Rent Arrears Calculator

Rent arrears is rent that was due under a tenancy agreement and has not been paid by the due date. It builds up month by month: if a tenant misses one month\'s rent and then falls short again the next month, the arrears is the sum of both shortfalls, not just the most recent one.

A partial payment reduces the arrears for that specific month but does not clear it. If a tenant owes ₹15,000 for a month and pays ₹9,000, the arrears for that month is ₹6,000 — it carries forward until paid, and separately from whatever falls due the following month.

Whether interest or a late fee can be added on top of the unpaid rent depends entirely on the written tenancy agreement. Indian law does not impose an automatic interest rate on overdue rent — it has to be a term both parties agreed to in writing.

The calculator above applies this per month, then adds every month together:

Days overdue is measured from the due date of that specific month to the date you set as "calculate arrears as of" — usually today. A month due three months ago has more days overdue, and so more interest, than a month due three weeks ago, even if both have the same unpaid balance.

There is no statutory interest rate on unpaid rent under Indian law comparable to, say, interest on a delayed insurance claim. Whether a landlord can add interest depends on what the tenancy agreement says. Two patterns are common:

• A specified annual rate— for example, "delayed rent attracts interest at 12% per annum from the due date." This is enforceable because both parties agreed to it in writing.
• A flat late fee per month— for example, "₹500 for each month rent is paid after the 10th." This is also enforceable if it is a genuine estimate of administrative cost, rather than a punitive penalty disproportionate to the rent.

If the agreement is silent on interest or late fees, a landlord can still recover the unpaid rent itself, in full, through the Rent Authority, Rent Court, or a civil recovery suit — just not an additional interest figure invented after the fact. This is why the calculator above defaults interest and late fees to zero unless you set them.

The Model Tenancy Act 2021 is a template law approved by the Union Cabinet in June 2021 for states and union territories to adopt or adapt. It sets out a three-tier dispute mechanism — Rent Authority, Rent Court, and Rent Tribunal — outside the regular civil courts, for tenancy disputes including rent arrears.

Under the model act, a landlord can apply for eviction on any of these grounds, among others:

• The tenant does not pay the agreed rent.
• The tenant has not paid arrears of rent and other charges in full for two consecutive months.
• The tenant has sublet or parted with part or all of the premises without the landlord's written consent.
• The tenant has continued to misuse the premises after a written notice to stop.

For the non-payment ground specifically, the tenant must be given a notice of demand for the arrears and a period to pay in full before eviction proceedings can move forward. Because adoption of the model act varies by state, and several states still run their own rent control legislation, always check which law governs your tenancy before relying on a specific notice period or procedure.