House rents, which have been stagnant since the pandemic, started zooming since mid-2023. While rents usually go up 10 per cent annually, landlords in several cities have increased rents by up to 50 per cent a year. Why is India seeing a housing rent crisis that is playing havoc with the lives of people?

In Short

• House rents zoom in cities across India after staying frozen in the pandemic years.
• Tier-I cities are seeing a 30-40% increase, against the usual 5-10% annual hike.
• High rent forcing people to swap cities; PG accommodations getting costlier too.

Actor Kamakshi Bhat got a surprise text from her landlord in Mumbai in February that the monthly rent for her 3BHK flat had been hiked to Rs 84,000 from Rs 64,000. Pay up or leave, she was told.

Sanchi Mishra, a marketing professional, saw her rent in Bengaluru surge by Rs 20,000 to Rs 65,000 since last year. A 44 per cent increase in just a year forced her to shift from Bengaluru to Gurugram.

Eshwar, a media professional in Noida, was under the burden of loans he had taken for a health emergency when his landlord told him that the rent for his flat was being raised by Rs 7,000 to Rs 27,300. He was also forced to pay an additional security deposit.

Leaving the comfort of home to pursue opportunities in new cities is what millions of young Indians do every year. It's not just about leaving homes; it's about finding a new one in a new city.

But as aspirations soar in ‘New India’, the struggle to find affordable housing in cities like Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Noida, and Gurugram intensifies.

Data from property consultancy firm ANAROCK Group sheds light on how, on average, there has been a 4-9 per cent jump in housing rent in just the first three months of 2024.

Axis Ecorp CEO and Director Aditya Kushwaha said Bengaluru has cemented its status as the country’s “hottest residential market” and acknowledged that rents have nearly doubled since the beginning of 2023.