Landlords rattled by recession

Rents slip, slither and slide as availability of houses outstrips demand

Landlords rattled by recession

Rents slip, slither and slide as availability of houses outstrips demand

Tenants are riding the recession wave to get houses at reduced rents.

And they're even arm-twisting landlords to do away with a hike after the 11-month agreement.

"There is availability but no demand. There are many flats vacant around Sarjapur Road but there are no takers.
Owners have no choice but to reduce rents. This could be because there are no recruitments and no new people coming to Bangalore," said Nathan J S, director, V3 Group, a real estate agency in Koramangala.

Better than none

Nathan also says that the mandatory hike in rents after the 11-month contract had to be overlooked.

"I own three buildings. I sent a letter to my tenants reminding them that the rent would be increased from next month. They said they would vacate and I agreed not to increase the rent. It is better to have a tenant than to let the house lie vacant," he said.

Some people are also shifting house to save Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000.

"Last year, I had got a house for a client who would earlier stay on his company campus. Now, he wants to shift back since he would save Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000," he said.

Saira Harish of Harry and More Consulting agrees.

"People are coming to us with a lesser budget for houses. They do not want houses beyond Rs 10,000, which was not the case before. Even if we get a house with less rent, the maintenance adds up.

"So, people are going for houses without security guards and other facilities so they do not have to pay maintenance. As for the increase in rent after eleven months, some owners have hiked only five per cent instead of the 10 per cent in the agreement. Some have not hiked at all," she said.

Tenants gain

Suresh, director of Varija Realtors, feels that many tenants are taking advantage of recession.

"Recession has not hit everyone. Some tenants are using it as an excuse to get rents reduced. Some owners do not want to oblige. We agents are made to run in between," he said.