Woman Highlights Bengaluru's Rental Deposit Scam, Triggers Debate

Bangalore's reputation has taken a hit in recent years due to its chaotic housing market, where massive security deposits, and sudden, arbitrary rent hikes have become the standard practice. Now, a Bengaluru woman has caught social media's attention after highlighting the renting 'scam' in the city, which frustrated tenants looking for a place to stay.

In a social media post, a user named Sneha Tamhankar detailed her experience of searching properties to rent, with property owners coming up with their arbitrary security deposit sums.

"The biggest Bengaluru rent scam isn't that brokers tell you, Madam, the new legal deposit is three months. We typically charge six, but we've brought it down to four for you," said Tamhankar in an X (formerly Twitter) post.

Tamhankar highlighted that the bigger issue was that she never questioned what brokers or landlords told her.

"It's that I never bothered to look it up because I assumed the broker/landlord was openly mooching off me. I just learned the legal amount is two months????" she added.

As the post gained traction, responses were mixed, with tenants calling out the practice while owners justified why they charged the money.

"This is still ok, one uncle casually said 10 months rent deposit is a standard practice," said one user while another added: "There is no legal amount!! People just pay a large deposit and no rent at all sometimes."

A third commented: "And then I have tenants not paying up for 2 months, citing some reason or the other and damage the property when they vacate. At least 4 months is minimum. You don't understand owner problems."

Check The Post Here:

The biggest bangalore rent scam isn't that brokers tell you – Madam, the new legal deposit is 3 months. We typically charge 6, but we've brought it down to 4 for you.

It's that I never bothered to look it up because I assumed the broker/landlord was openly mooching off me.

I…

— Sneha Tamhankar (@snehatea) July 30, 2026

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This is not the first instance when a Bengaluru resident has lamented about the rental market. A few weeks ago, a resident named Dishaka revealed that her landlord randomly increased her monthly rent by Rs 4,000 after initially misleading her. The woman said the landlord told her that she would have to vacate the apartment as his brother was relocating to the city and needed a flat.

“My landlord just lied to me. He randomly decided to increase my rent by 4K a month, saying that his brother is moving into town and he has to make his brother move into my apartment,” Dishaka can be heard saying in the clip.

Dishaka questioned the landlord's motives, noting the suspicion of being singled out to vacate when he owned the entire building.

“He owns the entire building that I stay in, and yet he wanted just me to move out,” she said, adding: “I just wanted to know if it's just me or is this really common in Bangalore. I knew landlords are super annoying and extremely money-minded, but yeah, now I'm paying 4K a month and it's crazy."