I recently rented out a property of mine and thought I should share my experience with all MS members.
I actually tried mouthshut to see if I can get some guidance or tips but found no review posted ...so here it is.
I rented a shop I have at 4 bungalows and to be on the safer side wanted the agreement registered with the Leave & Licence (L & L) office at Bandra-Kurla complex.
One should get the agreement registered even if you rent a property to a friend - once the agreement is registered, the same agreement is used in the court in case of dispute and none of the parties here then can claim that the agreement is a fraud.
L & L agreement can be for any period and not necessarily for 11 months as is the normal practice prevalent in Mumbai - I argued with my prospective tenant who wanted the agreement for 33 months and followed the prevalent practice.
One needs to first make an agreement and get it vetted by either lawyers or by experts to remove any ambiguous or dubious clauses. Once the agreement is agreed upon by both the parties (Landlord and Tenant) then one needs to get it typed on a stamp paper(mine was a 500/- stamp paper).
All expenses including typing, stamp paper, registration should ideally be borne equally by both the parties.
You need to have 2 witnesses signing on this agreement – mandatory requirement.
Once the agreement is signed by parties and witnesses then one needs to provide the copy of this agreement to the L & L office a day before the agreement needs to be registered. The L & L office then provides you with a token nos, a form and the exact time to come for the next day (R u all surprised?).
A nominal amount in the form of DD as registration charges needs to be paid to the L & L office. The bank is close to the MMRDA office at Bandra-Kurla complex and one needs to arrive atleast 60 minutes before (its a nationalised bank never trust their service).
So once you have the DD, the filled form and the original agreement copy - all you have to do is wait your turn. Fortunately one will not encounter any long queues due to the token system but the office as such is very unwelcome and not at all customer friendly.
Its like they are doing us a favour by running the office - as you enter the office the atmosphere is a typical government style, files lying everywhere, lots of people screaming, noise high in decibels and no smiles to welcome you!! I wasn’t expecting any.
Once your papers & DD are verified, both the parties need to face a camera and provide thumbprint on a machine, which you can see being displayed on the screen (Hi-tech). One needs to pay any registration fee over and above DD, if any. And the process is over after you provide them with a photocopy of the registered agreement for their paper records. Yes no Bribe at all...
The whole process took less than 30 minutes & I was very satisfied.
All they need here is a little bit (actually a lot) of human touch in the office, better seating arrangement, water coolers and loads of smiles and not behave like someone in mourning.
To summarise:
Get your agreement vetted by an expert
Get it typed on stamp paper
Ensure 2 witnesses for signing of agreement
Prepare DD after checking the registration charge with L & L office
Get token nos from L & L office one day prior to the planned date of registration
Be there on time with the appropriate documents- this is very important. Delay would mean a huge bribe !!
Documents required:
Duly Agreement on stamp paper
Filled form of L & L office
Registration charge in the form of DD
The question of recommendation is a bit wrong here as one has no options but to visit the office - there are no alternatives.