Crucial acts for commute, tenancy stuck in red tape

CHENNAI: Two ambitious pieces of state legislation - CUMTA (Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority Act) and Tenancy Act - that are meant to change the experience of having a home and commuting have failed to take effect as the government has not framed rules to implement them.

Tenancy Act makes house owners and tenants equally responsible for hiring and vacating houses. While the current law is skewed in favour of the tenants, the new act seeks to make letting out buildings hassle-free for owners. The act also ensures that disputes between tenants and the house owners can be settled amicably, without prolonged arguments in courts.

CUMTA Act, which was passed in 2010, was supposed to integrate different modes of commute in the city. It envisaged common ticketing for travel between MTC buses, suburban trains, metro rail trains and MRTS.

Notification of rules for the acts by the housing and urban development department are held up in different stages. While the rules for CUMTA Act are awaiting clearance from the chief minister’s office, sources in the secretariat said the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act (Tenancy Act) is stuck in red tape.

“We have sent the rules for CUMTA to the CMO as it happens to be an important act with enormous impact,” said a senior housing and urban development official. Another official said, “Tenancy Act requires the appointment of a rent authority headed by an officer in the rank of deputy collector. We are framing rules for Tenancy Act, but appointment of rent authorities in each district has not been done. This is holding up notifying the rules,” the official said.

The state assembly passed Tenancy Act earlier this year. A replacement for the existing Rent Control Act, it facilitates constitution of rent courts and rent tribunals. After the commencement of the act by notification of rules, no person can let or take on rent any premises without an agreement in writing, which must be informed to the Rent Authority jointly by the landlord and the tenant through a prescribed form.

When contacted, housing and urban development secretary S Krishnan said rules are in the final stages of approval. “All approvals have been obtained for notification, which is expected soon,” he said.