Can I open bank account with rent agreement?

Hi there,

Opening a bank account has become easy with time. You can just walk in the bank, fill the application form, attach your documents and sign the papers. Your account will be opened shortly. There are many of us who do not own a house or live in a rented accommodation so the question arises, ‘Can rent agreement be used as address proof for bank account?’ For all those who are finding answers to this question, I have the answer for you.

To tell you the answer to your question, YES, RBI has allowed the rent agreement to be used as a valid address proof. 

See, banks ask for your identification proof, address proof, employment proof and photographs. In case of identification proof, you can produce the Aadhaar Card/ Voter ID, PAN Card/ Driving Licence, etc. 

When it comes to producing the address proof, there are two conditions; a person who lives in an owned property and someone who lives in a rented accommodation. 

If you live in a self-occupied property and the address is mentioned on your ID proof, then it is sufficient. However, if you are living in a rented property, you can take the rent agreement and copy as address proof.

I stay in a rented apartment in Bangalore. Recently, I was planning to apply for a passport. However, I was skeptical about whether it’s okay to consider a rental agreement as address proof.

Is rental agreement a valid address proof?

Yes. It is legitimate address proof. The Indian government announced in 2015 that lease agreements lasting less than a month would still be accepted as legitimate address verification for passport applications. 

Can a tenancy agreement be used as proof of address?

I discovered that having a permanent address has always been a barrier for tenants seeking to obtain passports. Tenants had a lot of issues before the new rule requiring address evidence for passport applications was implemented. Tenant residents simply needed to submit proof of their permanent address when applying for a passport.

A law that permits renters to use their rent agreement as a legitimate address proof for passport applications was passed by the government to address this problem.

The following are the top two requirements for the rent agreement for passport applicants:

• House description, floor number, and complete address information.

• Specifics about the renter, both personally and professionally.

If less than a year was spent at the current address, the applicant only needs to provide other addresses from the past year and no address proof for the previous addresses.

I hope this helps you understand that it is legitimate to consider a rental agreement as address proof.

Read More:

Your rent agreement for address change in Bank is possible if you have relocated and need to update your address on your Bank account. You will need to take your lease agreement to your Bank branch and discuss the same with the Bank representatives. The agent will check your lease and update your account with the new address.

• Verify the legality of the rent agreement you have with the landlord:

The name of the property, the address of the property, and the beginning and ending dates of your lease should all be listed on it, and both you and your landlord should sign it.

• Verify the date of your rental agreement:

The majority of banks only accept leases that are less than a year old.

• Ensure that your lease is concise and readable:

The information on your rent agreement should be clear enough for the bank representative to read.

What are the RBI guidelines on rent agreement as address proof?

• A passport, driver's licence, voter identity card, PAN card, Aadhaar card, and NREGA job card are valid proof of identity. 

• The RBI has permitted banks to consider papers like rent agreements and utility bills as proof of address. 

I hope this answer helps you to understand the RBI guidelines on rent agreement as address proof.

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The Reserve Bank of India states that when creating a bank account, you must present only one documented address evidence (present or permanent address). When I had to open a bank account, I was also confused about what document should I present as address proof. But then I got to know that the rent agreement can be accepted as address proof. So let’s see how the rent agreement for address proof is valid to open a bank account.

Is rent agreement a valid address proof for bank accounts?

Yes, as the RBI permitted, it is possible to accept a rental agreement for bank account opening if it includes your address and has been properly registered with the State Government or another registration authority. However, there are no laws or regulations stating that a notarized house rental agreement cannot be considered. Similarly, there are no laws or regulations stating that only KYC documents must be taken into account. The rent agreement as address proof for bank account used by you may be accepted by the relevant authorities based on an affidavit from the applicant or a location check.

According to the RBI, if your proof of address does not show your current residence or your local address, the bank may request a declaration of your local address. Then it will be used for any interactions with you. This address may be confirmed by the bank through an acknowledgement of receipt of a letter, chequebook or ATM card, a phone call, or a visit.

This is all from my end about the rent agreement for address proof.

As you must have already read above, a rental agreement for address proof is acceptable now. The fact is, it could not have been otherwise as in urban areas there are many people who don’t own a house of their own. As a proof of address, they couldn’t produce an electricity bill or water bill in their name for the rented property. RBI took the right move in directing banks to accept rent agreement for bank account opening. I will also share some more documents which could be asked by bank to open a bank account.

Here are some other documents required as address proof for rented house:

1. Aadhaar card

2. Ration card

3. Voter ID

4. Driving licence

5. Passport

6. PAN card

7. Utility Bills like electricity, water or gas bill

Basically any document with your name to mark your identification and any legal document assigned on the given rental address reassures the bank that the address is valid. 

The bottom line is:

rent agreement is valid for address proof if you live in a rented accommodation.

Read more:

You are right Mr. Srivasu. Your information helped me a lot. I was also wondering can rent agreement be used as address proof to open a bank account. I have recently shifted to Delhi for work and I was asked to open an account in HDFC Bank. I visited the bank branch and told them about my intention.

The executive told me that I can produce the rent agreement as address proof but it will be considered valid under one condition. He said that the rent agreement must

.

I was confused earlier about this matter so I asked my banker friend is rent agreement a valid address proof for HDFC bank account. He told me that they didn’t accept it earlier and providing address proof was a cumbersome process for such individuals earlier. But finally RBI took note of the matter in 2013 and made things simpler for people like you and me. 

On another note, my daughter was facing issues to provide address proof in SBI because the rent agreement is in my name and the bank has father’s name updated in their records. So it became a whole lot of mess. I kept asking the officials there, can rental agreement be used as address proof but they said it will be a difficult process. The reason, her bank records didn’t have mother’s name and the rent agreement didn’t have father’s name mentioned. We had to write an application to the manager explaining the situation.

To get the address changed in the bank records, we had to wait for 2 months and constantly bug officials. I think the government should also do something about it. 

Anyway, I diverted a bit but to answer your query: can rent agreement be used as address proof for bank account. Yes, it can be.