Rent agreement format for Bangalore: a section-by-section sample for 2026

A ready-to-adapt rent agreement format for Bangalore: every section in order, short sample wording for each, the documents to attach, the Karnataka stamp duty on an 11-month agreement, and when registration becomes compulsory.

Plenty of Bangalore rent agreements are copied from whatever file the landlord used last time, with a new name typed over the old one. That is how a two-bedroom flat in HSR Layout ends up with a clause about "the said shop premises", or a deposit line that never says when the money comes back. A fixed format solves most of this: every section sits in the same order, nothing gets skipped, and at month ten both sides can find the clause in seconds.

This guide gives you that order for a residential agreement in Bangalore, with short sample wording for each section, the documents to attach, the stamp duty an 11-month agreement attracts in Karnataka, and the point at which registration on Kaveri 2.0 becomes compulsory. If you want each clause explained in plain English, read our companion guide on what your rent agreement should say. This one is the fill-in format.

What is the right rent agreement format in Bangalore?

Karnataka does not prescribe a format for a private rent agreement. A written agreement that names both sides, describes the flat, states the rent and the term, carries the correct stamp duty and is signed by both is a valid starting point. The order below is a common one, and it works for a simple reason: the money clauses come before the living clauses, and the exit clauses come last, just before the signatures.

Two habits make any format better. Number every clause, so a WhatsApp message can say "clause 5" instead of "the deposit part". And write every amount in figures and in words, the old Indian drafting habit that stops a Rs 25,000 rent turning into Rs 2,50,000 through one extra zero.

Sample wording, part 1: parties, property and term

Each block below is sample text. Change the names, numbers and dates, delete what does not apply to your flat, and have a lawyer read the final version before anyone signs.

If the person signing is not the owner, for example a son handling his parents' flat or someone holding a power of attorney, add a line saying in what capacity they sign and attach the authority letter or power of attorney.

Write the end date, not only "11 months". An agreement that starts on 1 March ends on 31 January, and putting both dates on paper stops the usual argument about whether the last month is owed. If you are still comparing flats for rent in Bangalore, ask each landlord for their draft early and check it against this order. For why 11 months is the default term, see why rent agreements in India are 11 months long.

Sample wording, part 2: rent, deposit, maintenance and escalation

Insist on bank transfer or UPI. A clean payment trail helps with HRA claims, and it is your proof of payment if a dispute ever reaches the Rent Controller or a civil court.

Karnataka has no legal cap on the deposit. The two-month limit you may have read about is a Model Tenancy Act 2021 rule, Karnataka has not adopted that Act, and the Karnataka Rent (Amendment) Act, 2025 changed penalties, not deposits (our guide on whether Karnataka has a 2-month deposit cap has the detail). So the amount and the refund date are whatever you negotiate, and a fixed number of days is far easier to hold someone to than "refunded at the time of vacating". Our Bangalore deposit guide covers how to bring the amount down.

A fixed percentage here avoids a surprise demand in month ten. Our guide to hidden charges in Indian rent agreements lists other money lines worth settling in this part of the format, before they turn up as a deduction from your deposit.

Sample wording, part 3: lock-in, notice and termination

The "whichever is earlier" line in the lock-in sample is worth asking for, because it limits your loss if the landlord finds a new tenant quickly. Our guides to the lock-in period and notice period rules in Bangalore explain how they work together.

Sample wording, part 4: living in the flat, the annexure and signatures

The annexure is where many deposit disputes are won or lost. Dated photos of each wall, the floor and every appliance, sent to the landlord on WhatsApp on the day you move in, give both sides the same record. If the deductions argument still comes, our guide to damage versus normal wear and tear helps.

Rent agreement document list: what to attach

Before signing, collect copies of the following and keep them with the signed agreement:

• ID proof of the landlord and the tenant: Aadhaar, PAN, passport or driving licence. A masked Aadhaar, downloadable from UIDAI, hides all but the last four digits.
• Proof the landlord can rent the flat out: the latest property tax receipt, the khata, or a copy of the sale deed or allotment letter.
• An authority letter or power of attorney if someone other than the owner signs.
• The tenant's permanent address proof, and employer details if the landlord asks.
• The e-stamp certificate, as the first page of the agreement.
• Annexure A with the dated photographs.
• Passport-size photos of both parties and ID copies of the two witnesses, if the agreement is going for registration.

For the wider set of papers landlords ask renters for before the agreement stage, see our documents needed to rent a flat checklist.

Stamp duty on an 11-month rent agreement in Karnataka

Under Article 30 of the Schedule to the Karnataka Stamp Act, 1957, a lease of residential property for a term of up to one year is charged 50 paise for every Rs 100 (0.5%) of the amount the duty is worked out on: the rent for the term plus any premium, fine or money advanced. The duty is capped at Rs 500. In practice that ceiling decides it for most Bangalore flats. 0.5% reaches Rs 500 once the base crosses Rs 1,00,000, and an 11-month agreement crosses that on rent alone at anything above about Rs 9,100 a month.

These examples count rent only. Whether a refundable security deposit belongs in the base has been argued in the Karnataka High Court, and calculators differ. For a typical 11-month flat agreement it rarely changes the answer, because the Rs 500 ceiling applies either way. Leases longer than a year fall under different, higher slabs of Article 30.

Many ready-made agreements go out on a Rs 100 or Rs 200 e-stamp. If the correct duty is Rs 500, that document is under-stamped. Section 34 of the same Act says an instrument that is not duly stamped cannot be admitted in evidence or acted upon until the shortfall is paid along with a penalty, which can be ten times the shortfall. Paying the right duty at the start is the cheaper route. Rates are set by the state and can change, so check the figure with the stamp duty calculator on Kaveri Online Services before you buy the e-stamp.

Once the draft is ready, finishing the agreement takes six steps:

1. Agree the numbers in writing first: rent, deposit, refund days, lock-in and notice. The draft then becomes copy work.
2. Fill the format, share the draft with both sides, and have a lawyer read it if the amounts are large.
3. Buy the e-stamp for the correct duty online or at an authorised e-stamp centre.
4. Print the agreement with the e-stamp certificate as its first page.
5. Both parties sign every page, and two witnesses sign the last page with their names and addresses.
6. Each side keeps a signed original, and the photos for Annexure A go to both phones the same day.

Rent agreement duration: 11 months, or longer and registered?

Section 17(1)(d) of the Registration Act, 1908 makes registration compulsory for leases of immovable property from year to year, for any term exceeding one year, or reserving a yearly rent. An 11-month agreement falls outside that, which is the main reason the 11-month term is so common in Bangalore. You can still register a shorter agreement voluntarily if you want a stronger record, for example when the deposit is large.

A longer lease suits families who plan to stay three or four years, and it protects the tenant from a rent reset every eleven months. The trade-off is paperwork: in Karnataka a registered lease goes through Kaveri 2.0, where you apply online, upload documents, pay the duty and fee, and then both sides and the witnesses appear at the Sub-Registrar's office for a booked slot. Our Kaveri 2.0 registration guide walks through each step.

Two myths keep coming back. The Karnataka Rent (Amendment) Act, 2025 did not make registration of 11-month agreements compulsory, and it set no 60-day deadline; it replaced jail terms under the Karnataka Rent Act with fines. And because Karnataka has not adopted the Model Tenancy Act 2021, the MTA's Rent Authority process and its two-month deposit cap do not apply in Bangalore.

Getting to the signing stage without a broker

A good format only helps once you have found someone worth signing with. On RenterFinder, landlords browse detailed renter profiles, including tenants currently searching in Bangalore, and both sides talk in an AI and human moderated chat, with phone numbers shared only when both show intent. That gives you time to settle the deposit, the refund date and the lock-in in writing before anyone meets. Unlimited chat is free.

Each side pays its own fees. A Meeting Fee of 3 days' rent applies when both decide to meet, and it covers up to 10 meetings within 3 months; a meeting credit is used only when a meeting is confirmed, and if there is no deal within 3 months you can ask for a Meeting Fee refund. A Deal Fee of 3 days' rent applies only when the deal closes. That is 6 days' rent in total, where a broker usually takes a month's rent or more. The fees page has the current details.

The sample format above takes about an hour to fill in properly, and that hour is cheap next to an argument over a vague deposit clause at month eleven. Write every amount in figures and words, give the deposit refund a fixed number of days, attach the fittings list with photos, pay the stamp duty an 11-month Karnataka agreement needs, and register anything longer than a year. This guide is general information, not legal advice.