Rent Agreement Stamp Duty in Chandigarh

For a typical residential agreement up to 11 months, Chandigarh charges 2% of average annual rent + 3% on deposit. Two independent 2025 sources agree: leases up to 5 years pay 2% of average annual rent plus 3% of the security/advance deposit (~₹3,600 + deposit component on ₹15,000/month). Unregistered 11-month agreements on nominal stamp paper are widely accepted in practice.

Under Section 17 of the Registration Act, a lease of immovable property for 12 months or longer MUST be registered with the sub-registrar — which costs time, registration fees, and higher stamp duty. An 11-month agreement stays below that threshold, so it can be executed on stamp paper without mandatory registration. That's the whole reason 11 months became India's default tenancy term.

Optional under 12 months (notarisation accepted); mandatory for 12 months+ at the Sub-Registrar.

E-stamping available via SHCIL and authorised banks; online drafting services are common. Rent control still runs under the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act 1949.

An unstamped or under-stamped agreement is not admissible as evidence in court until the deficit duty plus a penalty (up to 10× the deficit in most states) is paid. Police verification, HRA claims, address proof, and eviction proceedings can all stumble on an unstamped agreement — the duty is small, so pay it upfront.

The law doesn't fix this; it's whatever the agreement says. In practice the tenant usually bears the stamp duty and registration costs in most Indian cities, though splitting 50:50 is common in some markets. Put the split in writing in the agreement itself.