Rental rates and security deposit in one of Bengaluru’s posh areas, Indiranagar, have gone through the roof. While rents have risen by at least 30-40 percent, deposits in the lakhs have put tenants in a difficult position. So much so that a Bengaluru man recently offered to sell his left kidney to rent a house in Bengaluru. However, behind the dark humour lies a three-month difficult journey of house hunting in Bengaluru.
Ramyakh Jain, who recently moved from Gurgaon, has been looking for a 2BHK house in Indiranagar, close to his workplace. With a flexible budget of Rs 60,000, Jain failed to find a suitable house, owing to the high demand and the soaring security deposits.
“I found 3 BHKs in Indiranagar for a monthly rent of Rs 80,000 and above. However, 2BHKs can go up to Rs 90,000 or even a lakh depending on the luxury segment one is opting for,” Jain told Moneycontrol. At some point, Jain was ready to expand his budget, but unimaginably high security deposits asked of him pushed him to explore other options.
Soaring rentals
Almost all local brokers told Moneycontrol that Indiranagar has no new rental inventory available.
“The demand is so high that once I have identified an apartment for rent, by the time I pay the token money to book it, someone else has already taken it,” Jain said.
At present, security deposits in Indiranagar range from five months’ rent to as high as 10 months’ rent. A 2BHK or 3 BHK will hence have a security deposit between Rs 4 lakh and Rs 8 lakhs depending on the rent.
Sunil Singh from Realty Corp added that a newly constructed 1BHK semi-furnished apartment in Indiranagar will start from Rs 30,000, and a 2 BHK will range from Rs 40,000 onwards. A 3BHK apartment will be priced at Rs 80,000 a month onwards.
Sanya Ghosh, another techie in Bengaluru who works for a startup, said that skyrocketing security deposits have discouraged her from renting an apartment and choosing a co-living space close to Indiranagar. Others who cannot find rentals affordable in the city choose to move to the suburbs.
Rents in Indiranagar have increased by at least 30-40 percent since last year's Diwali, brokers confirmed. “Though overall the rental graph in Bengaluru has saturated, Indiranagar will continue to see appreciating rental values in the future,” Singh added.
Additionally, in posh areas like Defence Colony, which houses politicians and business heads, rents for 3BHK apartments start at Rs 1.5 lakh and can go up to Rs 4 lakh.
Strategic location
Apart from being one of the bustling commercial hubs, showcasing showrooms of international companies, Indiranagar is also one of the startup hubs in the city.
Several startups have set up their offices here and upcoming ones are always on the lookout for space available in this part of the city, brokers say. “Today, Indiranagar has turned from a peaceful residential area to a dazzling commercial hub,” Singh said.
Being well-connected and having decent infrastructure, Indiranagar continues to attract younger employees like Jain, who want to stay close to the workspace.
“Indiranagar has a metro station that connects the southwest parts of the city to the east, including happening places like Brigade Road or MG Road. This makes it an ideal location for tenants to rent a house here,” Singh added.
According to a TomTom report this year, a 10 km trip across the central business district in Bengaluru will take at least half an hour.
With Bengaluru being infamous for in-city travel, Jain said, “I am determined to find an accommodation close to my workplace. Otherwise I will have to spend hours travelling to work. In case nothing works out, I have to shift further away,” he added.
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