'Must be IITian': What Bengaluru landlords now demand of tenants
A man looking for a flat in Bengaluru faced rejection on the basis of his college as the house owner wanted graduates from IIT, IIM and other colleges in those leagues. The exchange has left the internet in splits.
If you are house-hunting in Bengaluru, the silicon valley of India, be ready for rejection by landlords if you are not an IIT graduate. House owners in the Karnataka capital have raised their demands and are now asking for tenants' LinkedIn profiles and the colleges they graduated from.
A Twitter user shared the chats with an agent who denied him a house as he wasn't an IIT graduate. (Priyansh Jain/Twitter)
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Priyansh Jain, a Twitter user, shared his chats with an agent, which have garnered hilarious responses from internet users. Jain was looking for a single occupancy flat in Indiranagar, Domlur or HAL area. While homeowners prefer tenants from a particular religion or having specific food habits or marital status, Jain was in for a surprise after the agent asked for his LinkedIn profile and rejected him as he wasn't an IIT/IIM graduate.
In the chats shared by him, the agent asks for his background, college and workplace. Jain says he works at Atlassian and that he's a vegetarian. He adds that he has graduated from VIT Vellore, which seems to be the deal-breaker. The agent then turns him down saying, “Sorry, your profile does not fit.”
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“Out of curiosity, what does the owner expect?” Jain asks, to which the agent says, “IIT, IIM, CA ISB graduates.”
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“Out of curiosity, what does the owner expect?” Jain asks, to which the agent says, “IIT, IIM, CA ISB graduates.”
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“#Bangalore flat owners, why do you do this?? P.S looking for a single vacancy (preferably vegetarian) near EGL(Indiranagar, Domlur, HAL). Flexible budget based on how good the flat is Bonus: I can also teach house-party/campfire guitar @BangaloreRoomi @FindFlatmate @twitrbnb,” Jain tweeted and shared the chats.
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“You parents must have forced you to study hard if you're in iit. 'No, actually I got into iit to get this apartment I've always wanted,'” a Twitter user replied.
“Perhaps just a verification step. In other countries it takes employee letter, past landlord reference letters etc,” another said.
Yamini CS is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with nearly six years of experience in digital journalism. She is part of the India News desk, where she works on a wide range of stories cutting across civic issues, city-based developments, politics, governance, public policy, breaking news, trending topics, and international affairs that have an impact on India. Her role involves tracking fast-moving developments, verifying information from official and on-ground sources, and presenting news in a clear, accessible format for a digital-first audience. A significant part of her work includes handling live blogs during major news events, such as elections, court verdicts, political developments, civic disruptions, protests, weather-related alerts, and unfolding national or international incidents. Through live coverage, she focuses on timely updates to help readers follow complex stories as they evolve. Before moving to the broader India News desk, Yamini was associated with the Bengaluru desk at Hindustan Times, where she extensively covered urban governance, infrastructure, traffic and transport issues, weather events, public grievances, and civic administration in the city. This experience strengthened her grounding in city reporting and sharpened her focus on citizen-centric journalism. She began her career as a correspondent with Reuters after completing a postgraduate diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media. Her early training instilled a strong emphasis on accuracy, sourcing, and news ethics, which continue to shape her reporting style. Outside of work, Yamini enjoys reading across genres, listening to music, and spending time with her family, which help her maintain balance in a fast-paced newsroom environment.
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