The launch of Model Tenancy Act can uplift the rental housing.

By Abhay Shah, Realty Quarter

A draft of ‘Model Tenancy Act, 2019’ has been published for consultation by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry. Swapan Dutta, director (east) of property consultant Knight Frank said in response to the development, “It’s a move in the correct direction as rents or residential lease should turn into an important sector in real estate. “Niranjan Hiranandani, National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) said that rental homes can be pulled into a favourable strategy structure. “It is also a profitable proposal for REIT and foreign direct investment players with constant earnings, as well as appreciation in real estate price,” he said.

Dutta notified of probable interference by states with the act, however, a perspective which other specialists have reflected. Anuj Puri, Chairman of ANAROCK Property Consultants, said that “like the RERA, the Model Tenancy Act 2019, can lose its true objective unless States adhere to the fundamental rules and dilute them”. India has so far concentrated on its housing schemes on house ownership and little has been achieved to encourage rental homes, the specialists said. “This is a significant deficiency because rental housing alone can contribute in some way to reduce the Indian housing gap,” Puri said. Despite the housing shortage, the level of vacancies is increasing, he said.

According to the national survey, vacant homes accounted for approximately 12% of the total urban housing stock, resulting in nearly 11.1 million homes in 2011, an increase of 71% since 2001, said Puri. The experts said that among the cities, Mumbai had the greatest number of empty apartments of almost 4.8 lakh units, followed by Delhi and Bengaluru, each with almost 3 lakh units.