Rent Agreement Stamp Duty in Uttar Pradesh

For a typical residential agreement up to 11 months, Uttar Pradesh charges Flat ₹500-2,500 by rent band (Nov 2025 concession; was 4% of annual rent). UP's 19 Nov 2025 concessional notification sets flat duty for up-to-1-year agreements: ₹500 (annual rent to ₹2 lakh), ₹1,500 (₹2-6 lakh), ₹2,500 (₹6-10 lakh) — replacing the statutory 4% of annual rent. The notification's stated validity is six months (to ~May 2026); whether it is extended beyond that is unconfirmed — check the IGRS UP portal.

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 lease deeds of 12 months or more; under-11-month agreements are commonly executed on e-stamp without registration. The 2025 concession explicitly aims to bring 11-month agreements into registration.

E-stamp via SHCIL / IGRS UP (igrsup.gov.in); registration needs a sub-registrar visit; platforms serve UP with e-stamp + eSign.

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.