Jammu and Kashmir Residential and Commercial Tenancy Act, 2012

No: 5 Dated: Apr, 18 2012

THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR (RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL TENANCY) ACT, 2012

(ACT NO. V of 2012)

    An Act to establish a framework for the regulation of residential and commercial tenancy matters and to balance the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants and to provide for fast adjudication process for resolution of disputes, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

    Be it enacted by the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature in the Sixty-third Year of the Republic of India as follows:—

CHAPTER I

Preliminary

1. Short title, extent and commencement — (1) This Act may be called the Jammu and Kashmir (Residential and Commercial Tenancy) Act, 2012.

(2) It extends to all urban areas of the State:

Provided that the Government may, by notification in the Government Gazette, exclude or include any area or units or class of buildings from, or within, the operation of the Act or any provision thereof.

(3) It shall come into force from the date [of its publication in the Government Gazette].

2. Definition — In this Act unless the context otherwise requires,

(a) 'Act' means the Jammu and Kashmir (Residential and Commercial Tenancy) Act, 2012;

(b) 'Appellate Rent Tribunal' means the Special Tribunal established under the Jammu and Kashmir Special Tribunal Act, 1988;

(c) 'existing tenancies' means tenancies entered into prior to the commencement of the Act and covered under the Jammu and Kashmir Houses and Shops Rent Control Act, 1966 and valid up to twenty four months from he commencement of the Act as per sections 4 and 8;

(d) 'family' in relation to a person means the wife or husband of such person and his or her dependents including children, daughter-in-law being the widow of predeceased son and parents of any of the spouses;

(e) 'Government' means Government of Jammu and Kashmir;

(f) 'joint tenants' means more than one person or family unit occupying one rental unit and responsible for paying rent to the landlord separately or jointly;

(g) 'landlord' means a person or a company who owns a rental unit and who is entitled to receive rent for the use and occupancy of any rental unit and shall include his or its successor-in-interest;

(h) 'local authority' means a Municipal Corporation or the Municipal Council or the Municipal Committee or any other local body constituted under any law for the time being in force;

(i) 'periodic tenancy' means a tenancy for successive periods of equal duration, that is, from month to month or week to week or as the Government may prescribe and terminable by notice, of the same period by either landlord or tenant and includes tenancy which commences on the expiry of fixed term tenancy;

(j) 'property manager' means a person or company who is employed by the landlord to manage the rental unit(s) and who represents the landlord;

(k) 'prescribed' means prescribed by rules made by the Government under the Act;

(l) 'public institution' includes any educational institution maintained out of state funds or aid received out of state funds or free hostel attached to such educational institution, library, a Government Hospital, charitable dispensary, orphanage, disabled home and destitute home;

(m) 'rent' means the consideration paid or required to be paid periodically by or on behalf of a tenant to the landlord or to the property manager for the right to occupy a rental unit and for any services and any privileges or benefits that the landlord provides for the tenant in respect of the occupancy of the rental unit but does not include security deposit or any other deposit;

(n) 'Rent Controller' means a Controller appointed under section 29 of the Act;

(o) 'rental unit' means a unit in any building or but or part of a building or but other than a farm house let or to be let separately for residential or commercial purposes and including land appurtenant thereto, and includes:

(i) the garden, grounds and out-houses, if any appurtenant to such rental unit rented or available for rent for residential or commercial use and occupancy together with all services connected with the use and occupancy of such unit;

(ii) any furniture or equipment supplied by the landlord for the use in such building or but or part of a building or hut;

(iii) any fittings affixed to such building or part of a building for the more beneficial enjoyment thereof; but does not include hotel, hostel, a boarding house, tourist homes or guest houses;

(p) 'security deposit' means any payment, fee, deposit or charge to be used for any purpose including recovery of rent defaults, repairing damages caused by the tenant and any other item as specified in the tenancy agreement;

(q) 'services' include provision of furniture, furnishings, appliances, parking and related facility, laundry facility, lifts, garbage collection, storage facility, intercom system, cable television facility, security services and common recreational and other facilities related or connected to residential or commercial use of the rental unit, as the case may be, or as per the rent agreement;

(r) 'tenancy agreement' means an agreement in writing between a landlord and a tenant for the use and occupancy of a rental unit and related services on agreed terms and conditions for commercial or residential purposes;

(s) 'tenant' means any person who has the right to use and occupy a rental unit and includes successor to a tenant and a subtenant;

(t) 'tenancy period' means the period for which the rental unit has been let to the tenant by the landlord; and

(u) 'urban area' means the areas that fall within the Territorial Limits of any Municipal Corporation, Municipal Council or Municipal Committee, as the case may be.

3. Exemptions — Nothing in this Act shall apply to, —

(a) any rental unit owned by the Central or State Government or local authority or a Government undertaking or a statutory body wholly owned and controlled by the government or cantonment board;

(b) public institutions;

(c) any rental unit let out before the commencement of the Act where rent paid on the date of commencement of the Act exceeds six thousand per annum and where such units had been exempted under the Jammu and Kashmir Houses and Shops Rent Control Act, 1966;

(d) rental unit(s) owned by company, university or organization given on rent to its employees as part of service contract;

(e) any rental unit owned by religious or charitable institutions as may be specified by the Government; and

(f) any rental unit owned by Wakfs registered under the Jammu and Kashmir Wakfs Act, 2001 or to any trust registered under the Trust Act, Samvat 1977.