FAQs on Renting Property

Q.1 What is 'Maintenance Charge' in renting of a building for a commercial purpose?

Q.2 Which types of documents need to be signed for renting an office or a shop?

Q.3 What should you inspect in a premises before taking it on rent?

Q.4 What aspects should be checked for renting residential or commercial property.

Q.5 What is the procedure to ask a tenant to vacate in case he is not protected by the Rent Act, and what is the notice period required to be given?

Q.6 How many months rent can the landlord take as deposit ?


Q.1 What is 'Maintenance Charge' in renting of a building for a commercial purpose?
Ans. Maintenance charge is the amount paid to the society to which the property belongs. This charge is paid for the upkeep of the property and it includes the running cost of AC & D.G. Sets, Security, Landscaping, etc.

Q.2 Which types of documents need to be signed for renting an office or a shop?
Ans. The most common documents generally needed for renting offices or shops are a lease, leave and license agreement, business center agreement or conducting rights agreement.

Q.3 What should you inspect in a premises before taking it on rent?
A: Before hiring a premises you should get detail information about its condition. You need to investigate the condition of the property and all other systems such as :

• Water supply, plumbing systems, drainage condition, water faucets and sanitary fittings.
• Electricity supply, electrical systems, circuit breakers, wires, capacity of the electric meter, functioning of light fittings.
• Foundation, basement and visible structures.
• Doors and windows, latches, locks.
• Fixtures and fittings
• Roof, walls, ceilings, floors, paint work.

Q.4 What aspects should be checked for renting residential or commercial property.
Ans. You should check for the following aspects:

• Get an idea of market trends about common rates of property in the locality and last known transactions. Formulate and finalize the commercial terms. Ensure stamp duty, registration charges and outgoings to be paid like property tax, water and electricity charges, society charges, maintenance charges.
  
  
• You should be very clear about the difference between terms and conditions of the contract. You are free to negotiate on certain terms while rent, payment schedule, time of completion are fixed.
  
  
• You can ask the lessor to obtain the permission or no objection certificate (NOC) from various authorities like the society.
  
  
• You should ask for photocopies of the all deeds related to the property to be purchased. You should examine the deeds preferably through an advocate. Survey number, village and registration district of the property , as these are needed for registration of the sale. So you must extensively check these details. If there are any previous loans against the property it should be cleared before renting of the property.

Q.5 What is the procedure to ask a tenant to vacate in case he is not protected by the Rent Act, and what is the notice period required to be given?
Ans. The common process is to send a notice to the tenant. In case of notice failure, a court case may be filed which is a long duration process and it usually takes 10 to 20 years to reach a verdict.

Q.6 How many months rent can the landlord take as deposit ?
Ans. Three months.