Landlord vs Tenant in India: Who Actually Pays for What in 2026?

The argument almost always starts the same way. A tap starts leaking. The tenant calls the landlord. The landlord says a leaky tap is a tenant problem. The tenant says the pipes are old, and this is a plumbing job. Nobody wins, the leak keeps dripping, and by the time the tenant moves out, the deposit refund conversation has already turned sour.

Under the Model Tenancy Act (MTA) framework being adopted across Indian states in 2026, this argument now has a legal answer. The Act formally divides who pays for what between landlord and tenant, closing decades of ambiguity that led to millions of rental disputes every year.

This guide breaks down Landlord vs Tenant the exact split under the 2026 rules, category by category, so both parties know what they owe before the leak starts.

The Big Shift: What Changed in 2026

For most of India’s rental history, the split between landlord and tenant responsibilities lived only in the rent agreement. And because most agreements were 11-month templates with vague maintenance clauses, “who pays for what” became a matter of negotiation, personality, and staying power.

The Model Tenancy Act changed that. Sections 34 and 35 of the Act now specify a default maintenance split. If your rent agreement does not explicitly override the default, this is what the law now says applies.

The core principle is simple. Structural upkeep is the landlord’s responsibility. Day-to-day usage and minor repairs are the tenant’s. The Act enforces this by allocating specific tasks to each side, so ambiguity disappears.

The Clear Split: Structural vs Day-to-Day

The MTA default assigns responsibilities as follows.

This default applies unless the rent agreement specifies something different. Even then, courts and Rent Tribunals treat any wholesale shift of structural responsibility onto the tenant as unenforceable.

Painting: The Single Most Disputed Item

Painting is where a large share of deposit disputes happens. The MTA now clarifies it.

• Interior whitewash and painting of doors and windows is the landlord’s responsibility at the start of the tenancy, and again at agreed intervals during long-term leases.
• Damage-related repainting (crayon marks, deep scratches, smoke stains from tenant use) is the tenant’s responsibility.
• End-of-tenancy repainting for normal wear is the landlord’s responsibility, not a valid deposit deduction.

The right rental agreement clause caps painting responsibility to areas with tenant-caused damage, requires photographic documentation of the pre-existing condition, and specifies that quotes be shared before deductions. Our guide on how to make a rent agreement walks through the exact clause structure.

Society Maintenance and Property Tax

This is the second-biggest area of confusion. Indian civil law and the MTA treat these as separate line items.

• Society maintenance charges are usually paid by the landlord in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, but the rent agreement can shift them to the tenant. If shifted, they are typically capped at the monthly billed amount, not sinking fund or capital contributions.
• Property tax is always the landlord’s responsibility, since it is a charge on ownership, not occupation. No agreement clause can validly transfer this to the tenant.
• Sinking fund and capital contributions to the society (elevator replacement, painting of the building exterior, structural retrofits) are always the landlord’s responsibility.

Utility Bills: The Simple Rule

Utility bills follow usage, not ownership.

• Electricity, water, cooking gas, and internet are the tenant’s responsibility, based on actual meter readings during the tenancy.
• Water tanker refills, borewell power, and building-wide utility charges are typically split, with the tenant paying the pro-rata share for the tenanted period.
• Deposits paid to utility companies (electricity, water, LPG) remain with the landlord and are transferred back at tenancy end.

The rent agreement should list which utilities are metered separately and which are billed on society common bills, so the split is clear at signing.

Repairs Caused by Wear vs Damage

The distinction that trips up most tenants at exit is “reasonable wear and tear” versus “damage.”

• Reasonable wear and tear includes faded paint, minor scuff marks, worn taps, and small nail holes from picture hangings. These are the landlord’s costs to restore.
• Damage includes broken tiles, cracked cupboards, holes drilled without permission, stained walls, and appliances broken through negligence. These are the tenant’s costs to restore or reimburse.

The move-in condition report is what separates the two. A dated, signed report with photographs of every room fixes the baseline. Without it, most Rent Tribunals default to a “reasonable wear and tear” interpretation, tilting the outcome toward the tenant.

What Happens When the Landlord Refuses to Repair

If a landlord fails to carry out a structural repair (leaking roof, unsafe wiring, plumbing failure), the MTA gives the tenant a defined recovery path.

1. Written notice. Tenant serves written notice, typically 30 days, specifying the repair required.
2. Tenant-executed repair. If the landlord fails to act, the tenant can repair and deduct the actual cost from future rent, up to a specified monthly cap.
3. Rent Tribunal escalation. If costs exceed the cap or the landlord disputes the deduction, the tenant can approach the Rent Tribunal for expedited resolution within 60 days.

This is a genuine shift in tenant power. Previously, the only option was a civil suit, which most tenants abandoned because of cost and duration.

What Happens When the Tenant Damages the Property

The MTA is equally clear on the other side. Tenants must not intentionally or negligently damage the premises. Where damage occurs, the tenant must notify the landlord as soon as possible.

• Cost recovery happens through deposit deduction with documented estimates and photographs, or through Rent Tribunal recovery if the deposit is insufficient.
• Repeated damage or refusal to repair can be grounds for landlord-initiated tenancy termination under the Act.
• Damage caused during a genuine emergency (fire from faulty wiring the tenant reported, or water damage from unrepaired pipes the tenant flagged) is not the tenant’s cost.

The tenant’s protection is the paper trail. Every repair request goes in writing. Every damage report is photographed and dated.

The Rental Agreement Clause Checklist

A well-drafted agreement pre-empts almost every dispute above. The clauses that matter:

• Maintenance split clause referencing MTA Sections 34 and 35 as the default, with any deviations specifically listed
• Society maintenance clause stating who pays, capped at the actual monthly bill
• Painting clause limiting tenant responsibility to damage-related repainting only
• Utility bill clause listing which meters the tenant pays for and which are shared
• Damage documentation clause requiring a move-in condition report signed by both parties
• Repair notice clause specifying the 30-day landlord response window and tenant deduction cap
• Deposit refund clause with a 30-day refund window and a photographic exit condition report

For a base template that already includes these clauses in a state-compliant format, see our online rent agreement service. For the difference between rent agreements and Maharashtra’s leave and licence structure, see the Leave and Licence vs Rent Agreement guide.

How Housewise Structures the Split for Managed Properties

Every property Housewise manages runs on a lawyer-vetted agreement that explicitly encodes the MTA maintenance split, plus a documented move-in condition report. This is the single biggest reason our tenancies close with clean deposit refunds and minimal disputes.

• For landlords, we handle structural repair coordination, society liaison, and property tax tracking so nothing is missed.
• For tenants, we route day-to-day repair requests through a single channel with defined response times.
• For NRI landlords, our NRI property management service means someone is physically inspecting the property, resolving repair disputes, and closing tenancies without requiring the owner to fly in. This is actively used by NRI landlords in Bangalore, Chennai, Gurugram, and Noida.

For a broader legal context on the MTA rollout that formalises all of the above, see our Model Tenancy Act guide. If your property is in Maharashtra, the Maharashtra rent agreement guide covers the state-specific overrides that apply under Section 55 of the Rent Control Act.

Conclusion

The old model of “figure it out when something breaks” is over. The 2026 rules give both landlords and tenants a defined split, backed by legal enforcement through Rent Tribunals with a 60-day resolution mandate. The winners are the parties who put the right clauses in the agreement upfront, document the property condition on move-in, and treat every repair request as a documented item rather than a phone call.

If you want your next tenancy to end with a clean deposit refund and no arguments, start with an agreement that already encodes the MTA split.

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