How to read a rental agreement before you sign it

Most rental agreements in Gujarat are eleven months long, printed from the same template, and signed without being read. The template is mostly fine. The four numbers written into it by hand are where a tenant loses money, and they take five minutes to check.

The four numbers

• The deposit. Two to three months' rent is usual in Surat; six is not, whatever a broker says about the area. Make sure the agreement says when it is returned — "within 15 days of vacating, after deductions for damage beyond normal wear" is the wording to ask for — and that deductions must be itemised.
• The lock-in. The months during which neither side can end the lease. Six is common, eleven is the whole term. A lock-in that binds you but lets the owner end the lease "on 30 days' notice" is one-sided; strike the second half.
• The notice period. One month either way after the lock-in. If the agreement is silent, it is one month by convention, but silence is what disputes are made of.
• The increase. On renewal, ten per cent is usual. An agreement that says "as mutually agreed" means a negotiation next August; a number means you can budget.

The clauses to read twice

Maintenance. Society maintenance is normally the owner's; "day-to-day" repairs — a tap, a fuse — are normally yours. Write down which is which and the cap on what you pay before the owner does.

Use. "Residential use only" is standard. If you work from home, that is residential use; if you plan to run a class from the flat, it is not, and it is better to have it in the agreement than in a dispute.

Visitors and pets. A society's rules are not the agreement's, but an agreement that bans pets outright is enforceable. Ask before you sign, not after you adopt.

Painting on exit. A clause that makes the tenant pay for repainting on leaving is common and is negotiable. One month's rent is the usual figure; ask for it to be waived after two years.

Registration

An agreement of more than eleven months must be registered; an eleven-month one is normally notarised instead, which is cheaper. In Gujarat a registered agreement is also the document the police verification needs, and some societies ask for it before handing over the keys. Keep a signed copy with every page initialled, and photograph the flat — every wall, every fitting — on the day you move in. It is the only evidence you will have at the deposit conversation.