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Coverage

Rental deposit

India — security deposit (Model Tenancy Act 2021 where adopted, otherwise State Rent Acts)

NationalINUnverified — check before relying on it

India

Rule id
deposit.in
Version
1.0.0
In force from
June 2, 2021
Last read against its sources
August 5, 2026
Countries bound
India

In plain language

What this regime says.

India has no single tenancy deposit regime. The Model Tenancy Act 2021 caps deposits and creates Rent Authorities, Rent Courts and Rent Tribunals, but it binds only in States and Union Territories that have adopted it. Elsewhere the State Rent Control Act and the tenancy agreement govern.

Who is covered

Tenants of premises in India.

What you get

Refund of the deposit less what the landlord can justify, through the Rent Court where the Model Tenancy Act applies or the civil court otherwise.

Where claims go wrong

  • Assuming the Model Tenancy Act applies to you. Check whether your State adopted it first.
  • Paying the deposit in cash without a receipt.
  • Not registering the tenancy agreement, which weakens everything that follows.

Authority

Every citation,
with its pinpoint.

A claim that cites “EU law” gets filed. A claim that cites Article 7(1)(c) gets answered. These are the exact coordinates this entry rests on.
  1. Model Tenancy Act, 2021Model Tenancy Act, 2021 (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs)URL verified 2026-08-05s. 11 (security deposit)

Sources

Where a figure is indexed, converted or published by a regulator rather than fixed in the instrument, the provenance is recorded separately. Anything marked as a modelled estimate is exactly that — a model, not a statutory number.

No separate source is recorded: every figure in this entry comes from the cited instrument itself.

What it imposes

Clocks, defences and the ladder.

A rule module builds these while it evaluates, because a limitation period depends on which forum is open to you. What follows is the structure this regime produces — deliberately with no dates and no figures, because those belong to your facts rather than to the law.

What it entitles you to, beyond money

  • Determination by Rent Court and Rent Tribunal where the Model Tenancy Act has been adopted; otherwise the civil court or the consumer forum under the State Rent Control ActYou are entitled to have the return of your deposit determined by Rent Court and Rent Tribunal where the Model Tenancy Act has been adopted; otherwise the civil court or the consumer forum under the State Rent Control Act rather than left to the landlord. We are not stating what it will award.
  • An itemised, evidenced accountEvery regime in this product places the burden of justifying a deduction on the landlord. Ask for invoices, quotations and dated photographs, not a round number.

What the other side will say

Each of these is a refusal this regime lets a counterparty attempt, paired with the answer to it. Reading them before you write is worth more than any amount of polish on the letter itself.

"The property needed cleaning and redecorating"

high likelihood

The landlord charges for cleaning, carpet wear, scuffed paint or tired fittings and treats the deposit as a refurbishment fund.

What answers it

Fair wear and tear from ordinary use is not a recoverable loss in any of the regimes this product covers — a deduction must reflect damage or a breach beyond ordinary use, must be evidenced, and must be reduced for the age and remaining life of the item. Ask for the invoice, the check-in and check-out evidence, and the calculation.

"Prove you did not cause it"

high likelihood

The landlord asserts damage and expects the tenant to disprove it, often without a check-in inventory.

What answers it

It is the party seeking to keep the money who must justify keeping it. Where there is no dated check-in record to compare against, an adjudicator has nothing to measure the alleged damage from, and the deduction generally fails on that ground alone.

Where to take it next

  1. Write to the landlord or agentAsk in writing for the deposit back and for an itemised, evidenced account of anything withheld. A dated written request is what every body below will want to see first.Claim direct
  2. Apply to The landlord holds the deposit. Where a State has adopted the Model Tenancy Act, the Rent Authority for the district administers tenanciesThe landlord holds the deposit. Where a State has adopted the Model Tenancy Act, the Rent Authority for the district administers tenancies administers the deposit and operates the first-line claim or release process.Alternative dispute resolution
  3. Apply to Rent Court and Rent Tribunal where the Model Tenancy Act has been adopted; otherwise the civil court or the consumer forum under the State Rent Control ActBinding on themRent Court and Rent Tribunal where the Model Tenancy Act has been adopted; otherwise the civil court or the consumer forum under the State Rent Control Act can make a binding order about the deposit.Court

Documents

What this regime can produce.

Every one of these is a document you send yourself, in your own name. Duesday never writes to anybody on your behalf and is never anyone’s agent.

The same claim type elsewhere

Albania — rental deposit (Kodi Civil (Civil Code), qiraja)ALNational — AlbaniaKodi Civil (Civil Code), qirajaConfidence: lowAustria — rental deposit (Allgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (ABGB) § 16b, and the Mietrechtsgesetz (MRG))ATNational — AustriaAllgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (ABGB) § 16b, and the Mietrechtsgesetz (MRG)Confidence: lowBelgium — rental deposit (Regional housing codes: Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet, Décret wallon relatif au bail d’habitation, Code bruxellois du Logement)BENational — BelgiumRegional housing codes: Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet, Décret wallon relatif au bail d’habitation, Code bruxellois du LogementConfidence: lowBosnia and Herzegovina — rental deposit (The law of obligations of the relevant entity (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina or Republika Srpska) and the applicable housing legislation)BANational — Bosnia & HerzegovinaThe law of obligations of the relevant entity (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina or Republika Srpska) and the applicable housing legislationConfidence: lowBulgaria — rental deposit (Закон за задълженията и договорите (Obligations and Contracts Act), наем)BGNational — BulgariaЗакон за задълженията и договорите (Obligations and Contracts Act), наемConfidence: lowCroatia — rental deposit (Zakon o najmu stanova and the Zakon o obveznim odnosima)HRNational — CroatiaZakon o najmu stanova and the Zakon o obveznim odnosimaConfidence: lowCyprus — rental deposit (Rent Control Law of 1983 (23/1983) for controlled tenancies, and the general law of contract)CYNational — CyprusRent Control Law of 1983 (23/1983) for controlled tenancies, and the general law of contractConfidence: lowCzechia — jistota / kauce (Občanský zákoník § 2254)CZNational — CzechiaObčanský zákoník (89/2012 Sb.), § 2254Confidence: high

Other rights in the same countries

India — DGCA Civil Aviation Requirements, Section 3 Series M Part IVINNational — IndiaDGCA CAR Section 3, Series M, Part IV, Paras 1.2, 1.3 and 1.7Confidence: highIndia — India PostINNational — IndiaPost Office Act 2023 and the Department of Posts rules and compensation scheduleConfidence: lowIndia — IRCTC Ticket Deposit Receipt (TDR) refunds for cancelled and substantially delayed trainsINNational — IndiaRailway Passengers (Cancellation of Tickets and Refund of Fare) RulesConfidence: lowIndia — RBI e-mandate framework for recurring paymentsINNational — IndiaRBI circular DPSS.CO.PD.No.447/02.14.003/2019-20 (21 August 2019) — Processing of e-mandate on cards for recurring transactionsConfidence: mediumIndia — RBI limited liability for unauthorised electronic banking transactionsINNational — IndiaRBI/2017-18/15 — Customer Protection: Limiting Liability of Customers in Unauthorised Electronic Banking Transactions (6 July 2017)Confidence: highIndia — representative consumer complaints and s.245 Companies Act class actionsINNational — IndiaConsumer Protection Act 2019, s.35(1)(c) and s.2(5)Confidence: lowIndia — the Clinical Establishments Act rate-display duty and the consumer forum routeINNational — IndiaClinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010Confidence: lowIndia — unclaimed deposits (RBI DEA Fund and UDGAM) and unpaid dividends and shares (IEPF)INNational — IndiaBanking Regulation Act 1949, s. 26AConfidence: medium

Does this one reach your facts?

The engine runs every regime that could apply at once and reconciles them, rather than making you guess which page to read.

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Not a law firm. Not legal advice. You send it yourself. This page describes a law; it is not advice about your situation and no outcome is promised.