Tenancy agreement stamp duty: who pays, how much, and why it protects you

What stamping actually is

A tenancy agreement is a contract. Stamping is the payment of a duty on that contract under the Stamp Act 1949, evidenced by a stamp certificate from LHDN. It does not make the agreement more legal. It makes it usable.

The Act’s key provision is blunt: under section 52(1), an instrument that is chargeable with duty and not duly stamped is not admissible in evidence while it remains unstamped. In plain terms, an unstamped tenancy cannot be relied on in court, until the duty and a penalty are paid. So the agreement is not void. It is just useless at exactly the moment you need it, and expensive to fix at that moment.

How much it costs

Duty is calculated on the full annual rent, at a rate per RM250 (or part of RM250) that depends on the tenancy’s length. Two things changed recently and most online calculators have not caught up: the Finance Act 2024 removed the old RM2,400 exemption from 1 January 2025 and set a RM10 minimum duty, so the whole annual rent is now chargeable.

Plus a flat RM10 for each duplicate copy stamped, and a RM10 minimum on the instrument.

Worked example: a one-year tenancy at RM1,800 a month is RM21,600 a year. Divide by RM250: 86.4, rounded up to 87. At RM1 each, the duty is RM87, plus RM10 for the tenant’s copy: RM97 in total. On a two-year tenancy the same rent attracts RM3 per RM250, so RM261 plus the copy.

That is the price of an enforceable agreement on a property you are paying RM21,600 a year to occupy.

Who pays

The law does not assign the duty to either party. It is a charge on the instrument, and either party can pay it. By common practice in Malaysia the tenant pays, and most standard agreements say so, although the Act itself leaves it to the parties. But the convention is not the point: if the agreement is unstamped, both parties are exposed, and the one who ends up needing it in a dispute is the one who will have to pay the duty plus the penalty to use it.

Agree who pays at signing. If the landlord’s agent is arranging it, ask for the stamp certificate.

The penalty for stamping late

Stamping is due within 30 days of execution for an agreement signed in Malaysia. Late stamping attracts a penalty under section 47A that scales with how late it is: RM50 or 10% of the unpaid duty, whichever is higher, if stamped within three months of the deadline, and RM100 or 20% beyond that. On a RM87 tenancy duty the late penalty is therefore RM50, then RM100, which is more than the duty itself.

The practical point is that a tenancy signed two years ago and never stamped can still be stamped today, and the penalty today is smaller than it will be in a dispute next year.

Check our full list of articles on the rental deposit guide for more information.

What an unstamped agreement costs you in a dispute

Picture the common case: a deposit not returned, or a tenant leaving early. You go to the tribunal or the court with the agreement. The other side points out that it is unstamped. You can still use it, after you pay the duty and the penalty, and after the delay that causes. Meanwhile the deposit dispute that started at RM3,600 has acquired a legal cost and a timeline.

Stamping in advance removes the entire argument. It is the cheapest insurance in the whole rental transaction.

How to do it

Stamping is done online through e-Duti Setem on LHDN’s MyTax portal, by either party or an agent. The older STAMPS portal was retired on 31 December 2025, and from 1 January 2026 tenancy agreements fall under the first phase of stamp duty self-assessment, which means you compute and declare the duty yourself. You upload the agreement, pay, and a stamp certificate is issued to attach to it. For a standard residential tenancy it is a same-day task.