For a Bengaluru agreement of eleven months or less, this is not required by law, since compulsory registration only applies to a lease running more than a year or one that reserves a yearly rent. Registering anyway gives the agreement stronger legal standing in a dispute, since an unregistered document that should have been registered cannot be fully relied on to prove its terms in court. Most eleven month agreements in Bengaluru are e-stamped, not registered, because the choice belongs to the tenant and owner, not a requirement. We tell both sides this is optional, and what it would cost either way.
The number
Compulsory registration applies only above a one year term or a yearly rent, Registration Act, 1908, section 17(1)(d). Below that, registering is optional.
Sources
Where it comes from. Level 1 is a government or court page, level 2 established press, level 3 a portal's explainer, which gives only what is commonly quoted.
- Registration Act, 1908, section 17(1)(d), Government of India, https://indiankanoon.org/doc/561156/, level 1
- Flatscare, rental agreement registration process in Bangalore, https://flatscare.com/articles/39, level 3