Bengaluru real estate: Redditor tells horrific tale with landlord; personal information exposed

By Bricksnwall | 2024-09-12

Tenants in Bengaluru have recently gone to social media to express their experiences as they struggle to deal with landlords' ever-changing expectations.

Tenants in Bengaluru have battled in recent years to keep up with landlords' ever-changing demands, with some even going so far as to examine tenants' LinkedIn pages.

There have also been cases where property agents have scheduled appointments for tenants for interviews with landlords, prompting many of them to comment that cracking a'rental' interview may be more difficult than getting through a work interview.

A social media user once offered to sell his left kidney in an X post to meet the security deposit required by Bengaluru landlords. The black humour obscured the story of a long and failed house hunting trip in the metropolis.

Landlords have the final say in a rental housing market that is short on available properties. Those looking for renting accommodation in the IT capital have often used social media to discuss their experiences with Bengaluru landlords and their renowned demands.

In a recent incidence of yet another unpleasant experience with Bengaluru landlords, a social media user was asked to supply documentation above the standard requirements - a passport, corporate ID, a letter of appointment, and three months' income slips. Following the reluctant submission of the aforementioned documents, the landlord increased the initial security deposit asked from the individual. The situation didn't end there.

The individual went to Reddit to share her story.

"...I received another contact from the broker, who instructed me to send the security deposit of X amount, which was double what I had previously been told and agreed to. I addressed him, and he answered, "You earn X amount of money; it should not be a problem for you." I was startled that (the) owner shared all my details with this broker, and subsequently I received a call from the first broker that I called,

"The owner is no longer responding to my texts or picking up my phone calls. "All of the brokers involved are requesting a double security deposit and additional broking," the Redditor continued.

Bengaluru landlords make bizarre expectations

Last year, an X post about a Bengaluru tenant being refused for failing to achieve 90% in class 12 went viral on social media.Shubh, an X user, posted images of the interaction between the renter and the landlord, revealing that the tenant was denied an apartment because he had only earned 75% in class 12.

Other social media users used the comments area to discuss the deepening checks. One user asked, "I have submitted less documents for interviews; what is the renting process?!

Those looking for renting accommodation in Bengaluru have frequently used social media to share their experiences with landlords in the IT hub.

In another example, an engineer shared his experience, writing, "Moving to Bangalore, and the house owner asked for our LinkedIn profiles." He said, "What level of behaviour is this?"

Another X user commented: "Peak Bangalore moment. Despite having Google and JP Morgan in our portfolio, we couldn't impress the apartment owner."

Bengaluru's Rental Housing Market

According to an Anarock analysis, Bengaluru had the highest rental yield among the top seven cities in India during the first quarter of the current calendar year, at 4.45%.

The rental yield is the percentage of a property's worth earned in rental profits over the course of a year.

According to August statistics from proptech platform Square Yards, the average rent for a 924-1,906 square feet flat in Bellandur is approximately 47,000. The average rental rate for a 1,000-2,800 square foot residential property in Koramangala is ₹48,000. Other locations like Hebbal and Whitefield charge around ₹27,000 and ₹39,000, respectively, according to average calculations.

Source: Hindustan Times