[22
April 2022] An Act further to
amend the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and
Tenants Act, 2017. Be it enacted by the
Legislative Assembly of the State of Tamil Nadu in the Seventy-third Year of
the Republic of India as follows:- (1)
This Act may be called the
Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants
(Amendment) Act, 2022. (2)
It shall come into force on
such date as the Government may, by notification, appoint. In section 2 of the
Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants
Act, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act)- (1)
for clause (c), the
following clause shall be substituted, namely:- "(c)
"landlord" whether called landowner or lessor or by any other name,
means a person who receives or is entitled to receive, the rent of any
premises, on his own account, if the premises were let to a tenant, and shall
include- (i)
his successor-in-interest; (ii)
a trustee or guardian or
receiver receiving rent for any premises or is entitled to so receive, on
account of or on behalf of or for the benefit of, any other person such as
minor or person of unsound mind who cannot enter into a contract;"; (2)
in clause (f), the
expression "or for educational" shall be omitted; (3)
after clause (m), the
following clause shall be inserted, namely:- "(mm)
"sub-tenant" means a person to whom the tenant sub-lets whole or part
of the premises held by him or transfers or assigns his rights accrued under
the tenancy agreement or any part thereof upon entering into a supplementary
agreement to the existing tenancy agreement;". For section 7 of the
principal Act, the following section shall be substituted, namely:- "7. Restriction
on sub-letting.- (1)
After the commencement of
this Act, no tenant shall, except by entering into a supplementary agreement to
the existing tenancy agreement,- (a)
sub-let whole or part of the
premises held by him as a tenant; (b)
transfer or assign his
rights in the tenancy agreement or any part thereof. (2)
Where the premises is
sub-let upon entering into a supplementary agreement to the existing tenancy
agreement as referred to in sub-section (1), the landlord and tenant shall
jointly inform the Rent Authority about the sub-tenancy within a period of two
months from the date of execution of such agreement, in such Form as may be
prescribed.". In section 15 of the
principal Act, after sub-section (5), the following sub-section and Explanation
shall be added, namely:- "(6)
Where the premises let out on rent becomes uninhabitable for the tenant due to
an event of force majeure or the tenant is unable to reside due to occurrence
of such event, the landlord shall not charge rent from the tenant until the
said premises is restored by the landlord, subject to the provisions of this
section, to be inhabitable: Provided that where
the rented premises becomes uninhabitable as specified in sub-section (5) or
this sub-section and the landlord fails to carry out the required repairs to
make it inhabitable or the said premises could not be made inhabitable, then,
the security deposit and advance rent shall be refunded by the landlord to the
tenant within a period of fifteen days of the expiry of the notice period,
after making due deduction of liability of the tenant, if any. Explanation.- For the
purposes of this section, "force majeure" means a situation of war,
flood, drought, fi re, cyclone, earthquake or any other calamity caused by
nature affecting the habitation of the tenant in the premises let out on rent.". In section 17 of
principal Act, in sub-section (1), for the expression "may enter a
premises in accordance with written notice given to the tenant", the
expression "may enter the premises let out on rent after serving a notice
to the tenant, in writing or through electronic mode" shall be
substituted. For section 19 of the
principal Act, the following section shall be substituted, namely:- "19. Duties of
property manager and consequences of violation of duties.- (1)
The duties of the property
manager shall include the following, namely:- (a)
to collect rent against
receipt; (b)
to do essential repairs on
behalf of the landlord; (c)
to inspect the premises,
from time to time; (d)
to give notices to tenant
for-- (i)
proper maintenance of the
premises; (ii)
delay in payment of rent; (iii)
revision of rent; (iv)
vacation of premises; and (v)
renewal of tenancy; (e)
to help in resolution of
disputes among tenants and between landlord and tenant; (f)
any other matter relating to
tenancy to be acted upon only on the instructions of the landlord. (2)
Where the property manager
acts, in contravention of the provisions of sub-section (1) or against the
instructions of the landlord, the Rent Authority may, on an application made to
it by the landlord or tenant in that behalf, remove the property manager or
impose such costs on the property manager so as to compensate any loss incurred
by the landlord or tenant due to such contravention.". In section 21 of the
principal Act, (1)
in sub-section (1), for the
expression "continuance of tenancy agreement", the expression
"continuance of tenancy" shall be substituted; (2)
in sub-section (2),- (a)
clause (g) shall be omitted; (b)
after clause (h), the
following clauses shall be added, namely:- "(i)
that the tenant does not agree to pay the rent payable under section 8; (j)
that the tenant has carried out any structural change or erected any permanent
structure in the premises let out on rent without the written consent of the
landlord.". For section 22 of the
principal Act, the following section shall be substituted, namely:- "22. Eviction
and recovery of possession of premises in case of death of landlord.- (1)
Notwithstanding anything
contained in this Act or any other law for the time being in force, in case of
death of the landlord, where there is a bonafi de requirement of the premises
let out on rent by the legal heirs of the landlord during the period of
tenancy, such legal heirs may fi le an application in this behalf for eviction
and recovery of possession of the said premises before the Rent Court in such
Form and manner, as may be prescribed. (2)
The Rent Court may, on an
application made to it under sub-section (1), if it is satisfi ed that the
legal heirs of the deceased landlord are in bonafi de requirement of the
premises let out on rent, pass necessary orders against the tenant for handing
over vacant possession of the said premises to the legal heirs of the deceased
landlord.". In section 31 of the
principal Act, for the expression "and 20 of the Act", the expression
"19 or 20 of the Act" shall be substituted.Tamil
Nadu Regulation Of Rights And Responsibilities Of Landlords And Tenants
(Amendment) Act, 2022
19 OF 2022