Landlords not keen on registering tenants in Ahmedabad

Following the terror attacks in the state, the police had actively started enforcing the rule that made it mandatory for landlords to register their tenants with the police. This was because investigations had revealed that many of the terrorists involved had lived in the city as tenants for some time before carrying out the attacks.

However, despite the rule, many in the city are reluctant to register their tenants and paying guests with the police. While some are completely unaware of the rule, others are reluctant to register their tenants because of the hassle involved in approaching the police.

As per the notification issued by the city police, every landlord who has given out his property on rent or is sharing his house with a paying guest has to register the name of the tenant (or paying
guest) with the local police station.

The procedure involves filling up of a form and giving the personal details of the tenant along with his or her photograph. The idea behind the rule is that it would help keep tabs on anti-social elements entering the city.

Hitesh Shah, CEO-residential, Space Management, told DNA that many people in the city were actively seeking paying guests or renting out their property.

"Landlords for whom renting out property is a business and who are part of the organized sector generally follow the necessary formalities," he said.

Shah said that owners of property who are not in the business of renting out houses but do it once in a while, are usually reluctant to register their tenants. "Most of such landlords are in the unorganized sector," said Shah.

As for paying guests, it is often the case that a landlord has a big house with many rooms that remain unused. Such landlords rent out these unused rooms to paying guests, a majority of whom are from outside the state.

"We are not in the business of renting out flats but we do it occasionally. What is the need to go through a complicated procedure just to register a tenant?" said an IT consultant who has rented out part of his house for some extra income. He justified it on the ground that his tenants are people he knows well; hence there is no risk involved.

Umesh Shah, owner of Radha Eastate Agency, said that given the present scenario, as a broker he stresses on the need to register tenants and paying guests.

"But landlords frequently want to avoid police formalities and prefer to have a registered agreement with the tenant. It has also been observed that, at times, police officials make an otherwise simple procedure, very complicated, and this gives rise to corruption," he said, adding that this was another reason why many landlords avoided registering their tenants with the police.