Has your landlord quoted the new J&K tenancy law at you? The Jammu and Kashmir Tenancy Act, 2025 does cap a residential security deposit at two months rent. But as of 30 August 2026 no notification bringing it into force could be traced, so that cap is not yet a rule you can hold anyone to.
The Act is real and it is printed. It was passed by the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, “received the assent of the Lieutenant Governor on 1st November, 2025”, and was published in the J&K Official Gazette the same day as Act No. IV of 2025. What it does not yet have is a start date. Section 1(3) says the Act “shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act.”
Read that clause twice, because two things follow from it. The Act starts only when a notification says so. And it can start in pieces, because different dates may be appointed for different provisions. So the honest answer to the question is it in force is not a yes or a no. It is: check the Gazette, and check which sections the notification covers.
| Issue | What the 2025 Act will do | Position until a commencement notification issues |
|---|---|---|
| Security deposit | Section 11(1): cannot exceed two months rent for residential premises, six months for non-residential | The Act's own cap has no start date yet, so there is no cap under this Act to enforce |
| Written agreement | Section 4(1): no letting “after the commencement of this Act” except by an agreement in writing, filed with the Rent Authority | The duty is keyed to commencement, so on the Act's wording it does not bite before that date |
| Who decides rent disputes | Rent Authority under section 30, Rent Court under section 33, Rent Tribunal under section 34 | Each has to be appointed under this Act; no appointment has been traced |
| Eviction | Rent Court, on the grounds listed in section 21(2) | The Rent Court is a creature of this Act, so it comes with the Act |
| Civil court jurisdiction | Section 40(1) bars civil courts on matters covered by this Act | The bar is a provision of this Act, so it starts when the Act starts |
| The 2012 Act | Section 47(1) repeals the Jammu and Kashmir Residential and Commercial Tenancy Act, 2012 | The repeal is expressed as taking effect at “the commencement of this Act”, so on that wording the 2012 Act continues until then |
That last row is the one most J&K readers actually need. We are reasoning from the repeal clause's own words, not from a news report. Section 47(1) repeals the 2012 Act “which is in force immediately before the commencement of this Act”. A repeal pegged to commencement cannot operate before commencement. So until the notification issues, the older Act is the one on the field.
This is the highest-value line in the whole Act for an ordinary tenant, so here it is in full. Section 11(1) says the security deposit agreed between the parties shall:
Section 11(2) then fixes the refund moment: “The security deposit shall be refunded to the tenant on the date of taking over vacant possession of the premises from the tenant, after making due deduction of any liability of the tenant.”
Notice what that does. It is not a 30-day window, and it is not tied to the landlord finishing an inspection. It is the day you hand over vacant possession. Deductions are allowed, but only for “any liability of the tenant”, so a landlord who keeps money has to be able to point at a liability. If you are fighting a deposit today, under the law as it presently stands, our guide on getting a security deposit back walks through the notice and the recovery route.
An illustration, not a reported case. Take a tenant in Jammu paying ₹10,000 a month for a flat. Once section 11 is in force, the deposit written into the agreement could not exceed ₹20,000, because the cap is two months rent. If the same person rents a shop at ₹10,000 a month, the ceiling is ₹60,000, because non-residential premises get six months. Today, with no commencement notification traced, those are the figures that would apply, not the figures that do apply.
Section 4(1) is blunt: “no person shall, after the commencement of this Act, let or take on rent any premises except by an agreement in writing, which shall be informed to the Rent Authority by the landlord and tenant jointly, in the form specified in the First Schedule within a period of two months from the date of tenancy agreement.”
If they do not do it jointly, section 4(2) gives each side a second chance: landlord and tenant “shall separately inform the execution of tenancy agreement to the Rent Authority within a period of one month from the date of expiry of the period specified in sub-section (1)”.
Then comes the sting. Section 4(6) says the information filed “shall be conclusive proof of the facts relating to tenancy”, and “in the absence of any statement of information, the landlord and the tenant shall not be entitled to any relief under the provisions of this Act”. Skip the filing and you lock yourself out of the Act's own remedies. Both sides, not just the tenant.
The First Schedule form is not light. It asks for the rent, the duration, other charges for electricity and water, and the PAN and Aadhaar of the landlord, the tenant and the property manager, with photographs of landlord and tenant and a copy of the tenancy agreement enclosed.
On the administration side, section 4(4)(b) requires the Rent Authority to upload the tenancy details on its website “within seven working days from the date of receipt of such information”, and section 4(3) requires it to put a digital platform in place “within three months from the date of its appointment”. Read that trigger carefully: three months from the Rent Authority's appointment, not three months from the Act's commencement. Neither event has been traced, so nobody can honestly tell you when the portal goes live.
This is the part people get wrong, because all three are different offices.
So the Rent Authority and the Rent Court are revenue officers, and only the Rent Tribunal at the top is a judge. Section 31 gives the Rent Authority the powers of a Rent Court for proceedings under sections 4, 9, 10, 14, 15, 19 and 20, which is the rent, repairs and essential-services side of the law. Eviction goes to the Rent Court.
J&K wrote its own statute here. It is not an adoption of the central template, though the shape will look familiar if you have read our page on the Model Tenancy Act 2021 and its Rent Authority, Rent Court and Rent Tribunal. The central model is a suggestion to states; the J&K Act is a law of the Union territory legislature with its own section numbers, and you should cite the J&K sections, not the model ones.
Two notifications to watch, not one. First, the section 1(3) commencement notification, which may bring in only some provisions. Second, the section 34 notification appointing District Judges or Additional District Judges as Rent Tribunals. A commencement notification without Rent Tribunals in place still leaves you short of an appeal forum.
Section 2(d) tells you exactly where a valid notification lives. It defines “Notification” as “a notification published in the Official Gazette of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir”. So a press release, a news headline or a WhatsApp forward is not the thing you are looking for. The Gazette entry is.
Three places to look, in order:
If you cannot find it, ask. An RTI is the cheapest way to get a dated, signed answer instead of a rumour, and the department has to answer in 30 days. Our page on filing an RTI in Jammu and Kashmir covers the fee mode and the addressing, and the RTI Act page covers what the department may and may not refuse.
Section 8 keeps rent contractual: “The rent payable in respect of premises shall be the rent agreed to between the landlord and the tenant in accordance with the terms of the tenancy agreement.” There is no rent ceiling in this Act.
Revision follows the same logic. Section 9(1) says revision “shall be in accordance with the terms of the tenancy agreement”. Section 9(2) is the one exception a landlord will use: where the landlord has a prior written agreement with the tenant and spends money on “improvement, addition or structural alteration”, the rent may go up by an agreed amount, and that increase “shall become effective from one month after the completion of such work”. If the two of you cannot agree, section 10 lets either side ask the Rent Authority to “determine the revised rent and other charges payable by the tenant and also fix the date from which such revised rent becomes payable”.
Section 14 handles the landlord who will not take the rent, which is a classic setup for a later arrears claim. The tenant pays “by postal money order or any other method, in such manner as may be prescribed, consecutively for two months”, and if the landlord still refuses, the tenant may deposit the rent with the Rent Authority. Section 14(4) protects the tenant: withdrawal of that money by the landlord does not by itself operate as an admission against him on other claims.
Section 20(1) is a flat prohibition: “No landlord or property manager shall, either by himself or through any other person, withhold any essential supply or service in the premises occupied by the tenant.” The Explanation to section 20 defines essential services to include “supply of water, electricity, piped cooking gas supply, lights in passages, lifts and on staircase, conservancy, parking, communication links and sanitary services”.
The remedy has teeth and a clock:
On repairs, section 15(1) splits the duty by the Second Schedule. Structural repairs, whitewashing and painting, changing plumbing pipes, and internal and external electrical wiring sit with the landlord. Tap washers, drain cleaning, geyser and switch repairs, door and cupboard knobs, fly-nets and window glass sit with the tenant. If the landlord refuses, the tenant may do the repairs and deduct the cost from the rent, but “in no case the deduction from rent in any one month shall exceed fifty per cent of the agreed rent for a month” (section 15(4)). If the place is uninhabitable and the landlord still refuses, the tenant “may abandon the premises after giving the landlord fifteen days notice in writing” (section 15(5)).
Entry is not free either. Section 17(1) requires notice “in writing or through electronic mode, to the tenant at least twenty four hours before the time of entry”, and section 17(2) adds that “no person shall enter the premises before sun rise and after sun set”. Emergencies like fire, flood or earthquake are carved out.
Section 21(1) starts from protection: a tenant “shall not be evicted during the continuance of tenancy agreement” except under section 21(2) or section 22. The section 21(2) grounds a Rent Court can act on include refusal to pay the rent payable under section 8; arrears for two consecutive months; parting with possession without the landlord's written consent; continued misuse after notice; repair, rebuilding or demolition that cannot be done with the tenant inside; a change of land use cleared by the competent authority; the tenant's own written notice to vacate on which the landlord has acted; and any structural change or permanent structure put up without written consent.
Two details matter more than the list.
First, the arrears ground is tied to a demand notice served “in the manner provided in sub-section (4) of section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882”. That is the same service rule we unpack in the guide to a notice to quit under section 106, and a badly served notice is where landlords lose.
Second, there is a cure window. Section 21(3): no eviction order for arrears “if the tenant makes payment to the landlord or deposits with the Rent Court the arrears of rent and other charges payable, if any, including interest within one month from the date of service of the said demand notice”. Section 21(4) then limits that mercy: default again for two consecutive months in the same year and the relief is not available a second time.
Overstaying is expensive. Section 23 says a tenant who does not vacate at the end of the tenancy is liable to pay “twice the monthly rent for the first two months” and “four times the monthly rent thereafter till the tenant continues to occupy the said premises”. Against that, section 24 requires a landlord recovering possession to refund advance rent before recovery, with simple interest at a prescribed rate if he fails.
Section 40(2) draws a line landlords sometimes miss: the Rent Court's jurisdiction “shall not extend to the question of title or ownership of premises”. Ownership fights go elsewhere, which is why the estoppel rule in our page on whether a tenant can challenge the landlord's ownership still matters. For how a rent-control eviction petition is actually run today, see our guide to an eviction petition by a landlord, and if you hold a registered lease, read why a registered lease cannot be cancelled by the landlord alone.
| Step | Section | Time limit |
|---|---|---|
| Inform the Rent Authority of a tenancy jointly | 4(1) | Two months from the date of the tenancy agreement |
| Inform separately if the joint filing failed | 4(2) | One month from expiry of the above period |
| Rent Authority uploads tenancy details | 4(4)(b) | Seven working days from receipt |
| Essential-services inquiry | 20(3) | One month from filing |
| Appeal from Rent Authority to Rent Court | 32(2) | Thirty days from the date of the order |
| Rent Court or Tribunal to decide | 35(2) | Sixty days from receipt, with written reasons if it slips |
| Eviction under 21(2) clauses a, b, e, f, g or section 22 | 35(7) | Ninety days from filing |
| Eviction under 21(2) clauses c and d | 35(8) | Thirty days from filing |
| Appeal from Rent Court to Rent Tribunal | 37(1) | Thirty days from the date of the order |
| Rent Tribunal to dispose of the appeal | 37(2) | Sixty days from service of notice |
| Execution of an order | 38(3) | Thirty days from service of notice on the opposite party |
Section 35(2) is worth quoting because of the escape hatch built into it. The Rent Court or Rent Tribunal “shall endeavor to dispose the case as expeditiously as possible, not exceeding a period of sixty days from the date of receipt of the application or appeal”, and where it cannot, it “shall record its reasons in writing”. So sixty days is a target with a reasons requirement, not a hard bar. Section 35(6) helps: no more than three adjournments per party, with reasons and costs.
Court fees are not waived. Section 41 applies the Court Fees Act, 1870 to applications and appeals before the Rent Authority, Rent Court and Rent Tribunal.
Section 3(1) keeps whole categories out. Nothing in the Act applies to premises owned or promoted by the Central Government, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, a local authority, a Government undertaking or enterprise, a statutory body or a Cantonment Board; premises owned by a company, University or organization given to its employees as part of a service contract; premises of religious or charitable institutions as specified by notification; premises owned by Auqaf registered under the Waqf Act, 1995 or by a registered public trust; and any other building exempted in public interest by notification.
The definition of “Premises” in section 2(e) narrows it further. It covers buildings let for residence, commercial or educational use, “except for industrial use”, and expressly excludes “hotel, lodging house, dharamshala or inn”.
There is an opt-in. Section 3(2) lets the owner and tenant of an otherwise excluded property agree to be governed by the Act, and the landlord then informs the Rent Authority at the time of filing under section 4.
One more provision that saves families a lot of grief: section 6 says the terms of the agreement “shall be binding upon their successors in the event of the death of the landlord or tenant”, and the successors “shall have the same rights and obligations as agreed to in the tenancy agreement for the remaining period of such tenancy”. A death does not end the tenancy, it passes it on for the balance of the term. Section 22 is the counterweight, letting legal heirs of a deceased landlord apply to the Rent Court on a bonafide requirement.
It has assent and it is published as Act No. IV of 2025, but it needs a separate start date. Section 1(3) says it “shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint”. As of 30 August 2026 no such commencement notification could be traced. Do not take that as a permanent finding. Check the J&K Official Gazette before you rely on any section of this Act, and check whether the notification covers the section you care about, because section 1(3) allows different dates for different provisions.
Under section 11(1) of the 2025 Act, once it is in force, the deposit written into the agreement cannot exceed two months rent for residential premises or six months rent for non-residential premises. Until the commencement notification issues, that cap is not available to you under this Act, and your deposit is governed by your agreement and by the law in force at the time.
Section 47(1) repeals the Jammu and Kashmir Residential and Commercial Tenancy Act, 2012, but it describes that Act as the one “which is in force immediately before the commencement of this Act”. A repeal tied to commencement cannot bite before commencement, so on the repeal clause's own wording the 2012 Act continues to govern until the 2025 Act starts. Section 47(2) adds that cases pending under the 2012 Act at commencement carry on under the 2012 Act “as if that Act had continued to be in force and this Act had not been enacted”.
Section 30 says the District Collector or District Magistrate, with the previous approval of the Government, appoints an officer not below the rank of Deputy Collector as the Rent Authority for his jurisdiction. It is a revenue officer, not a judge. The Rent Court under section 33 is an Additional Collector, Additional District Magistrate or officer of equivalent rank. Only the Rent Tribunal under section 34 is a District Judge or Additional District Judge. No such appointment has been traced, and you should not assume any office is accepting applications until you have confirmed it.
Look in the Jammu and Kashmir Official Gazette for an entry that cites section 1(3) of the Jammu and Kashmir Tenancy Act, 2025, because section 2(d) defines a notification as one published in that Gazette. If you cannot find it, file an RTI with the Housing and Urban Development Department asking whether a notification under section 1(3) has been published, and if so its number and date, and whether Rent Authorities under section 30 have been appointed. Ask for a copy of the notification, not a summary of it.
If you are in J&K and something turns on this Act, do not wait for a news report. Put the question in writing to the department and make the 30-day RTI clock do the work.
Ask three things in one application, in these words: whether any notification under section 1(3) of the Jammu and Kashmir Tenancy Act, 2025 has been published in the Official Gazette, with its number and date and a copy; if it has, which provisions it brought into force and from which date, since section 1(3) permits different dates for different provisions; and whether any officer has been appointed as Rent Authority under section 30 and any Rent Tribunal notified under section 34, district by district. Ask for copies of the notifications, not a narrative reply.
Draft it in a few minutes with the AI RTI Drafter, and log the filing date in the Timeline Tracker so you know the exact day the 30 days run out. If the reply comes back vague, or tells you to look at the website instead, that is a refusal to give the record to give the notification, and you escalate the same week with the First Appeal Builder rather than filing a fresh application. A commencement date is either notified or it is not, and the department holds the file either way.
For the full method of framing an RTI so the answer cannot be dodged, The RTI Playbook takes it from first application to second appeal.
Sourcing note. Every section quoted on this page comes from the text of the Jammu and Kashmir Tenancy Act, 2025, Act No. IV of 2025, as published in the Jammu and Kashmir Official Gazette of 1st November, 2025 by the Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. The statement that no commencement notification could be traced is a statement about a search made on 30 August 2026, not a claim that none will ever exist. Verify the Gazette before acting.