Rent Agreement Stamp Duty in Uttarakhand

For a typical residential agreement up to 11 months, Uttarakhand charges 2% of whole-term rent (min ₹100, max ₹10,000 for residential ≤5 yrs). Per the official Stamp & Registration Department schedule (March 2025 PDF): leases up to 1 year pay 2% on the total rent for the term. A proviso caps duty on residential building/flat leases up to 5 years at 2% of whole-term rent, minimum ₹100 and maximum ₹10,000. Portals claiming '1% or ₹500' conflict with the official schedule.

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.

Not mandatory up to 11 months; mandatory for leases exceeding 1 year.

E-stamping and online agreement platforms available; official rates published by the Stamp & Registration Department.

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.