Why 11 months? The standard convention for Indian rent agreements
Almost every rent agreement you'll see in India runs for exactly 11 months, and that's not an accident — it's a deliberate choice under the Registration Act, 1908. In most states, any lease or leave-and-license agreement for a term of 12 months or more must be compulsorily registered with the sub-registrar's office, which involves higher stamp duty, registration fees and paperwork. By keeping the term at 11 months — one month short of the registration threshold — landlords and tenants can execute the agreement on ordinary stamp paper without compulsory registration, then simply renew it every 11 months if the tenancy continues. This tool locks the duration at 11 months for exactly this reason, and calculates your end date as 11 months minus 1 day from your chosen start date.
That said, "not compulsory" doesn't mean "not advisable." A registered agreement carries significantly more legal weight if a dispute ever ends up in court — it's harder to contest and easier to enforce. If you're a tenant putting down a large deposit, or a landlord renting out a high-value property, registration is worth the extra cost even though the 11-month convention lets you skip it.
"Leave and license" vs "lease" — what's the difference?
You'll often see this document called a "leave and license agreement" rather than a "lease deed" — this terminology is especially common in Maharashtra, where it has specific legal meaning under the Maharashtra Rent Control Act. A leave and license arrangement grants the licensee (tenant) only a personal right to use the property, not a transferable interest in it — the licensor (landlord) retains full legal possession throughout. A lease, by contrast, transfers a right to enjoy the property for a fixed term and generally offers the tenant stronger, more transferable rights. In practice, for a typical residential rental between an individual landlord and tenant, the day-to-day terms — rent, deposit, notice period — work out very similarly under either label. Outside Maharashtra you'll more commonly see the terms "rent agreement" or "lease agreement" used interchangeably for the same kind of document. This tool uses "Licensor" and "Licensee" in the generated PDF, which works across states, but you're free to relabel these as "Landlord" and "Tenant" if that's more standard where you are.
Stamp paper value varies by state
This agreement needs to be executed on stamp paper (physical or e-stamp) of a value set by your state government, based on factors like the annual rent, deposit amount and city. This is a small, fixed-or-slab amount — completely different from, and much smaller than, the stamp duty charged on an actual property purchase. If you also need to work out stamp duty for buying or selling property, use our separate stamp duty calculator — don't confuse the two, they're unrelated charges governed by different rate tables.
What needs to be notarized or registered — and what doesn't
At a minimum, both parties (and ideally two witnesses) should sign the agreement on the correct value of stamp paper. Notarization — having a notary public certify that the signatures are genuine — is optional but cheap and quick, and adds a layer of authenticity without the cost of full registration. Registration, which is what compulsorily kicks in for terms of 12 months or more in most states, involves both parties appearing before the sub-registrar (or completing an online e-registration process, now available in several states) and is recommended, though not compulsory, even for 11-month agreements — especially for higher-value properties or if you anticipate any dispute risk.
Everything stays in your browser
This tool builds the PDF entirely client-side in JavaScript — none of the landlord, tenant or property details you enter are uploaded to any server.