Prevailing Rental Housing Practices among Urban Poor - Cases of Chennai and Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

India is on the trajectory of increased movement. New estimates (Economic Survey 2016-17) show that labour mobility is between 5 and 9 million annually, indicating a much higher level of migration than has been previously estimated. This accelerated labour flow is envisaged to be primarily the reward of better economic opportunities. Recognizing this momentum, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is in the process of finalising a National Urban Rental Housing Policy (NURHP) and a Model Tenancy Act (MTA). Against this background, GIZ documented the prevailing rental housing practices in Chennai and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. The study is expected to provide inputs to the ongoing policy dialogue on the formulation of NURHP and NUHHP 2017. The scope of the study was to document the living conditions of urban poor renters in terms of housing conditions, access to basic services, rental agreements, and their spatial preferences in the cities.