Housing, Rental Security & Home Ownership Policy
“Home is a Basic Need — Ownership Must Be Protected, Renters Must Be Secure.”
1. The Basic Principle
Sanvidhan Loktantra Party believes that housing is one of the basic needs of every family.
A person who cannot immediately afford to purchase a house should have the right to live in a decent residential property on rent with reasonable security.
At the same time, a person who has invested his or her lifetime savings in a residential property must have complete protection of ownership.
Therefore, the party proposes a balanced system based on three principles:
Right to Rent + Security of Ownership + Right to Timely Possession
Neither the genuine tenant nor the genuine property owner should live in fear.
2. Long-Term Tenancy Without Transfer of Ownership
Under the proposed system, a residential tenant may enter into a long-term registered rental agreement, including agreements for several years or decades, if both parties agree.
Most importantly:
Payment of rent or occupation of a residential property for any period, even 50 years or more, shall not by itself transfer ownership of the property to the tenant.
The ownership shall remain with the legally recorded owner unless the owner voluntarily transfers the property through a legally valid sale, gift, inheritance or other recognised mode of transfer.
Therefore:
Long-term tenancy shall provide security of residence, but shall never automatically become ownership.
This will remove one of the major fears that discourages property owners from giving houses on rent for long periods.
3. End the Artificial 11-Month Rental Culture
Many property owners presently prefer short rental agreements because they fear that a tenant may acquire excessive legal protection or create difficulty in recovering possession.
This can discourage owners from making residential properties available for rent.
Sanvidhan Loktantra Party proposes that:
There should be no requirement that a genuine residential rental agreement must be limited to 11 months.
Owner and tenant should be free to enter into:
- 1-year agreements;
- 3-year agreements;
- 5-year agreements;
- 10-year agreements; or
- any other mutually agreed period,
- subject to registration and applicable law.
A longer agreement should provide greater contractual certainty, not transfer ownership.
4. Digital Housing & Rental Record
Every registered residential tenancy should have a Digital Housing/Rental ID.
The record may contain:
- Property details;
- Registered owner;
- Tenant details;
- Agreement period;
- Monthly rent;
- Security deposit;
- Rent payment history;
- Renewal history;
- Notice issued by either party;
- Possession status.
- The system would create a verified Rental Payment Record for the tenant.
A person who has regularly paid rent should therefore be able to demonstrate a genuine history of housing payments.
5. Protection of the Property Owner
The owner should have a clear statutory right to recover possession in specified circumstances.
The owner may seek possession where:
- The owner genuinely requires the property for personal or family residence;
- The tenant repeatedly fails to pay rent;
- The tenant materially breaches the rental agreement;
- The agreed tenancy period expires and is not renewed;
- The property is required for a legally recognised purpose;
- Other clearly defined grounds prescribed by law arise.
The procedure should be simple, time-bound and transparent.
6. Owner’s Notice for Genuine Personal Requirement
Where the owner genuinely requires the property for personal or family use, the owner may issue a prescribed notice.
Proposed notice period:
1 to 3 months, depending upon the circumstances and the terms of the registered agreement.
The tenant should be given reasonable time to make alternative arrangements.
However, the system should not permit an indefinite extension of possession.
7. Maximum Humanitarian Extension
Sanvidhan Loktantra Party recognises that extraordinary circumstances can arise.
For example:
- Children may be in the middle of an academic year;
- A family may be facing a serious medical condition;
- A natural disaster may have affected alternative housing;
- A sudden family emergency may make immediate relocation genuinely difficult.
- In such exceptional circumstances, a competent authority/court may grant a limited humanitarian extension.
Proposed outer limit:
Normally not more than 6 months, and in exceptional circumstances up to a maximum of 12 months.
After the final permissible period expires, possession must be restored to the owner.
Principle:
Humanity should provide temporary protection — not permanent deprivation of ownership.
8. Non-Payment of Rent
If a tenant fails to pay rent, the owner should not be forced into a prolonged process lasting several years.
The proposed system should provide:
Demand for unpaid rent → prescribed notice → opportunity to respond/pay → time-bound determination → possession order where legally justified.
If the tenant has a genuine dispute regarding the amount, that dispute should be decided through a fast-track mechanism.
9. Enforcement of Final Possession Orders
A major problem in the existing system is that obtaining a legal order and actually obtaining possession can sometimes become two different processes.
Sanvidhan Loktantra Party proposes that once a final and enforceable possession order has been passed and the statutory period for compliance has expired:
- the enforcement authority should execute the order within a prescribed period;
- police assistance should be available for lawful execution where necessary;
- the owner should not be required to repeatedly approach different authorities for implementation.
Important safeguard:
Police action would be for execution of a lawful final possession/enforcement order, not for arbitrary eviction by the owner.
This protects both parties.
10. Protection Against Illegal Eviction
The owner cannot:
- forcibly remove the tenant;
- disconnect essential services to compel eviction;
- seize the tenant’s belongings;
- use threats or physical force;
- bypass the prescribed legal process.
Similarly, a tenant cannot:
- refuse possession indefinitely after a lawful final order;
- claim ownership merely because of long occupation;
- create false tenancy documents;
- transfer possession unlawfully to another person.
Equal principle:
No owner above the law. No tenant above the law.
11. No Ownership Claim Merely Because of Long Occupation
The proposed residential tenancy framework should make the position clear:
Rent is rent. Ownership is ownership.
Payment of rent for:
- 1 year;
- 10 years;
- 25 years;
- 50 years;
shall not, by itself, convert the tenant into the owner.
Ownership will change only through a legally recognised transfer or succession.
This will give property owners confidence to make vacant residential properties available for long-term rental.
12. No Tax, TDS or GST on Ordinary Residential Rent
Sanvidhan Loktantra Party proposes a special tax treatment for ordinary residential house rent.
For genuine residential use:
- No GST on residential rent.
- No TDS on residential rent.
- No income tax on residential rental income, irrespective of the amount of residential rent received, subject to safeguards against artificial transactions and misuse.
The purpose is to treat residential housing differently from commercial income.
Why?
Because:
A residential house is primarily a means of providing shelter, not merely a commercial commodity.
13. Companies, Groups and Trusts Can Also Provide Rental Housing
The party proposes that companies, groups, trusts and other eligible organisations should be encouraged to construct residential properties specifically for rental housing.
Where such properties are genuinely used for residential rental purposes, the proposed special residential-rental tax treatment should apply:
- No GST on qualifying residential rent;
- No TDS on qualifying residential rent;
- No income tax on qualifying residential rental income.
Appropriate anti-abuse rules should prevent commercial or fictitious arrangements from being presented as residential housing.
14. Encourage Construction of Rental Housing
India does not need only more houses for sale.
India also needs more houses available for rent.
Therefore, the government should encourage:
- Rental housing projects;
- Affordable rental housing;
- Long-term residential rental projects;
- Housing for workers;
- Housing for students;
- Housing for senior citizens;
- Housing for migrant workers and families;
- Rental housing near employment centres.
The objective is to increase the actual supply of homes available to ordinary citizens.
15. Rent-to-Buy Option
The existing housing-purchase schemes and benefits for eligible citizens should continue.
In addition, the party can introduce an optional:
Rent-to-Buy Model
Where the owner voluntarily agrees, part of the rent may be contractually treated as an advance towards future purchase.
The terms must be recorded in the agreement.
This would allow a tenant who ultimately wants to purchase the house to gradually move from:
Tenant → Prospective Buyer → Owner
without forcing every tenant into a purchase.
16. Housing Security Account
A tenant who regularly pays rent should build a verified Housing Credit Record.
The record may demonstrate:
- Regular rent payment;
- Length of tenancy;
- Rental affordability;
- Payment discipline;
- Previous tenancy history.
Subject to banking and privacy laws, this record may help the citizen obtain future housing finance.
Principle:
A person who has successfully paid rent for years has demonstrated housing-payment capacity.
Regular rent payment should not be treated as financially meaningless.
17. Redevelopment Protection
Redevelopment of residential buildings should require a transparent digital agreement.
The redevelopment record should clearly identify:
- Existing owner/member;
- Developer;
- Society/association;
- Carpet area promised;
- Additional area;
- Temporary accommodation/rent;
- Deposit;
- Completion deadline;
- Possession date;
- Default consequences;
- Escrow arrangements.
Redevelopment money and member compensation should be protected through an appropriate escrow mechanism.
A developer should not be able to indefinitely delay possession while the family continues paying rent and/or home-loan EMI.
18. Builder Delay Protection
Where a purchaser has paid substantial consideration for a residential property and the builder fails to deliver possession within the legally agreed period:
the purchaser should receive statutory compensation according to a transparent formula.
The objective is to prevent the situation where:
Buyer pays EMI + pays rent + waits for years + receives no house.
The responsibility for delay should not be transferred entirely to the ordinary purchaser.
19. Home Loan and Rental Protection
Where a citizen purchases a house and the property is not delivered on time, the law should provide a mechanism for determining the financial consequences of:
- Home-loan interest;
- Rent paid during the delay;
- Compensation;
- Contractual damages;
- Other legally recognised losses.
This should be governed by transparent statutory rules rather than requiring every purchaser to negotiate individually with a powerful developer.
20. Housing as a Basic Need
Sanvidhan Loktantra Party’s fundamental housing philosophy is:
“If a citizen cannot afford to buy a house today, that citizen should still have a secure way to live in a house.”
Therefore, public policy should support both:
OWNERSHIP
People who want to purchase should have access to appropriate housing finance and existing government housing benefits.
RENTAL HOUSING
People who cannot purchase should have access to safe, affordable and legally secure rental housing.
Neither model should be treated as inferior.
21. The Balanced Housing Formula
The party’s proposed system can therefore be summarised as:
FOR THE OWNER
Ownership protected + Rent received + Long-term agreement possible + Clear possession procedure
FOR THE TENANT
Long-term tenancy possible + No arbitrary eviction + Rental record + Reasonable relocation protection
FOR THE FAMILY
Secure residence + Affordable rent + Housing finance opportunity
FOR THE COUNTRY
More rental housing + More construction + Better utilisation of vacant properties + Greater housing supply
22. The Core Reform
The Sanvidhan Loktantra Party proposes to replace the present atmosphere of uncertainty with a clear legal bargain:
“The tenant will never become the owner merely because of long occupation; and the owner will never be allowed to remove a genuine tenant arbitrarily.”
Both parties should know their rights before they sign the agreement.
Both parties should have a predictable legal remedy when the agreement is broken.
And neither party should have to live in fear of the other.