Why are Indian rent agreements always for 11 months?

Section 17 of the Registration Act 1908 makes leases of immovable property from year to year, or for any term exceeding one year, compulsorily registrable. An eleven-month agreement falls outside that, which is the entire reason the convention exists.

The saving is stamp duty and registration charges, which are state taxes and can be substantial, plus the time of attending the sub-registrar's office with both parties.

The cost is evidentiary. Section 49 of the Act provides that an unregistered document required to be registered cannot be received as evidence of a transaction affecting the property, with limited exceptions — so an unregistered agreement is admissible for some collateral purposes but is much weaker if a dispute reaches a forum.

It also affects renewal. An eleven-month agreement typically renews by a fresh agreement, often with a rent increase built in, which is convenient for the landlord and gives the tenant no security of tenure.

Some states have notified their own rules requiring registration of tenancy agreements regardless of duration, or requiring registration with a Rent Authority under a Model Tenancy Act. Maharashtra, for instance, requires registration of leave and licence agreements. Check your state before assuming eleven months avoids everything.

Notarisation is not registration. A notarised agreement is not a registered one and does not attract the protection registration provides — this is a common and consequential confusion.

For a tenant, the practical response is to insist on a written agreement whatever its term, get the deposit recorded in it and paid by bank transfer, and keep dated move-in photographs emailed to the landlord as shared evidence.