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Most people looking for a 2BHK in Bengaluru already know the deal. High rents. Pushy brokers. Competition from fifteen other people who saw the listing ten minutes before you.
But this one stopped people cold.
A man shared his conversation with a landlord on Reddit’s r/Bengaluru forum. The flat was fully furnished. Rent was ?60,000 per month plus ?5,000 maintenance. Fair enough for a good 2BHK in Bengaluru these days.
Then came the deposit.
?10 lakh. Upfront. Refundable, technically. With a minimum three-year lease commitment on top.
The tenant pushed back. He pointed out that under Bengaluru’s rental laws, the security deposit for a residential property is legally capped at two months’ rent. At ?60,000 a month, that works out to ?1.2 lakh — not ?10 lakh.
The landlord’s response was more or less: take it or leave it.
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The Reddit post blew up. Then it was deleted — which, if anything, made people talk about it more.
The numbers are worth sitting with for a moment. ?10 lakh deposit plus the first month’s rent plus brokerage means a tenant needs to arrange somewhere between ?12 and ?14 lakh just to move in. Before they have paid a single bill in the new flat.
That is not a deposit. That is a barrier.
And while the Karnataka Rent Amendment Act 2025 formally capped residential deposits at two months’ rent, the reality on the ground has not caught up. Landlords in Bengaluru still routinely ask for six, eight, ten months upfront — because many tenants, desperate for a place, pay it anyway. The law exists. Enforcement is another matter.
The three-year minimum lease is a separate issue. Locking a tenant into three years removes almost all their flexibility. Job change. Family situation. Medical emergency. None of that matters once you have signed a three-year agreement with no exit clause.
For anyone navigating the Bengaluru rental market right now — know your rights. The legal cap is two months. Anything above that is not just unreasonable, it is legally unenforceable in a Rent Tribunal. You do not have to accept it.
Whether you can afford to walk away from a flat you need is a different question. But at least walk in knowing where you stand.
