two months and 4x after that. This is the model's strongest push to get people to leave on time.

Model Tenancy Act 2021 compared with Uttar Pradesh (2021), Tamil Nadu (2017) and Andhra Pradesh (2017) tenancy laws

Source: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, The Model Tenancy Act, 2021 (English text, as approved by the Union Cabinet); Government of Uttar Pradesh (gazette copy hosted by PRS Legislative Research), The Uttar Pradesh Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act, 2021 (U.P. Act No. 16 of 2021), Uttar Pradesh Extraordinary Gazette; Government of Tamil Nadu (copy hosted by PRS Legislative Research), The Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act, 2017 (L.A. Bill No. 38 of 2017 as published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette Extraordinary); Government of Andhra Pradesh (text hosted by FAO FAOLEX), Andhra Pradesh Residential and Non-Residential Premises Tenancy Act, 2017 (Act No. 10 of 2018). Download as image

Key deadlines landlords and tenants must meet under the Model Tenancy Act 2021

Source: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, The Model Tenancy Act, 2021 (English text, as approved by the Union Cabinet). Download as image

Tenancy law on the lines of the Model Tenancy Act, by deposit cap by State

• 9MTA 2021 model: 2 months (residential) / 6 months (commercial) deposit cap
• 2Earlier draft-based law: 3x monthly rent deposit cap

Which states have adopted the Model Tenancy Act?

The newer group follows the 2021 model closely: Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh, plus the UTs of Jammu and Kashmir, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, and Lakshadweep. Chandigarh now applies the Assam Tenancy Act, which the Centre extended to it in May 2026.

Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh sit in a separate group. NITI Aayog lists them alongside the others, but their laws came out of an earlier draft and were passed in 2017 and 2018, before the final model existed.

Two cautions. First, a law on paper is not always in force. The three UT regulations from 2023 and the Uttarakhand Act each start on a date the government notifies, so check that date before you quote the law to anyone. Second, large rental markets such as Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi are not on the list. If you rent there, your State's existing rent law and the words in your agreement still decide most disputes.

How much security deposit can a landlord take under the Model Tenancy Act?

For a home, the model caps the deposit at 2 months' rent. For non-residential premises such as a shop, clinic or office, the cap is 6 months' rent. Every State and UT law based on the 2021 model keeps both numbers unchanged.

This matters most in cities where landlords are used to asking for much more. If you live in a State that has adopted the model and the agreement asks for a larger deposit, you have a statutory cap to point to. Ask for the excess to be cut, and get that change in writing.

Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are different. Their cap is 3x the monthly rent for any premises, but it applies "save an agreement to the contrary". In plain terms, if you sign an agreement that sets a higher deposit, the cap does not save you. Read the deposit clause there before you pay, not after.

Business tenants should also look past the headline number. A 6-month cap still leaves a lot of cash sitting with the landlord, so the refund clause matters just as much: when the money comes back, what can be deducted, and who decides.

What does the Rent Authority do, and do you need to register your agreement?

The model sets up a three-tier system: a Rent Authority, a Rent Court and a Rent Tribunal. The Rent Authority is the front desk. Under section 4, landlord and tenant must jointly inform it of their written agreement within 2 months. If they do not, each side can inform it separately within 1 month after that.

The Authority then has 7 working days to issue a unique identification number and upload the agreement details. That number is useful. If a dispute starts later, a recorded agreement is far easier to enforce than an unsigned email thread or a verbal promise.

The practical point for you: do not leave this to the landlord. Agree in the contract who files, by when, and who keeps the receipt.

How fast are eviction and rent disputes decided?

The model asks Rent Courts and Rent Tribunals to dispose of a case within 60 days. The main eviction grounds, including unpaid rent, carry a 90-day deadline, and unauthorised subletting or misuse of the premises gets 30 days. Either side has 30 days to appeal a Rent Court order to the Rent Tribunal.

For tenants behind on rent there is a clear escape hatch. Under section 21(3), if you pay the arrears within 1 month of the landlord's demand notice, you avoid eviction on that ground.

Landlords get protection too. A tenant who refuses to leave after the tenancy ends owes 2x the monthly rent for the first two months and 4x after that. Andhra Pradesh's version is milder, at double the rent for the first six months and 3x after.

Day-to-day rules cut both ways as well. A landlord must give at least 24 hours' written or electronic notice before entering. A landlord who cuts off water or electricity faces an inquiry that should finish within 1 month and can be ordered to pay compensation of up to 2 months' rent.

What this means if you rent for work

Say you are a freelance designer renting a flat in Lucknow and working from the second bedroom. Uttar Pradesh's Act applies to listed urban areas, so the 2 months' residential deposit cap likely covers you. But check whether your agreement calls the flat residential. Running client meetings from home can give a landlord an argument about misuse, and under the model law misuse cases are on the fastest clock, 30 days.

Now say you run a small bakery in Guwahati. The Assam Act lets the landlord ask for up to 6 months' rent as deposit. Under the model law, rent revision follows the agreement and the Rent Authority settles disputes about it. If your agreement says nothing about how rent rises, expect a fight at renewal.

Older tenancies in Uttar Pradesh have their own rule. Where no agreement covers it, rent on a pre-Act tenancy rises by 5% a year for homes and 7% for non-residential premises, compounded. In Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, the landlord must give 3 months' written notice before a revised rent is due, unless the agreement says otherwise.

What to do before you sign

• Find out which law covers your premises, and whether it is actually in force yet.
• Compare the deposit with the cap: 2 months' rent for a home or 6 months' rent for commercial space under the newer laws.
• In Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh, remember that the agreement can override the 3x cap, so negotiate the number itself.
• Make sure the agreement says how and when rent can be revised.
• Agree in writing who will inform the Rent Authority and keep the unique identification number.
• Check the overstay, entry and repairs clauses against the statute, not just against what the landlord says is standard.

Sources and method

Every number on this page comes from the sources below, each opened and read on or before October 18, 2026. A second, independent review checked every figure against its source and corrected anything that did not match. 11 of 11 State entries were confirmed; any that could not be are marked "Not yet confirmed" and left out of every count and chart.

1. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, The Model Tenancy Act, 2021 (English text, as approved by the Union Cabinet) (2 June 2021 (archived copy of the MoHUA PDF; original mohua.gov.in link now returns 404))
2. Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Cabinet approves Model Tenancy Act for circulation to the States/Union Territories for adoption (2 June 2021)
3. Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Model Tenancy Act aims to balance rights of tenants & landlords (Rajya Sabha written reply) (25 July 2022)
4. NITI Aayog, Government of India, A Comprehensive Framework to Promote Affordable Housing (December 2025)
5. Government of Uttar Pradesh (gazette copy hosted by PRS Legislative Research), The Uttar Pradesh Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act, 2021 (U.P. Act No. 16 of 2021), Uttar Pradesh Extraordinary Gazette (24 August 2021)
6. Government of Assam (gazette copy hosted by FAO FAOLEX), The Assam Tenancy Act, 2021 (Assam Act No. XXXI of 2021), Assam Gazette Extraordinary No. 459 (1 October 2021 (assent 23 September 2021))
7. Government of Tamil Nadu (copy hosted by PRS Legislative Research), The Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act, 2017 (L.A. Bill No. 38 of 2017 as published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette Extraordinary) (Bill introduced 14 July 2017; enacted as Tamil Nadu Act 42 of 2017)
8. Government of Andhra Pradesh (text hosted by FAO FAOLEX), Andhra Pradesh Residential and Non-Residential Premises Tenancy Act, 2017 (Act No. 10 of 2018) (Act No. 10 of 2018 (copy printed 13 March 2020))
9. Government of Uttarakhand (copy hosted by PRS Legislative Research), The Uttarakhand Tenancy Act, 2021 (Act No. 02 of 2022) (Act No. 02 of 2022)
10. Government of Arunachal Pradesh (gazette copy hosted by PRS Legislative Research), The Arunachal Pradesh Tenancy Act, 2022 (Act No. 17 of 2022) (14 November 2022 (assent 3 November 2022))
11. Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs (gazette copy hosted by PRS Legislative Research), The Jammu and Kashmir Tenancy Act, 2025 (Act No. IV of 2025) (1 November 2025)
12. Ministry of Law and Justice (Legislative Department), Government of India, The Andaman and Nicobar Islands Tenancy Regulation, 2023 (No. 2 of 2023), Gazette of India Extraordinary Part II Section 1 (24 November 2023)
13. Ministry of Law and Justice (Legislative Department), Government of India, The Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Tenancy Regulation, 2023 (No. 3 of 2023), Gazette of India Extraordinary Part II Section 1 (24 November 2023)
14. Ministry of Law and Justice (Legislative Department), Government of India, The Lakshadweep Tenancy Regulation, 2023 (No. 4 of 2023), Gazette of India Extraordinary Part II Section 1 (24 November 2023)
15. ThePrint / Press Trust of India, Chandigarh tenants, landlords to get UIN as UT notifies new tenancy rules (PTI) (10 September 2026)