How to rent out your flat in India, step by step

The steps at a glance

1. Get the flat ready

Fix leaking taps, broken switches and anything else a visitor will notice, then deep-clean and paint if the walls need it. Take photos of every room in daylight; you need them for the listing and as a record of the condition before the tenant moves in. Decide what stays: an unfurnished, semi-furnished or fully furnished flat suits different tenants.

Keep a list of the fittings and furniture you leave. It becomes the move-in checklist you both sign later.

2. Set the rent and deposit

Look up what similar flats in your building and area are listed for on NoBroker, MagicBricks, 99acres and Housing.com, and ask the society's security or a local agent what flats actually let for. The rental yield calculator shows what that rent earns on the flat's value after maintenance and property tax.

Deposit customs differ by city: in Bengaluru, six to ten months' rent is the customary deposit for flats. Read security deposit rules in Bangalore before you fix the amount, and plan yearly increases with the rent increase calculator.

3. Find tenants

• Put up a board on the gate or balcony, if the society allows it. The To-Let board maker prints one on A4 with a local-language line, the rent and your number.
• List the flat on rental sites and in local Facebook groups, with the photos, rent, deposit and the date it is free.
• Post it in your society, office and neighbourhood WhatsApp groups. Neighbours' referrals are often the best tenants.
• Decide whether to use a broker. A broker saves time but usually charges a fee; agree it in writing first.

4. Screen applicants

Ask a few questions on the phone before anyone visits: when they want to move in, who will live there and whether the rent works for them. At the visit, go through the same list with everyone and call a previous landlord before you decide. The tenant screening checklist has the questions and prints a form.

5. Collect the tenant's KYC

Once you choose a tenant, take their details and self-attested copies of a photo ID, address proof, work or college ID and photos, plus an ID for every adult who will live there. The tenant KYC form prints the form and a documents checklist. Take the deposit and first rent by UPI or bank transfer, so both payments are on record.

6. Sign the rent agreement

1. 1

   Write the agreement

   Most homes are let on an 11-month leave and licence agreement. Our rent agreement format explains each clause, and the rent agreement generator fills it in for you.

2. 2

   Pay the stamp duty

   Stamp duty depends on your state and the rent. Use the stamp duty calculator, with state pages for Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

3. 3

   Sign, and register where required

   Both sign every page, with two witnesses. A lease of more than a year must be registered at the sub-registrar's office; the rent agreement format explains why most owners sign for 11 months instead.

7. Register the tenant for police verification

Give the police the tenant's identity and address, online on the state or city police portal in most states we cover, or on a paper form at the station in others. The tenant police verification guide has the steps for each state. Keep the acknowledgement with the KYC form.

8. Hand over the keys

Walk through the flat together with the move-in checklist, note meter readings and count the keys, and both sign it. If the tenant moves in mid-month, the prorated rent calculator works out the first month's rent. Agree how they will raise repairs, and share the society's rules.

9. Collect rent every month

Agree a due date and take rent by UPI to your own account. Send a reminder a few days before it is due (our rent reminder messages are ready to copy) and a rent receipt after every payment; a salaried tenant needs receipts to claim HRA. If rent stops coming, read what to do when a tenant is not paying rent.

Rent is taxable income. The rental income tax calculator works out the tax, and if your tenant pays more than ₹50,000 a month, read about TDS on rent. When the tenancy ends, the rent notice letter and security deposit refund guide cover the move-out.

Frequently asked questions