No More Cash Rent: New 2025 Rules Aim for Transparency; How Does It Help Tenants?

India's new Rental Agreement Act 2025 will digitize the rental market to enhance transparency and tenant security. Landlords must accept rent online, linking payments to their PAN, which provides tenants with digital proof for tax claims like HRA.

India's rental market is about to get a major makeover in 2025. The new Rental Agreement Act 2025 brings wide-ranging reforms designed to make renting safer, more transparent, and fully digital, especially for students and professionals moving to metro cities.

Digitisation Brings Clarity and Convenience

For years, renting in India has been largely informal and cash-based. This often caused headaches for tenants, from proving rent payments for tax purposes to getting proper receipts or negotiating security deposits.

The new Act aims to simplify all of this by digitising rental agreements, centralising records, and reducing disputes and making tax compliance smoother.

Landlords Must Accept Rent Online

One of the biggest changes is that landlords will now be required to accept rent digitally.

Previously, many landlords preferred cash to avoid income tax scrutiny, leaving tenants without official rent receipts for filing Income Tax Returns (ITR) or claiming House Rent Allowance (HRA).

Under the 2025 rules:

• Rent payments must be made online.
• Payments will be linked to the landlord's PAN.
• Every digital transaction serves as proof of payment.

For tenants, this means hassle-free documentation and greater transparency. For the government, it ensures rental income is properly reported.

Rent Hike Rules Become Fairer

Sudden and arbitrary rent hikes have been a constant worry, especially in high-demand cities. The 2025 rules aim to make rent increases more predictable:

• Rent can only be raised after 12 months.
• Landlords must provide a 90-day written notice before any increase.
• Any sudden, steep hike can now be legally challenged.

These changes give renters more financial stability and create a fairer, structured rental environment for everyone.