Your Tenant Needs the Original Rent Agreement for Passport Verification. Here's What to Do

A Mumbai tenant's passport police verification needed the original rent agreement. What landlords and tenants should keep ready, from a real TND case.

A bright rented living room with a tan sofa, round coffee table and arched mirror

I'm Sakshi Bolakhe, Head of Operations at TND Listings. Yesterday, a tenant family in a flat we manage in Kanjurmarg East wrote to me with a problem I want every landlord and tenant in Mumbai to know about.

They were going through police verification for a passport. They had tried several times to submit soft copies of their leave and licence agreement. The police officials told them they would accept only the original physical copy of the agreement.

This is more common than people think, and it is easy to prepare for.

Is a rent agreement valid address proof for a passport?

Yes. Passport Seva accepts a registered rent agreement as proof of address. In Maharashtra, almost every leave and licence agreement is registered, and many are now registered online through the e-registration system, which produces a registered document you can download and print.

The catch is at the verification stage. The officer at your local police station decides what they want to see, and some will ask for the original or a properly registered printed copy rather than a photo on a phone.

What should a tenant carry to passport police verification?

The registered leave and licence agreement, printed in full, including the pages showing the registration details. If your agreement was registered on physical paper, carry that original.
Your own ID and the passport application papers the officer asks for.
Proof that the police were told about the tenancy, if your agreement or society required tenant intimation.

When in doubt, carry paper. It costs a few rupees to print and can save a second trip.

When in doubt, carry paper. It costs a few rupees to print and can save a second trip to the police station.

How did we handle this case?

Every agreement we register for a managed flat is stored against the property in the TND app. We pointed the tenants to their login so they could download and print the registered agreement straight away, and our team stays in touch until the verification is done.

The lesson for owners is simple: if your tenants can't easily get a clean copy of the registered agreement, small things like a passport, a bank account or a school admission turn into a stressful chase. For an NRI owner several time zones away, that chase usually lands on whoever holds the paperwork in Mumbai.

What should landlords keep ready?

A full copy of every registered agreement, stored where both you and your manager can reach it.
A clear answer to who holds any physical original, especially for older agreements registered at the sub-registrar's office.
Tenant intimation records, if your society or the police asked for them.

If you want a refresher on how leave and licence agreements work in Mumbai, read our leave and licence agreement guide.

Frequently asked questions

Will a PDF of the rent agreement on my phone work for passport verification?

Sometimes, but not always. The verifying officer decides. A printed registered copy is safer.

Does the agreement need to be registered?

For use as address proof, yes. In Maharashtra, leave and licence agreements are expected to be registered.

Who keeps the original agreement?

With online e-registration there is no single paper original; each party can print the registered document. For paper registrations, agree in advance who holds the original.

Related reading

If your tenant needs a document from us, write to sakshi@tndlistings.com and we'll sort it out.

Warmly,
Sakshi

General information, not legal advice. Requirements can vary by police station and passport office.

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