The Model Tenancy Act: What Does It Mean for India’s Rental Housing Market?
Tune in to episode 3 of Land of a Billion Season 2!
In this episode, we speak with Gautam Chatterjee, former Chairperson of MahaRERA, the Real Estate Regulatory Authority of Maharashtra, and Sahil Gandhi, an urban and real estate economist associated with the Centre for Social and Economic Progress and a lecturer at the University of Manchester. We discuss the Model Tenancy Act, what it means for the housing market and common man, and its implementations by states.
With the motive of opening up the rental housing markets in India, the Union government passed the Model Tenancy Act, 2021. The MTA aims to provide a framework for transparency in renting property, minimising litigations and disputes between tenants and landlords by laying a clear set of clauses. The act also proposes to set up rent courts and tribunals to solve conflicts in the rental housing market.
We also discuss the study on ‘India’s housing vacancy paradox: how rent control and weak contract enforcement produce unoccupied units and a housing shortage at the same time’, co-authored by Sahil Gandhi, Richard K Green & Shaonlee Patranabis from the Centre for Social and Economic Progress.
Catch the following questions asked by our host at respective timestamps:
– 03.40: What do you think are the factors contributing to this? And what effects does high vacancy have on the housing market in Indian cities?
– 06.22: What are your views on the model Tenancy Act? And do you think they can solve the problems of a city like Bombay?
– 23.30: How does this play into the preferences of homeowners and how do you think the model tenancy law intersects with that?
– 25.58: How would you go about building capacity for implementation of the model tenancy law?
– 33.20: If you had to pick one core challenge that India needs to focus on to secure land rights for a billion, what would that be?
Tune in to know more!
What is ‘Land of a Billion’ About?
‘Land of a Billion’ brings you expert conversations about the most contentious of the holy roti-kapda-makaan trinity – the makaan over our heads, and the larger ecosystem that governs it. From administrative tussles to understanding the conflicts on ground, catch these episodes every alternate Friday for a rundown on the latest charcha around land and property rights in India. In case you missed it, you can also catch up on Season 1 of this series here.
Hosted by Bhargavi Zaveri, a researcher interested in land and access to finance, Land of a Billion is a fortnightly podcast series produced in association with the Property Rights Research Consortium.
Don’t forget to catch the next episode, where we’ll speak to Namita Wahi, Founding Director at Land Rights Initiative and Nitin Sethi, journalist, and Partner at Land Conflict Watch to discuss how the multiplicity of land laws in India has an impact on land conflicts and what the research fraternity has been working on to tackle this problem.