Draft a rental agreement for your state in minutes — leave-and-licence format for Maharashtra
A rent agreement (rental agreement) is the written contract between a landlord and a tenant that records the rent, deposit, period and house rules for a property. The generator above drafts it in the order Indian property lawyers use — fill the form and the draft follows this outline, worded for the state you pick:
The draft is a starting point: read every clause, change what does not match your deal, and get it checked by a lawyer if the rent or deposit is large or the property is commercial.
Transfers a right to enjoy the property for a period in return for rent (Transfer of Property Act, 1882, s. 105). The tenant gets an interest in the property, and the state's rent-control or tenancy law decides how and when they can be evicted.
Only a permission to occupy — no interest in the property passes (Indian Easements Act, 1882, s. 52). It is the usual format in Maharashtra, where the Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999 (s. 55) requires every leave-and-licence agreement to be in writing and registered.
What the document is called does not decide which one it is — courts look at what the parties actually intended, such as exclusive possession and control. The generator drafts a leave-and-licence agreement when you choose Maharashtra and a rent agreement for every other state.
Stamp duty is a state subject, so it changes with the state where the property is. These are the rates for a residential agreement of up to one year. Each figure comes from the state's own published source — the department's page or the Gazette text, named with its date in the last column. Where we could not confirm a figure that way, the row says so: check with the sub-registrar or the state's stamp portal before you pay.
| State | Stamp duty (up to 1 year) | Registration | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maharashtra | 0.25% of (total rent for the period + any non-refundable deposit + 10% a year notional interest on the refundable deposit)Leave-and-licence agreements up to 60 months, Schedule I Art. 36A. Registration fee: check on the IGR e-registration portal. | Compulsory for every leave-and-licence agreement (Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999, s. 55) | IGR Maharashtra — Stamp Act Schedule I, Art. 36A (archived Aug 2018) |
| Karnataka | 0.5% of (average annual rent + advance + premium + fine), maximum ₹500Residential lease or licence up to 1 year. | ₹100 | IGR Karnataka — stamp duty and registration fees (archived Apr 2024) |
| Delhi | Varies — check with the sub-registrar | Varies — check with the sub-registrar | Delhi Revenue Department |
| Tamil Nadu | 1% of the rent, fine, premium or advance payable (lease under 30 years)Article 35, Indian Stamp Act as amended by Tamil Nadu. Rent Authority registration is separate from the sub-registrar. | Every tenancy, even under 12 months, must be registered with the Rent Authority within 90 days — no fee (₹100 online service charge) | TN Housing & Urban Development Dept — tenancy FAQ (archived Apr 2025) |
| Telangana | Varies — check with the sub-registrar | Varies — check with the sub-registrar | Registration & Stamps Dept, Telangana |
| Uttar Pradesh | Varies — check with the sub-registrarDuty on short leases has been cut by temporary government orders; confirm the current rate on IGRSUP. | Varies — check with the sub-registrar | IGRSUP, Uttar Pradesh |
| West Bengal | Varies — check with the sub-registrar | Varies — check with the sub-registrar | Directorate of Registration & Stamp Revenue, WB |
| Gujarat | ₹500 flat for a residential lease under 1 year (₹1,000 commercial), plus any surcharge under s. 3AGujarat Stamp Act, 1958, Art. 30(a)(i), as substituted by Gujarat Act 8 of 2025. | Varies — check with the sub-registrar | Gujarat Govt Gazette, 2 Apr 2025 — Act 8 of 2025 (PRS copy) |
| Haryana | Varies — check with the sub-registrar | Varies — check with the sub-registrar | IGR Haryana |
| Rajasthan | 0.02% of the property's market value for a lease up to 1 year, plus surcharge under s. 3-ARajasthan Stamp Act, 1998, Art. 33(i), as substituted by Rajasthan Finance Act, 2023. The base is market value, not rent; a part-year counts as one year. | Varies — check with the sub-registrar | Rajasthan Gazette, 31 Mar 2023 — Act 6 of 2023 (PRS copy) |
Last checked 11 October 2026. Rates are amended by state notification; the official source wins over this table. Stamp duty is a general guide, not legal advice.
Under the Registration Act, 1908, s. 17(1)(d), a lease from year to year, for a term exceeding one year, or reserving a yearly rent must be registered. An agreement for 11 months stays outside that rule, so in most states it can be signed on stamp paper (often notarised) without a trip to the sub-registrar, and the stamp duty is lower. If an agreement that had to be registered is not, s. 49 says it cannot be used as evidence of the lease in court, except for limited collateral purposes.
Two exceptions matter: in Maharashtra every leave-and-licence agreement must be registered whatever its length, and some states' tenancy laws add their own step — in Tamil Nadu every tenancy, even under 12 months, must be registered with the Rent Authority within 90 days. An 11-month agreement also has to be renewed — and re-stamped — every year.
Yes. Where the agreement was drafted does not matter — it is valid once it is on stamp paper of the right value (or e-stamped) and signed by both parties with two witnesses. If the law requires registration, it must also be registered with the sub-registrar; Maharashtra lets you register a leave-and-licence agreement online.
Section 17(1)(d) of the Registration Act, 1908 makes registration compulsory for a lease from year to year, for a term exceeding one year, or reserving a yearly rent. An 11-month agreement stays outside that rule in most states, so it can be signed on stamp paper without visiting the sub-registrar and usually costs less in stamp duty. Maharashtra is the exception: every leave-and-licence agreement there must be registered.
It is compulsory for a lease over one year (or from year to year, or reserving a yearly rent) everywhere in India, and for every leave-and-licence agreement in Maharashtra, whatever the period. In Tamil Nadu every tenancy, even one under 12 months, must also be registered with the Rent Authority within 90 days. An agreement that had to be registered but was not cannot be used in court as evidence of the lease, except for limited collateral purposes.
No. A notary only attests that the people signing are who they say they are; it does not register the document. A notarised 11-month agreement is common where registration is not compulsory, but it does not replace registration where the law requires it.
Either, if your state accepts it. Many states issue e-stamp certificates, often through the Stock Holding Corporation of India as their authorised agency; others use franking or online challans. An e-stamp is easy to verify online. Pay the duty of the state where the property is.
It depends on the state, the period, and the rent and deposit. See the state-wise table on this page, read from each state's official source, and confirm the final amount with the state's stamp calculator or the sub-registrar before paying.
A lease (rent agreement) transfers a right to enjoy the property and gives the tenant an interest in it. A leave and licence is only a permission to occupy and creates no interest in the property (Indian Easements Act, 1882, s. 52). Maharashtra uses leave and licence as the standard format; other states mostly use rent agreements.
Many city police forces require landlords to give them the tenant's details, and most let you do it online through the state or city police website. The rule comes from local police orders, so check your city police site before the tenant moves in.
Yes. Fill the form on this page and LawCentral drafts the agreement for your state. Sign in free to read the whole draft and download it as PDF or Word. You still pay your state's stamp duty when you sign it.
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