You may make it in a stringent MNC job interview but can you impress the Bengaluru landlord? Prospective tenants seem to be asking this question as they navigate unheard-of demands and conditions while looking for a temporary pad in India's IT capital.
Simran Dubey (name changed upon request), a Bengaluru resident, faced a peculiar situation where the landlord executed a rental contract that involved the tenants deep cleaning the apartment (with professional services) every three or four months. "The owner said he wanted to rent out to bachelors but wanted to make sure the premises remained clean," she said.
In another case, Anwesha Ray came across an apartment for rent in Munekollal in north Bengaluru, where the owner specifically mentioned that he was looking for only delivery persons or Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) employees.
After three waves of Covid-19, rentals for housing units have hit the roof in Bengaluru as demand has risen and the supply is low. Moneycontrol spoke to several local realtors to understand what apartment owners in Bengaluru are looking for before renting out their units.
Soaring security deposit amount
Sumedh Ghosh, Assurance Associate, had left Bengaluru in 2020 soon after the pandemic but his company asked him to return earlier this year. "The rents have increased by almost 25 percent and the minimum deposit amount that I could find was Rs 40,000," he said.
Other tenants told Moneycontrol the deposit can be anywhere between Rs 60,000 to more than Rs 1 lakh.
Sunil Singh, a realtor at Realty Corp said in Bengaluru apartment owners have always charged 10 months' rent as a deposit amount for a long time. "However, it depends on the rentals, and today we are seeing a 30 percent increase in rents," he added.
According to the local real estate agents, the higher deposit is mostly because the owners are insecure, especially after Covid-19, and want to make up for the losses incurred by them during the pandemic. "In case, a tenant fails to pay the rent or does major damage to the house, the owners do not have other provisions but for a legal court case — the cases may go beyond several months," Singh added.
Owners are looking for long-term tenants
Realtors say after years of stagnancy during the pandemic apartment owners are looking for stable incomes.
Balaji Badrinath, managing partner at the local office of American real estate consultants Coldwell Banker, said, "Several owners are compromising on the financial aspects but are looking for tenants who will stay for a longer period."
Kalvi Karasi from Dreams Realty said recently an owner served a notice to bachelors staying in the apartment to accommodate a family as the latter might stay for a longer period.
Seeking tenants' payslips, job profiles
Singh said after Covid restrictions eased, the rush for renting flats in Bengaluru created disarray in the market. "We have started to look at updated LinkedIn profiles of tenants, even before we connect them to the owners. If the tenant has a good job profile, then he will be able to stay longer and also pay higher rents," he added.
Recently, a Bengaluru resident took to Twitter saying, "Landlords are asking for last month's payslip and LinkedIn profile from interested tenants."
Additionally, Karasi said today owners are mostly looking for tenants occupying senior roles in the IT sector. "Chances are slim for somebody who runs a business or is a budding entrepreneur. There have been cases where an apartment owner rejected possible tenants for the choice of their profession," she added.
Bachelors and live-in couples gaining acceptance
Be it Covid or just the growing power of social media, several landlords have slowly started accepting bachelors and live-in couples as tenants, according to the realtors.
The most rental transactions Singh inked in the last six months in the city were those of the bachelors. "Bengaluru has been infamous for family-only rental demands of apartment owners. However, today people have realised that bachelors can pay higher rents than families, at least 40-50 percent more, especially amid the massive demand for rentals in the city," he added.
Realtors say over the last two years the acceptance of live-in couples as tenants have increased by 10 percent and of bachelors by 30 percent. "Especially, this has substantially increased across the IT corridor, especially in Whitefield, Sarjapura and Marathalli," Singh added.
Bengaluru to see new inventories soon
With assets getting occupied swiftly, apartment owners in Bengaluru are looking for monetising more inventories over the next few months.
Badrinath said despite a sharp rise in new property prices many owners are looking forward to duplicating the assets they own to earn a steady income. "Today, the properties are no longer stressed in Bengaluru. And several deals of Rs 5-7 crore are being signed every few days unlocking fresh inventories from the owners," he added.
Realtors say within the next few months Bengaluru will have several new inventories to meet the growing real estate demand in the city. "Investments are coming from across the country to unlock new opportunities," Badrinath said.
