Price of belonging: bias, scrutiny and skyrocketing rents Premium

Navigating Hyderabad's rental market involves facing biases, scrutiny, and unexpected hurdles, shaping the search for a home.

Nithin Raj had already knocked on ten doors in a single month, each a potential home and another test. Outside yet another faded gate in central-east Hyderabad, hoodie pulled up against the December breeze, his chin-strap goatee and wild curls drew more attention than his modest 2BHK request. At every visit, the 31-year-old found himself reluctantly discussing his faith and appearance before even talking rent or the amenities on offer. He was searching for a place near his parents’ house so he and his fiancée could move in together after their wedding the following month.

But at each potential rental, he felt scrutinised. “It was like a visual scan. I was asked absurd questions — how often I shave my moustache and why a Christian would keep a beard. Explaining my erratic work hours as a freelance digital marketing professional was another challenge. Mentioning that my fiancée, now wife, is a graphic designer only added to the confusion. Landlords clearly expect tenants with conventional jobs,” he shares.

When he finally secured flat no. 14 in Gandhi Nagar area for ₹22,000 a month, it felt like a victory. Yet, his experience was far from unique. Across Hyderabad, prospective tenants like Nithin are routinely forced to wade through complex, unexpected, even bizarre, questions from homeowners. While he endured scrutiny over his faith and profession, others face hurdles over something as simple as their meal preferences.

Take the example of e-commerce executive Karthik Kumar, whose family discovered that their meal choice could become a battleground. “For nearly a decade, we led a double life under our own roof,” he says, smiling wryly.

Their search for a new rental in 2014 had led them to a seemingly perfect place in Madhura Nagar — a peaceful locality and well-connected. But the ‘To-Let’ board posed a challenge: “Only families and vegetarians”. The area ticked all the boxes, except for one glaring issue — they were staunch non-vegetarians. After a long discussion, the family decided to keep their dietary preference under wraps and sign the lease.

But when they went to pay the advance, the landlord caught them off-guard by grilling them about their food habits. “He asked about the intake of non-vegetarian food. He even enquired if we cook with onion and garlic. We admitted to using the latter, and thankfully, it was overlooked. However, we decided to be cautious,” the 28-year-old shares.

For the first three months, they refrained from cooking or eating non-veg food at home. “When cravings hit, we would drive to far-off restaurants, careful not to be seen by neighbours or the landlord’s acquaintances,” Karthik remembers with a smirk.