A Bengaluru man’s candid LinkedIn put up about his ordeal with a landlord who allegedly deducted over half of his safety deposit, citing costs like ₹2,000 for elevate utilization and ₹55,000 for portray, has struck a nerve with tenants throughout India. The put up has now change into a rallying cry for higher tenant protections in India’s main cities, the place tales of unregulated lease hikes, withheld deposits, and landlord misconduct are more and more widespread.
Shravan Tickoo, who just lately vacated a 2BHK residence on Sarjapur Street in Bengaluru after dwelling there for 2 years, shared his story on LinkedIn, detailing how his former landlord returned simply ₹68,000 of his ₹1.5 lakh deposit after levying arbitrary costs.
“So just lately, I moved out of my 2BHK on Sarjapur Street after dwelling there for 2 years, into a bigger home,” Tickoo started his put up.
“Once I had moved in, my proprietor by no means spoke to me not as soon as in two years. The explanation? She solely speaks Kannada. I used to speak together with her constructing consultant, who advised me the identical factor.”
Whereas the shortage of communication meant no interference, it additionally meant no help with primary repairs. Tickoo recalled a security concern involving a damaged windowpane on the thirteenth ground, which he needed to repair out of pocket.
“Even primary repairs and upkeep have been totally my drawback,” he wrote. “I attempted reaching out as soon as when a windowpane broke… and once I deducted the restore price from the lease and despatched her the bill on WhatsApp, she flat-out refused. Her minion known as and mentioned, ‘Bhaiya, aise nahi hota hai.’”
Tickoo mentioned he had already heard “rumors” that the owner had harassed earlier tenants in the course of the exit course of. Anticipating bother, he mentally ready himself—however was nonetheless shocked by the ultimate settlement.
“Portray costs – ₹55,000. Miscellaneous damages – ₹25,000+,” he wrote. “I requested for an in depth checklist, and the damages have been absurd. ₹2,000 for elevate utilization (bro, everybody makes use of the elevate!).”
Regardless of repeated requests, Tickoo claims the owner didn’t present precise invoices or proof of the claimed bills.
“I had requested her to supply a listing of precise purchases, with invoices. All I acquired was a handwritten sheet with random costs,” he mentioned.
Ultimately, Tickoo obtained solely about 40% of his unique deposit again.
Tickoo’s put up has triggered a wave of responses from customers who shared their very own experiences throughout Indian metros.
“That is past disgusting. I hope you take some motion on her for this type of greed,” one person commented.
One other LinkedIn person added, “It’s not simply Bangalore. I acquired scammed in the same method by my landlord once I was in Chennai. India has completely no rules that create a good platform for tenants, despite the fact that rental earnings constitutes 50% of actual property income in metro cities.”
Some shared methods for mitigating deposit losses: “My recommendation to everybody dwelling in BLR can be to keep away from paying lease a minimum of 3-4 months earlier and get better max deposit doable else the proprietor will deduct it anyway,” mentioned one person, who claimed to have achieved the identical after studying about their landlord’s previous habits.
