Housing Societies Warned Against Fake Tenant Registration Documents; QR Code Verification to be Implemented

Pune: With a spike in fake, tampered, or unregistered tenant registration documents being submitted to housing societies, the Association of Service Providers has sounded an alert to all society committees across Maharashtra. Several recent cases have revealed tenants submitting forged leave and licence agreements, often altered PDF copies created by local agents.

Sachin Shinghavi, the association president, emphasized the need for vigilance. 'Societies need to be vigilant. Fake documents can land owners in legal trouble. Many tenants submit altered PDFs instead of officially registered documents as they are fleeced. They need to do it through a proper agent,' he said, adding that a robust verification mechanism is the need of the hour.

In one case, a society member discovered a forged document only after checking it with the registration department. 'An agent edited the document and submitted it as genuine. Only after showing it to officials did we realize it was fake,' the member said, adding that the department initiated action against the agent.

To curb such cases, the association that helps out with tenant registrations has urged societies to insist on viewing an official digital copy of the registered agreement, which has a unique registration number and is accessible via the state IGR (Inspector General of Registration) portal. The association also highlighted issues in the current leave and licence 1.9 software, where police verification is often missing despite being mandatory. 'Though the process includes Aadhaar verification, witness details, address confirmation, and sharing data with police via CCTNS, loopholes remain as in some fake documents these are not seen, which needs to be checked thoroughly using the department website,' Shinghavi said.

To address this, the registration department introduced a QR code-based verification in Mumbai City and suburbs under the leave and licence 2.0 software. 'The QR code allows instant verification and ensures police verification is auto-generated,' said Deputy Inspector General (IT) Abhay Mohite. Work is underway to expand this feature across Maharashtra, he said.

Housing federation members stressed that landlords bear the brunt of fake registrations and called for a simplified, transparent system. Tenants, too, have fallen victim. 'An agent promised me that the agreement was registered, but it turned out to be fake. There should be a way for tenants to verify the process themselves,' said Seema N, a tenant in Pune.

The Association of Service Providers is also urging the state government to have authorized service providers in place to help people, as was the case previously. This would ensure that the registration process is more reliable and less prone to fraud.