How many months deposit for apartment?

(Apologies if this is answered all over the place, but I was struggling to come up with a recent answer using the search engine...)

How many months rent would you expect to pay as a deposit for an apartment in Delhi?

In Bangalore it's usually an eye-watering 10 months, sometimes even 11.

I think I read on an older thread that it used to be more like 2-3 months in Delhi - is this still true?

Many thanks.

We paid first & last only. We used a highly reputable real estate agent to source our accommodations & gave him up front - our financial budget & 'our' terms of payment.

Does that mean you paid 2 months?

Now there's an oxymoron we can all relate to, right?

Sorry, first & last month's payment - yes.



Basically, you want an agent who has wide connections, will really dig hard & do the legwork & negotiations for you. It really can shorten the search & drama that's often involved.

Well, good to know they might, hypothetically, exist!

Yeah, might as well make them earn their fee... presumably they would take 1 month's rent for that?

Thanks!

Well, I don't know what their actual 'cut' is. You give your budget & they hunt it out for you. When they find something within your budget, location, taste & requirements - they whistle & you go and inspect it. If you like it, then you take it. Their 'take' is a don't care & imo well worth whatever it is - the alternative being slogging around town & doing the Indian style negotiations.

Afterall, time is money ...... Good luck!

The usual practice is three months rent, and if agent is involved, he or she takes one month rent as payment. This is also divided among both the parties but more often than not, the person taking the place on rent has to give full amount.

In Mumbai the usual practise is that the landlord takes a three month deposit refundable after the lease period expires, subject to no damages.

However, I have friends in Delhi who have received a huge deposit (1.3rd the market value of the property) but the rent is commensurately lower. This method is much rarer than ten years ago. It was used due to the antiquated Rent Act that such contracts fell under. The idea was to get the balance from interest on FDs (bank fixed deposits). Now the Rent Act has been amended and Leave and License leases have been reinstated so corporate lessees are reluctant nowadays to enter into high deposit agreements and prefer fair market value contracts for tax reasons.

I have rented an apartment to a US company in Bandra, Mumbai and have taken a two month deposit, and for a two year lease agreement I received the full first year's rent in advance, followed by quarterly rent payable in advance.

I was happy to pay my broker's fee of the equivalent of one month's rent and the company paid their broker the same for the life of the lease. When the lease comes up for re-negotiation at the end of the contract, some lessors do not pay their brokers if the lessee is the same, but I would very happily pay my broker a renewal fee again next year because of the professional service and integrity she has displayed; not to mention the help I get because I now live in London and headaches such as Police Reports, Society Approval Certificates, gas connection, bills etc. are all handled without my personal attendance.

I have come across many cowboy brokers when putting my place up for rent, but found two/three superb diligent and fine Mumbai professionals and they have become personal friends now.

That is rather unfair don't you think?

When my lessee's employees left prematurely after 18 months and their replacement from Canada was due to come in, my Mumbai broker dissuaded me from terminating the lease in favour of another of her high profile international corporate clients, (which meant she would lose her immediately payable one month commission - a considerable amount!) on the basis of 'don't rock the cruisin' boat'

Depending on the individual, there are excellent and very professional real estate brokers in Bombay, and trashing them all in the same binny bag is a little short-sighted, what say?

OK I take your point, although I note it's from point of view of a landlord rather than the tenant.

If you're living in London you'll know that Estate Agents there are the scum of the earth (if not try googling Foxtons).

The level of service I've experienced from agents here in India has certainly been better than in the UK, but as a foreigner most of them were trying to rip me off big time.

Maybe Bombay is the last bastion of integrity. I was actually asking about Delhi, so it would be nice to think it's similar.

Why would they do that, given that a higher negotiated rent gets them a higher cut (typically equal to a month's rent)?

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For the promise of future business with many more western clients through our own personal referrals!? Would they dare screw us with that carrot dangling??

Look, there's many ways to skin a cat in India. We have a budget, know the quality & terms that we want, hand it to the agent & let them run with that. They can either hang themselves or produce. There is nothing written in stone nor are we are not obligated to accept anything that we don't care for or that is just a plain bad deal. Simple stuff, really.