Guidelines for subletting your flat

Last updated: 12 July 2026

1. Introduction

These guidelines apply to every arrangement under which a flat owner permits a person other than themselves or their family to occupy the flat — whether by way of a conventional tenancy, a paying-guest arrangement, a short-stay booking through a platform such as Airbnb, or a lease to a company for use as a guest house.

The society's requirements are the same in principle in every case: the management committee must know who is living in the building, must hold verified identification for each occupant, and must be able to reach a responsible person if something goes wrong. The documentation asked for below exists for that reason and no other.

Owners are requested to read this document in full before entering into any arrangement, and to approach the management committee in advance if their situation does not fit neatly into the categories described.

2. Checklist for Owners

Before a tenant or occupant moves in, the owner must complete the following:

1. Send an email to the management committee intimating the intent to lease the flat, with the details set out in Section 3.

2. Submit a copy of the registered leave-and-licence agreement.

3. Submit the police verification form, stamped by Chandan Nagar or Kharadi Police Station (this is mandatory, see police order below).

4. Submit tenant KYC — Aadhaar + PAN, name, contact numbers, and permanent address proof.

5. Submit details of all occupants — how many, their occupations, and where they work.

6. Submit the name and contact number of the broker, if one is involved.

7. Pay the shifting charges. The invoice and receipt will be issued through ADDA.

8. Explain the society's code of conduct to the tenant (here).

9. Ensure the tenant registers on MyGate, including their vehicles (important).

10. Hand over the access cards to the tenant (do not lose them).

11. Ensure the tenant obtains a gate pass from security before moving furniture and goods, and observes the permitted timings and elevator rules.

Owners may recover the shifting charges from the tenant if their agreement so provides. That is a matter between the owner and the tenant; the society will raise the invoice on the owner.

3. Documents to Be Submitted

An owner who wishes to sublet must submit copies of the following to the management committee:

1. The registered leave-and-licence agreement. An unregistered agreement is not acceptable. Under Section 55 of the Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999, registration is mandatory and the responsibility for registering rests with the licensor.

2. Identity and permanent residence proof of every person named in the agreement.

3. The police verification form in the prescribed format, stamped by Chandan Nagar or Kharadi Police Station. Aadhaar copies of both tenant and owner are compulsory.

4. Names, contact details and a brief introduction of every person who will reside in the flat, not only those named in the agreement.

5. Where the flat is let to unrelated individuals rather than to a family, identity proof and proof of employment — a company ID card or equivalent — for each individual.

6. We are a paper-less society. As such all documents are to be shared on email only. 

7. Do not upload any sensitive documents to MYGATE. We do not have a data sharing contract with MYGATE. 

8. The society uses SOC-DOC-LOC to maintain tenants register to comply with CHS statutory mandate. Non-compliance if any is visible there. Owners can login and review the audit deficit and furnish requisite documents on society email ID. (soj_a1_mc@googlegroups.com / soj_a2_mc@googlegroups.com) 

Non-compliance with the above could attract a penalty of up to ₹5,000, with interest accruing on unpaid amounts, in accordance with the bye-laws. The society reserves the right to share non-compliance data with the Police on demand. Consequences and penalties if any are for the erring owners to bear.

4. Obligations of the Owner

1. The owner remains responsible for the conduct of the tenant, and is liable for any charges levied by the society for damage to common property.

2. The owner must induct the tenant into the functioning, culture and code of conduct of the society, and share enough information to enable the tenant to comply.

3. Non-occupancy charges are payable by the owner as prescribed under the applicable government circular and the society's bye-laws. These apply equally where the flat is given on a paying-guest basis, or is let to a company. The levy at 10% of service charges starts 1 Oct 2026.

4. The owner must inform the management committee in writing when the tenancy ends, and must not allow a new occupant to move in without repeating the process set out in these guidelines.

5. Obligations of the Tenant

1. All residents must abide by the society's code of conduct so as to maintain peace and harmony at Song of Joy. Each instance of non-compliance will attract an official warning and a monetary penalty as deemed fit, within the limits prescribed by the bye-laws.

2. Tenants may not carry out temporary or permanent alterations to the flat without the owner's prior written permission, a copy of which must be submitted to the society.

3. Tenants may not conduct any commercial activity from the flat, as prescribed in the bye-laws.

4. Tenants shall use only the parking space allotted to the owner's flat, and no other.

5. Tenants enjoy the same access to society amenities as the owner. Membership rights, including the right to vote at the general body, remain with the owner.

6. Moving In and Moving Out

1. Permitted hours. Movement of goods and furniture is allowed only between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM, with prior intimation to the society. Forms are available with security.

2. Shifting charges. ₹2,500 is charged towards elevator usage, wear and tear, housekeeping and maintenance. This is applicable on moving in and again on moving out.

3. Damages. Any damage to society property will be recovered from the owner (this includes as little as mats in the elevators).

7. Short-Stay and Serviced Letting (Airbnb and Similar Platforms)

The society recognises that some owners wish to list their flats on short-stay platforms such as Airbnb, Booking.com or similar, either for stays of a few nights or for extended serviced stays. This is treated differently from an ordinary tenancy, for two reasons. First, the occupants change frequently, which makes conventional verification impossible unless it is repeated for every booking. Second, repeated commercial letting of a residential flat may amount to a change of use, with consequences for the flat's assessment and for the society's own compliance position.

Owners who wish to let their flat on this basis must therefore observe the following:

1. Written permission is required before the first listing. The owner must apply to the management committee in writing, stating the platform to be used, the intended pattern of letting, and the maximum number of guests to be accommodated at any time. Letting without prior permission will be treated as unauthorised use.

2. A responsible local contact must be nominated. The owner, or a named representative resident in Pune, must be available on a stated telephone number at all hours for the duration of every booking. The society will not deal with the platform, and will not deal with the guest.

3. Every occupant must be identified before arrival. For each booking, the owner shall submit to the management committee, at least twenty-four hours in advance: the names of all guests, a government-issued photo identity document for each adult guest, the check-in and check-out dates, and the vehicle registration number of any vehicle they will bring. Guests will not be admitted at the gate without this.

4. Foreign nationals. If any guest is a foreign national, the owner is required by law to file Form C with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office within twenty-four hours of arrival. A copy of the filed Form C must be given to the management committee. This obligation is on the owner, not on the society, and it is not waived by the platform's own verification process.

5. Police intimation. The Police Commissioner's order under Section 144 CrPC applies to every person taking accommodation, irrespective of the duration of the stay. Owners letting on a short-stay basis are advised to satisfy themselves as to how this requirement is to be met for transient guests, and to obtain written confirmation from Chandan Nagar Police Station. The society cannot give this confirmation on the owner's behalf.

6. Amenities are not extended to short-stay guests. Guests may use the flat and the parking space allotted to it. They may not use the clubhouse, gymnasium, swimming pool, or any other common amenity. Access cards issued for amenity use will not be given.

7. Charges. Short-stay letting attracts the same non-occupancy charges as an ordinary tenancy. A separate refundable deposit of ₹10,000 must be maintained with the society for as long as the flat remains listed, and shifting charges are not levied per booking, but the deposit is forfeitable against any damage caused by any guest.

8. Nuisance. Any complaint of noise, misuse of common areas, or disturbance to neighbours arising from a short-stay guest will be attributed to the owner, and will attract the penalties applicable under the code of conduct. Repeated complaints will result in the permission at (1) being withdrawn.

9. Statutory compliance is the owner's responsibility. Short-stay letting may attract obligations under GST, under municipal shops-and-establishments licensing, and under the Pune Municipal Corporation's property tax rules, which may reassess the flat at a non-residential rate. The society takes no position on these matters and offers no advice on them, but the owner is placed on notice that the society will not bear any consequence arising from the owner's non-compliance.

8. Leasing to a Company or Corporate Body

An owner may lease the flat to a company, firm, or other body corporate which intends to use it as a guest house or transit accommodation for its employees, clients or visitors. This is permitted, but it raises a particular difficulty: the entity on the agreement is not the entity that will occupy the flat, and the occupants will change over time. The society therefore needs a stable point of accountability, and a mechanism for keeping the occupant register current.

The following documents and undertakings are required:

1. A registered leave-and-licence agreement in the name of the company, executed by a person authorised to do so.

2. A board resolution or letter of authority on the company's letterhead, naming the signatory to the agreement and confirming their authority to bind the company.

3. Company identification — Certificate of Incorporation or equivalent, PAN, GST registration where applicable, and proof of registered office address.

4. A nominated custodian. The company must name a single individual — typically an administration or human resources officer — who is the society's point of contact, and must provide that person's name, designation, email address and mobile number. Any change in this nomination must be intimated in writing.

5. An undertaking on company letterhead that the flat will be used solely as residential guest-house accommodation; that no office, commercial or client-facing activity will be conducted from it; that the company accepts responsibility for the conduct of every occupant it places in the flat; and that the company will reimburse any damage caused by its occupants to society property.

6. A standing occupant register. Before any employee or guest occupies the flat, the company must submit to the management committee the occupant's name, designation, employee identification, a government-issued photo identity document, contact number, and the expected dates of occupancy. This must be submitted at least twenty-four hours before arrival, and must be updated on every change of occupant. A flat let to a company is not a flat the society has stopped tracking.

7. Police verification for each occupant, in accordance with Section 3 above. Where occupants rotate frequently, the company should establish with Chandan Nagar or Kharadi Police Station how this requirement is to be met on a continuing basis, and inform the management committee of the arrangement arrived at.

8. Form C for foreign nationals, filed by the company with the FRRO within twenty-four hours of arrival, with a copy to the management committee.

9. Occupancy cap. The number of persons occupying the flat at any one time shall not exceed the limit stated in the permission granted by the management committee. A guest house is not a dormitory.

Non-occupancy charges apply to the owner in the ordinary way. The shifting charges under Section 6 apply on the first move-in and on final vacation, but not on each rotation of occupants. Parking remains restricted to the space allotted to the flat; the company may not claim additional visitor parking as of right.

Finally — and this should be stated plainly — the owner is not discharged from responsibility by the fact that the licensee is a company. If the company defaults, the society will look to the owner.

9. Non-Discrimination

The society does not permit refusal of tenancy on the ground that the prospective tenant is a bachelor, a spinster, a student, a paying guest, or a foreign national. Such refusal has no basis in the Act, the Rules, or the bye-laws adopted by this society, and obstructing a lawfully verified occupant from entering the premises may expose the society and its members to liability under the Indian Penal Code, including the provisions relating to wrongful restraint.

Tenancy is subject to the documentation and verification requirements set out in this document, and to nothing else.

10. Police Verification: Why It Is Mandatory

Under the Police Commissioner's order issued under Section 144 CrPC:

1. An owner shall not let, sub-let or rent out any accommodation to any person until the particulars of the tenant have been furnished to the Senior Police Inspector of the concerned police station.

2. Every person taking accommodation on rent shall inform the Senior Police Inspector, in whose jurisdiction the premises fall, in writing.

Both parties bear this responsibility. Contravention by the licensor, the licensee — and in certain circumstances the managing committee or the broker or agent — is punishable with simple imprisonment or fine, escalating in more serious cases, as prescribed under the prevailing order.

https://pcs.mahaonline.gov.in/Forms/Home.aspx

Disclaimer

Owners and tenants are encouraged to verify any information in this document with a member of the management committee - in person, or better still, in writing by email.

The registered leave-and-licence agreement should cover all contingencies between the parties. However trustworthy both parties may be, terms are best written down.

In the event of a dispute between an owner and a tenant, the society may assist in negotiation but has no authority to intervene or adjudicate. All such matters are governed by the Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999.