Srinagar, Sep 19: The Jammu and Kashmir Government’s Tenancy Rules, 2026 have introduced a formal regulatory framework for landlord-tenant relations across the Union Territory, requiring tenancy agreements to be reported to the Rent Authority within two months of execution and providing for a digital system for handling tenancy-related applications and records. The rules were notified on July 2, 2026, following commencement of the Jammu and Kashmir Tenancy Act, 2025.

Under the rules, tenancy agreements can be reported either physically or electronically, after which the Rent Authority is required to allot a Unique Identification Number and issue an electronic receipt to both the landlord and tenant within seven working days. The rules also envisage a digital platform, in local or official languages, for submission of tenancy documents and applications.
The framework provides for the handling of disputes relating to revision of rent and other charges by the Rent Authority. In such cases, the authority can consider prevailing market rates and may seek assistance from government-recognized property valuers.
The rules also provide a mechanism for tenants to deposit rent with the Rent Authority when a landlord refuses to accept payment. Landlords who fail to refund advance rent or security deposits are liable for interest under the provisions specified in the rules.
The rules further prescribe privacy safeguards for tenancy records, with information submitted by landlords and tenants to remain accessible to the concerned parties and authorized officials rather than being publicly available.
The government had placed the draft rules in the public domain on April 15 for objections and suggestions. The official notification followed after the prescribed consultation period.
With the rules now in force, a key implementation issue is the functioning of Rent Authorities and the digital platform envisaged under the framework. The notification sets out the legal obligations, but publicly available information reviewed for this report does not yet establish how many tenancy agreements have been registered since July, how many Rent Authorities are fully operational or how many disputes have entered the new mechanism.
The implementation of these provisions will therefore determine how effectively the new framework translates the statutory requirements into a functioning system for landlords and tenants across urban and semi-urban areas of the Union Territory.