American Woman In Bengaluru Reveals Landlord Increased Rent By 33%, Shares Concerns

An American woman living in Bengaluru has caught social media's attention after expressing her discontent with the city's problematic rent hikes. In a now-viral Instagram video, digital content creator Dana Marie detailed that her landlord wanted to increase her rent by a steep 33 per cent. She also contrasted her experience of being a tenant in other countries.

“This is a problem. Do you know in the US, this wouldn't even be legal in a lot of places. They have rent caps like 10 per cent annually. You can't increase more than that, and people actually follow the law," Marie stated.

Marie added that the craziest part was not the increase in her rent, but how normal it was starting to feel, especially for those who have to switch places.

"Rent up 33 per cent. Not even the craziest part. The craziest part is how normal this is starting to feel. That's how it happens," Marie captioned the video.

"Let's say here in Bengaluru, you get a very average 10 per cent annual increase on your rent. Over 10 years a 30k rent becomes 80k, and 1L becomes 2.6L. Is it sustainable?"

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Social Media Reactions

As of the last update, the video had garnered over 100,000 views and hundreds of comments as social media users shared similar experiences as tenants.

"Facing the exact same problem. Only it's 58 per cent here! Ridiculous and no laws to help! Pay or leave!" said one user, while another added: "Think of moving to Pune? Pretty much like Bangalore minus the weather, i mean its good but not like Bangalore."

A third commented: "I had one retired landlady say, "I already came down to six months from eight months deposit. I have loans to clear, so I need 1.5L per person". Like how is it our problem that they're defaulting on loans?? And doesn't that mean they can very easily default on repaying our deposit?? Crazy people."

A fourth said: "The time it takes to search for a new apartment is probably the worst part given the supply deficit. This appears to be a Bangalore only issue though. All our tenant rental agreements in Mumbai were always set to a year-on-year 10 per cent increase upon renewal as a norm."