An NRI landlord's checklist for India

This is the start-here page. If you have just become a landlord in India while living elsewhere, or just realised your tax status changed the rules under you, work down these four groups. The money setup and the tax duties are one-time or occasional; the operational record and staying reachable are the parts you keep up month to month.

The money setup

• Have the right account for the rent. For an NRI that is normally an NRO account under FEMA; a resident savings account cannot simply carry on once your status changes. The account rules in full.
• Hold a PAN. It is the identifier the whole tax record hangs on, including anything your renter files against your rent.
• Complete your bank's KYC for the account and keep it current, so a credit or a later transfer out is not held up over paperwork.

The tax duties

Kept short here on purpose; the tax guides carry the detail and the dated figures.

• Know that the deduction is your renter's job, not yours. They deduct tax at source before paying you, about 31.2% as of August 2026, and it is withholding rather than a permanent cut. Why that rate, and how it comes back.
• If that monthly deduction is more than you will actually owe, you can apply to lower it. That is the Form 13 route. What Form 13 changes.
• Collect Form 16A from your renter each quarter and keep it. It is your evidence the deducted tax reached the department.

The operational record

• Keep your units and buildings listed, with vacancy visible rather than remembered.
• Hold each lease against its unit, with the deposit, the dates and any rent change.
• Track each renter's status: paid, part-paid, pending or overdue, and how much is still due.
• Keep the documents together: the lease, and identity documents where you hold them.
• Let follow-up start from the record, so a reminder you sent is part of the account and not just a message in a chat.

Staying reachable

• Keep a channel your renters actually use. In India that is usually WhatsApp, which is where a question about rent or a photo of a problem will reach you fastest.
• Have someone you trust on the ground for the things distance cannot solve: a repair to inspect, a key to hand over, a unit to show.

Where Door-Let fits

The operational record above is what Door-Let holds: units and leases, renter status, documents, and a follow-up message drafted for you to approve. It is a system of record. It does not open a bank account, does not deduct tax, does not file anything and does not make anyone compliant. It keeps the account of your property straight so the money setup and the tax duties are easier to hand to the people who do handle them.

Related

Managing rental property in India from abroad is the wider how-to. How NRIs collect rent on property in India covers getting the rent in and reconciling it. Both sit under the guides index.

If a line here does not fit your situation, write to support@doorlet.in.