The State government, in consultation with the Madras High Court, has notified the Rent Courts for all 32 districts in the State in accordance with Section 32 of the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act of 2017, which has introduced new procedures for resolving rental disputes.
According to a Government Order issued by the Housing and Urban Development department, as many as seven courts had been designated as Rent Courts for Chennai district.
The presiding officers of the Courts of Small Causes No. X to XVI, functioning in a separate building on the High Court campus, will function as Rent Courts.
In so far as all other 31 districts in the State were concerned, the Principal District Munsif Courts, Additional District Munsif courts and District Munsif Courts in those districts had been been designated as Rent Courts. The government through separate notifications had already designated the Rent Authorities. As per the 2017 Act, it was mandatory to enter into written tenancy agreements and register them with the jurisdictional Rent Authority. In Chennai district, District Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare Officer, Revenue Divisional Officers and Personal Assistants to Collector had been designated as Rent Authorities for different taluks.
It had been made mandatory for those authorities to register every agreement, assign a registration number and upload details of the landlords and tenants on their websites.
Dispute settlement
Disputes between landlords and tenants will be solved at the first instance by the Rent Authority concerned and then taken on appeal to the Rent Court and followed by the Rent Tribunal.