MHADA to launch rental housing portal by Diwali, with landlords and tenants linked directly

The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has taken a step to help people looking for rented homes. To make rental housing easy and transparent for ordinary people across the state, MHADA will launch a dedicated Rental Housing Portal by the coming Diwali.

The housing department will formally appoint MHADA as the nodal agency to build, run and implement the project. A final decision on this is very likely in the coming week.

Young people and others who come to Mumbai and other big cities for study or work face needless hardship while searching for a rented home. Ordinary people are fed up with the heavy extortion and high-handedness of agents and brokers. Through MHADA's new portal, landlords and tenants will be connected directly. As a result, there will be no need to depend on anyone, or to pay brokers a hefty commission, to rent a home or to let one out. People will be able to take full advantage of the facility by paying only a nominal "service charge".

The contract to build the portal and oversee its technical operation has been given to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Under the Central government's directions, growth hubs will be developed in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), including Mumbai, so demand for rented homes is set to rise sharply. In view of this, the state government has prepared a comprehensive rental housing policy through MHADA, which is currently in the final stage of approval.

The hi-tech portal will offer not only a home search but also the other essentials of a rental transaction in one place. These include a rent agreement, which allows a legal agreement to be made online and with ease. Online police verification will also be carried out for the safety of landlords and tenants.

All transactions made through the portal will have legal protection. An "e-court" facility will also be provided for quick settlement of any dispute. Insurance cover is still under consideration. Landlords sometimes lose money when a tenant defaults. A new scheme to give rent "an insurance cover" is currently under the government's consideration to address this.

Once the portal is running by Diwali, people's running around in search of a home will end entirely, according to the source. Transparency and convenience will come to the rental market across Maharashtra, including Mumbai.