IIT graduate claims Bengaluru landlord deducted Rs 82,000 from deposit, charged Rs 2,000 for using lift

Shravan Tickoo concluded his post with a strong appeal: 'I hope there’s change. I hope there’s help.'

A LinkedIn post by Shravan Tickoo, a Bengaluru-based startup founder and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) graduate, has gone viral, reigniting a familiar debate over tenant-landlord disputes in India’s tech capital. Tickoo shared his ordeal of shifting rental homes in the city, claiming that his landlord deducted an unreasonable portion of his Rs 1.5 lakh security deposit under vague and exaggerated charges.

Tickoo recounted that he had been residing in a 2BHK apartment on Sarjapur Road for two years before moving to a larger residence. Throughout his tenancy, he said, he never interacted directly with the property owner. “When I had moved in, my owner never spoke to me — not once in two years. The reason? She only speaks Kannada,” he wrote, adding that all communication was routed through the building’s manager.

He mentioned having heard “rumours” about the landlord previously harassing tenants over similar matters and said he had mentally prepared himself for such an outcome. Despite his caution, he said, the final settlement left him stunned.

“But then came the blow: Painting charges — Rs 55,000. Miscellaneous damages — Rs 25,000+,” Tickoo wrote in his post. He alleged that when he requested a breakdown of these expenses, the response was far from transparent. “The damages were absurd,” he said, claiming he was charged Rs 2,000 for using the lift.

Tickoo said that after prolonged discussions, he received only Rs 68,000 out of his Rs 1.5 lakh deposit. “I had asked her to provide a list of actual purchases, with invoices. All I got was a handwritten sheet with random charges. So in the end, I got back just about 40% of my deposit,” he wrote.

While accepting partial responsibility for not conducting thorough due diligence before signing the lease, Tickoo expressed deep frustration with the wider system. “But the reality is, dealing with landlords in Bengaluru is just disheartening,” he said. “I’m not saying all landlords are like this, but when you hear your friends struggling with abrupt rent hikes, withheld deposits, and more… You begin to realise: there should be better protections and support for those who’ve left their hometowns behind to build a life in Bengaluru — the apparent future city of India.”

He concluded his post with a strong appeal: “I hope there’s change. I hope there’s help. And I hope this reaches the people who can do something about it. Because Bengaluru landlords are becoming a menace.”

The post resonated with thousands of users online, many of whom took to the comments section to share their own struggles with landlords in Indian cities.

“It’s not just Bangalore. I got scammed similarly by my landlord when I was in Chennai. India has no regulations that create a fair platform for tenants, even though rental income constitutes 50% of real estate revenue in metro cities,” one user commented.

Another user recounted a similar experience in the city: “Bangaloreans are great, but a Bangalorean landlord is a villain. Same story, my deposit was Rs 4 lakhs, I sweated and dreaded asking back the money and got random cuts to the tune of Rs 1 lakh... pains so much seeing this kind of behaviour!”

A third user directly addressed Tickoo, saying, “Completely agree, Shravan Tickoo! I remember my first landlord in Bangalore had done something very similar. They deducted 50% of our deposit! Back then, I didn’t know any better. Living in other places has taught me to be more diligent. But that experience will always be burnt in my mind as a cautionary tale.”