No Bachelors And Single Ladies Allowed

Single and looking to rent a house?

Sorry. But, “Bachelors not allowed.”

Being the hub of education, business and a growing IT industry, the city’s housing sector is expanding with people looking for rental accommodation regularly. In such a scenario, it is the brokers, real-estate websites, newspaper classifieds and social media groups that have become highly sought-after platforms for house hunters.

However, bachelors continue to face several issues in their pursuit of a shelter.

The common reasons for not renting out to bachelors are that they “can’t keep the place clean’ and that they ‘get girls’ ‘drink and party all night’.

Students and working professionals share their sour experiences with Pune365.

“Pune is a growing migrant city with people coming here from across the country,” Prateek Gosavi, a student, says.

“So, the process of house-hunting is tedious and when it finally ends with a board saying,  ‘No Bachleors allowed’, it is truly heartbreaking. If you by chance you do pass this test, a list of rules and regulations is imposed which is far more complex even than government documents. This includes time restrictions on friends and music bans,” he adds

“I think it unfair that owners don’t give their flats out just because a person is a bachelor or spinster,” says Sanjana Rajan, GIS Analyst.

“I remember the time I was hunting for a flat, around 5-6 flats were not even shown to us because the owner straightaway said they’re not willing to give away flats to single women. It has become a stereotype answer.

“And sometimes even if the owner is willing to give the flat to bachelors. the housing society puts objections over not allowing bachelors.

The main reason I think is people generalise, and think that bachelors create a lot of commotion, drink and stay awake in the nights. I think this is unfair as all bachelors are not same,” she adds.

Amit Salunkhe hails from Sangli and has been in Pune for the last four years. According to him, knowing the language has been a great advantage for him, especially while looking for an accommodation.

“But, for people coming from outside, it is a bigger problem due to the language barrier and also, many a times, owners have ethnic preferences,” says Amit.

Rutuj Singh, a software developer, says that he was denied accommodation due of the usual reasons of late nights, girls etc.

“I was told by the owners that single guys tend to keep the place untidy and there was nothing that I could do to assure them that I wouldn’t,” says Rutuj. Being a non-vegetarian can also be a problem.

“This happened in Sadashiv Peth. I was told by the owners that I can have the flat, but they’d lock the kitchen as I may cook non-vegetarian food, which they won’t allow,” says Rahul Kadam, a student.

Shweta Mane, a customer representative, says, “It is absurd to ban bachelor tenants. Pune is an IT hub and draws young professionals recruited from across India.

“Where will people like us stay? Moreover ban on the basis of the marital status, caste, religion or eating habits is illegal.

Even families create problems like those attributed to bachelors,” she adds.

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#All views expressed in this column are those of the individual respondents and Pune365 does not necessarily subscribe to them.