For tenants and landlords, before move-in
What to write down in a rent agreement
Most rentals here run on an understanding rather than a document. The handful of things worth writing down, and why each one is the thing people later disagree about.
Last reviewed Sep 1, 2026 (भदौ १६, २०८३)
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This is general information about how things usually work, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and they are not the same for everyone. For anything you will file or sign, check with someone qualified.
Why anything written helps, even a short one
A great many tenancies in Nepal run on a conversation and a handshake, and most of them are fine. The ones that are not go wrong in a small number of predictable places, and almost all of those are settled instantly by a sentence written down at the start.
This is not about producing a long contract. It is about a page that both sides have read, listing what was actually agreed.
This guide describes what tends to cause disagreements, not what the law requires. For anything with legal consequence, take advice from someone qualified. We are a platform, not your lawyer.
The six things worth writing down
The rent, and what it includes. Whether electricity, water, internet and any service charge are inside it or extra is the single most common misunderstanding.
The advance: how many months, and whether it is returnable after inspection or is treated as the last months' rent. These are different arrangements and both exist.
The date rent is due, and on which calendar. Nepali tenancies usually run on the Bikram Sambat month, and a due date agreed as "the first" means different days depending on which calendar each of you is thinking in.
Meter arrangements: shared or separate, and the readings on the day of move-in.
Notice: how much either side gives before ending the tenancy.
Who may live there. Occupancy limits and guest rules are much better settled at the start than raised as a complaint later.
Rent increases
The most avoidable dispute of all. Agree at the start how often rent may be reviewed and by roughly how much, and the yearly conversation stops being a negotiation from nothing. An annual review of a stated percentage is a common shape.
If nothing is agreed, write down that nothing is agreed. That is still clearer than silence.
On sahayogi a rent review can be recorded against the tenancy so both sides see the same schedule and the same history, rather than each remembering a different figure.
Keeping the record after move-in
The agreement is the start of the record, not the whole of it. What settles arguments later is the running account: what was billed, what was paid, on what date, and what is still open.
That is most of what this product does. Bills are dated in Bikram Sambat alongside the Gregorian date, payments are receipted, and each tenancy keeps a statement both sides can open.
Whether you use us or a copybook, keep it. A year of receipts is worth more than any clause.
The listings are where this gets real.
Everything here is worth as much as what you find. Go and look, or ask us if something is still unclear.