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Renting guide · Delhi NCR
Why rent agreements are usually 11 months, when registration is needed, and how much security deposit a landlord can ask for in Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
At a glance
01 · The 11-month rule
Under Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908, a lease of property from year to year, for more than one year, or reserving a yearly rent must be registered. An agreement for 11 months falls outside that rule.
So many landlords and tenants sign an 11-month rent agreement on stamp paper and renew it, instead of registering a longer lease at the sub-registrar’s office.
Stamp duty still applies
Even an 11-month agreement pays stamp duty. The amount depends on the state and on the rent, deposit and length of the agreement.
02 · The law
A model law the central government shared in June 2021. Rent is a state subject, so it only applies where a state adopts it.
Among other things, it calls for written tenancy agreements and caps the security deposit for homes at two months’ rent.
There is no new central rent law beyond the Model Tenancy Act. Claims about a nationwide 2025 rent act have been checked and found baseless.
03 · Security deposits
It depends on which state the home is in. Delhi NCR spans three.
2 months
Uttar Pradesh’s Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act, 2021 caps the deposit for homes at two months’ rent, refundable when the landlord gets the home back, minus any dues.
Set by agreement
In the sources we checked, Delhi had not adopted the Model Tenancy Act, so the deposit is whatever the agreement says. Read that clause carefully.
Set by agreement
In the sources we checked, Haryana had not adopted the Model Tenancy Act either, so again the agreement sets the deposit.
04 · Before you sign
Read every clause before you sign, and ask for anything unclear to be written down.
Rent, and when and how it is paid
The security deposit, and when and how it is refunded
The lock-in period and the notice period on both sides
Who pays maintenance, electricity, water and other bills
Who handles repairs, and how you ask for them
What furniture and appliances are included
Rules on guests, pets and subletting
How it works with EYL
You book with 20% of one month’s rent, which counts toward your first month. After you book, you upload your documents in your EYL account, our team verifies them and prepares your agreement. Before you move in, you pay the rest of the first month plus a security deposit of one month’s rent, refunded when you move out. Your lease starts on the day you move in.
05 · Quick answers
Yes. It is a common way to rent. Because it is shorter than a year, it does not fall under the compulsory registration rule in Section 17 of the Registration Act.
A lease for more than one year, or from year to year, must be registered. For shorter agreements, registration is not compulsory under that section, but stamp duty still applies.
In Uttar Pradesh (Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad), the 2021 tenancy law caps it at two months’ rent for homes. In Delhi and Haryana, which had not adopted the Model Tenancy Act in the sources we checked, it is usually set by the agreement.
No new central rent law has been notified. The Model Tenancy Act, 2021 applies only in states that have adopted it.
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Sources
Last checked: 10 October 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice.