The Karnataka government has moved to overhaul the state’s rental laws by amending the Karnataka Rent Control Act, 1999, replacing jail terms with steep monetary fines for rental disputes. Nine clauses of the Act — including those related to unauthorized subletting, illegal evictions, falsification of property records, and failure to register real estate agents — will now attract penalties of up to ₹50,000, instead of criminal prosecution. The shift aligns state law with the Centre’s Jan Vishwas Act, 2025, which aims to decriminalize minor offences across sectors.

Tenants who sublet, assign, or part with possession of any part or whole of a premises in violation of the law may face a penalty of up to ₹50,000 or double the rent received for subletting each month until the violation ends, whichever is higher. Previously, such violations carried a fine of ₹5,000 or double the rent, along with possible imprisonment of up to one month, or both, as per a report published in the Times of India.

Similar penalties now apply to landlords who unlawfully evict tenants, especially when courts have ordered re-letting to the original occupants, it said.

The cabinet approved these changes last week, and the amendments are expected to be tabled during the winter session of the legislature in Belagavi, the Times of India newspaper reported.

By removing the imprisonment clause, the government has taken a key step in reducing fear and preventing the potential misuse of the law. At the same time, introducing a substantial monetary penalty of up to ₹50,000 ensures tenants are deterred from subletting or misusing properties, while also discouraging landlords from unlawful evictions. This approach, real estate experts said, strikes a fair balance, protecting the interests of both parties.

The move seeks to bring the state Act in line with the central government’s Jan Vishwas Act, 2025, which decriminalizes minor offences, replacing imprisonment with penalties and warnings. As part of this, the state has removed the one-month imprisonment clause that previously applied to rental disputes between tenants and landlords.

Under the new amendments, penalties for nine different clauses of the Act have been replaced with hefty fines. These include unauthorized subletting by tenants, illegal eviction by landlords, falsification of property details, and failure to register real estate agents or middlemen with state-appointed rent controllers, the newspaper said.

One clause states “…any tenant who sublets, assigns or otherwise parts with the possession of, the whole or part of any premises in contravention of the law then he or she shall be liable to a penalty of up to ₹50,000 or double the rent received by the tenant for subletting for every month till such time the cause of the complaint ceases, whichever is more”.