HOUSE HUNTING HASSLES - A House for Mr Biswas? NOT IN CHENNAI
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
From Large Advance Amounts To Food Habits And Marital Status, People In The City Face Many Clauses To Rent A House
You're 34 and not married.
Why?“ the question didn't come from one of S Supriya's nosy relatives, but a flat own er in Abhiramapuram who was looking for a tenant. The IT professional didn't get the apartment in the end. “She didn't directly say it was because of my marital status, but simply hiked the rent,“ Supriya said.
A small causes court's directive to landlords not to take more than one month's advance from tenants may have come as a relief for those hunting for homes, but finding accommodation in Chennai is far from being hassle-free. As the Tamil month of Aadi, considered inauspicious for making major decisions, draws to an end, house owners have opened doors to those looking for a place to reside but with conditions linked to their gastronomical preferences and their marital status.
Those scouting for homes on rent say despite the court directive, landlords continue to take 10 months' rent in advance. “When I pointed this out to an apartment owner in Kodambakkam who asked for `2.5 lakh in advance, he asked me to look for another place,“ said Shekhar Nandha, an advertising executive.
More than half of Chennai's population lives in rented houses. Every year, around 15,000 new migrants arrive, look ing for places to live. While religion has not been a major barrier, food preferences and the tenant's marital status continue to be hurdles. The restrictions placed by landlords range from the ridiculous (`No opposite sex allowed') to eyebrow raising (` Above 30 bachelors not allowed) to the more common angst against non-vegetarians.
If the restrictions aren't enough, rents too are on the higher side. “We shifted to Chennai a few months ago from Bengaluru. The rent asked was almost double,“ said S Vinaya, a media professional. While her family paid around `40,000 for a 2,800 sqft apartment with four bedrooms at Banashankari in Bengaluru, landlords in Chennai demanded nearly `70,000 for a 3 BHK apartment measuring 2,200 sqft in R A Puram.
Brokers, however, say eating habits are usually the biggest deal breakers.“They are usually reluctant to rent out places to Christians and Muslims because they are non-vegetarians. This is more pronounced in certain pockets like Mylapore, Adyar and Mambalam,“ said real estate agent K Venkatesan.
While it isn't hard for a group of single women to find a place, a single woman wanting to stay on her own could face a problem. Shiny Jebakumar, who works in a logistics firm, had to visit more than two dozen places before she could find an apartment in Vadapalani. “There's an improvement from when I came here three years ago. They had a problem with my religion then. This time they just asked me not bring boys home.“
