e-StampNotaryRegistration optional
The eleven-month rule is a registration rule, not a stamp rule
Almost everyone in Vadodara has heard that rent agreements run for eleven months. Very few have been told why, and it is not tradition. It is section 17(1)(d) of the Registration Act, 1908, which makes registration compulsory for a lease from year to year, for a term exceeding one year, or reserving a yearly rent. A term not exceeding one year falls instead under section 18(c), where registration is optional. Eleven months sits comfortably on the optional side of that line.
Stamp duty is a separate matter altogether. Duty is payable under the Gujarat Stamp Act, 1958 on the article covering leases, whatever the term, and whether or not the document is registered. A short agreement is not a duty-free agreement.
If your term exceeds one year, registration is compulsory, and section 49 of the Registration Act, 1908 bars an unregistered compulsorily-registrable document from being received as evidence of the transaction it records. That bites when you need it most — proving the tenancy, the rent, or the date of possession in a dispute. A notarial seal does not cure it. Read notarised vs registered.
What the duty is calculated on
For a lease, duty is not a flat figure plucked from the air. It is worked out from the elements of the tenancy — the rent, the term, and any deposit or premium — under the article of the Schedule that applies. Two agreements for the same flat can attract different duty because one carries a large interest-free deposit and the other does not.
We do not publish the figures. The Gujarat Stamp Act, 1958 was amended in 2025, and a stale rate on a web page is how a document ends up insufficiently stamped. Bring the rent, the deposit and the term and we confirm the current duty at the counter. See how stamp duty is calculated.
Residential and commercial are not the same document
A shop, godown, office or showroom is treated differently from a flat, and needs different clauses: permitted use, fit-out and reinstatement, GST liability on rent, lock-in, assignment on a sale of the business. Handing a commercial tenant a residential template is a cheap shortcut with an expensive tail. Tell us which it is before we draft.
Leave and licence, and why landlords ask for it
A leave and licence grants permission to occupy rather than a tenancy. No interest in the property passes to the occupier, which makes the arrangement materially easier to bring to an end. Whether it suits you depends on which side of the table you are on and what you actually want the occupier to have. It is chargeable to duty in its own right. We will draft either, and explain the difference before you sign — see agreement notarisation.
The 2025 amendment inserted an Explanation treating copies, extracts and photocopies as original instruments for duty purposes. The old practice of stamping the landlord's copy and photocopying the tenant's is not safe. Decide how many executed sets you need before the stamp is issued.
The clauses that matter more than the stamp
- Deposit and its return — when, against what deductions, and what happens if it is not returned.
- Escalation on renewal, stated as a figure or a formula, not left to goodwill.
- Notice to vacate, on both sides, with the period spelt out.
- Maintenance, society charges and property tax — who pays which.
- Repairs, split between structural and day-to-day.
- Use, subletting and the number of occupants.
- Utilities and meter readings recorded at handover.
The other document nobody remembers
A landlord's consent letter or no-objection certificate is what a GST officer, an electricity company, a gas agency or a bank will ask for when a business address is not in your own name. Under the Gujarat Shops and Establishments Act, 2019 — as amended with retrospective effect from 16 December 2025 — establishments with twenty or more workers must register, while smaller establishments intimate commencement to the jurisdictional Inspector under section 7. Either way, the address paperwork gets looked at. We prepare the NOC alongside the agreement.
How the visit works
Landlord and tenant attend with original identity documents. We confirm the duty, issue the e-stamp certificate as a Government authorised centre (CSC ID 136237240013), and the Notary attests the execution under section 8(1)(a) of the Notaries Act, 1952, under signature and official seal. Rule 10(1) caps the notarial fee for attesting execution at ₹35. Where the parties are meeting at the property, the Notary can attend the address.
What to bring
- Original photo identity and PAN of landlord and tenant, with photocopies
- Property address, and the index or tax bill showing ownership
- Monthly rent, security deposit, term and start date — the actual agreed figures
- Whether the premises are residential or commercial, stated clearly
- Two witnesses with identity documents
- Society NOC or share certificate details, where the society requires them