Rent Agreement Stamp Duty in Karnataka

For a typical residential agreement up to 11 months, Karnataka charges 0.5% of (annual rent + deposit), capped at ₹500. Residential agreements up to 1 year pay 0.5% of annual rent plus deposit, capped at ₹500 — which is why most Bengaluru 11-month agreements sit on ₹100-500 e-stamp (₹200 is the common safe value).

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.

Mandatory for agreements exceeding 11 months, via the Sub-Registrar / Kaveri 2.0 portal. Optional below that.

E-stamping via SHCIL-authorised centres and banks (physical stamp paper abolished since 2002); Kaveri 2.0 for registration; many online platforms operate in Karnataka.

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.