The ten-month deposit, and how to push back

If you moved to Bangalore from almost anywhere else in India, the deposit is the first shock. Ten months of rent was long the local norm. It has softened in many areas to three to six, but it is still, rupee for rupee, one of the biggest payments you will make, and it leaves your account on day one.

That money comes back when you leave, in theory. In practice it is the single most common thing tenants end up fighting about, and the fight is set up, won or lost, at the very start.

Some of it is negotiable

Deposits are softer than they look, especially when a flat has sat empty. An owner choosing between an empty month and a reliable tenant will often move on the deposit even when they will not move on the rent. A longer lease and a clean, boring profile are your levers. Ask. The worst answer is the number you already had.

Protect the part you do pay

• Photograph and video everything on move-in day, dated. This single habit ends most deposit arguments before they start.
• Get the deduction rules written into the agreement: what counts as normal wear, what the repaint charge is. Vague terms are where deposits go to die.
• Note meter readings and pending dues on day one, in the same dated message.

And when you compare flats, compare deposits too, not just rents. A flat asking ten months is charging you real money for the privilege of lending them money.

The deposit fight is won on move-in day, with a camera. Not on move-out day, with an argument.