Renting a House in Bangalore - Standard Practices and Experiences

Renting a house in Bangalore has always been a complicated process because standard practices are quite different here as compared to other cities . Here are some observations based on my experiences -

2. 10 months rent as advance - Owners demand a customary 10 months rent as advance which you need to pay before moving in the house. It is negotiable in some cases depending upon the owner's temperament. Some owners agree for a higher rent and lesser advance (eg. 6 months instead of 10) or vice versa. Please note that the advance money is refunded (after deducting the amount mentioned in point 2 ) when you leave the house.

  1. One month rent deducted towards maintenance of property - When you leave the house, you are made to pay one month rent for cleaning and re-painting the house. Typically, owners cut this amount from the advance and give you back the remaining. To avoid later arguments, owners typically put this clause in the rental agreement itself.

  2. Freshly painted house - Standard culture in Bangalore is that owners get the house painted before a new tenant moves in. If yours is not painted then you can negotiate for one month cleaning charges covered in point 2 .Most of the owners will reduce if the house is not painted.

  3. Rental agreement - Usually owners insist for a rental agreement as it is in their own interest. With rental agreement, owners will get security of their property. However, it is a good thing for tenants too.

    • It is accepted by banks and mobile companies as address proof.

    • Many companies/ employers insist on having a rental agreement for giving you HRA allowance / tax benefit.

    Getting it done is very simple and the cost involved is minimal. Please read another post for details on how to make a rental agreement.

  4. Search for house -

    • Through broker - If you contact a broker, he will usually take one month of rent as his commission - only if you get a house.

    • Through internet - Facebook groups, office mailing lists, and sites like sulekha, commonfloor, magicbricks, olx etc. If the add is posted by owner then you can directly contact him and hence can bypass the broker charges. Use no broker filter on these sites to find a house without broker.

    • Yourself - You move around in the area and lookout for the "To Let" signboards. Many owners put up such boards in front of their houses.

Our Experience 1 : CV Raman Nagar / Kaggadaspura Area

We found our first rental house by seeing a "To Let" board in front of a house. The advance came to around 8 months rent after negotiations. We paid Rs 500 (out of the advance money) for confirming the deal and the rest we paid on the day we moved in. We also were looking through the broker but did not find any suitable home through him so we paid no money to him.

Our Experience 2 : Koramangala / HSR Layout Area

We went through the broker as well as through sulekha simultaneously. We found a suitable house eventually through sulekha. 10 months advance had been fixed mutually. Out of that we had to pay 3 months rent (it could be much less if we had negotiated) immediately to confirm the deal and rest we paid on the day we moved in.

Category: housing