The Millennium City’s landscape is marred by bad roads while its residents are facing erratic power and water supply and non-existent comfortable mode of transport, notwithstanding, the housing rentals in Gurgaon have gone up by around 100% in the past 12-15 months.
The house owners and property dealers prosper while the tenants who have come here from far off places to work in various industries and corporate houses have no option but to shell out a major chunk of their hard-earned salary for lodging.
"A two-bedroom flat, which used to cost around Rs 12,000-Rs 14,000 per month about a year back, now comes for R22000-R24,000. But the demand is so high that all flats get occupied even if they are expensive," said Shyam Sharma, an agent who deals in houses in areas like DLF, Sushant Lok and South city.
Similarly, a flat with one bedroom, a hall and a kitchen (1BHK) in middle class apartments like Kendriya Vihar and Devendra Vihar in sector 56, which was available for around R6,000 per month till last year, now costs Rs 10,000 to Rs 11,000.
"I don't understand the logic behind such hikes in rentals," said Y K Srivastava, president of Sector 56 Resident Welfare Association (RWA). "But we can't do much about it as not all the houses are similar in space or other facilities."
{{/usCountry}}"I don't understand the logic behind such hikes in rentals," said Y K Srivastava, president of Sector 56 Resident Welfare Association (RWA). "But we can't do much about it as not all the houses are similar in space or other facilities."
{{/usCountry}}The rate of hike is not proportionate in posh localities. Yet, the prices are already as high as R1.5 lakh per month.
According to Shveta Jain, director, residential services at Cushman and Wakefield Real Estate Consultants, in high-end apartments like the Golf Course Extension, rentals have either gone down because of less occupancy or have increased by only 5-10% during the last quarter. "Gurgaon being a commercial hub is the major factor for rise in rentals," she said.
Nisha Singh, Councillor of Ward 30 which comprises several posh colonies, said: "What fuels such hikes is the demand for studio apartments or two-bedroom flats among people who come to the city for work."
Metro factor
The introduction of Metro train in the city last year acted as a catalyst to shoot up the lodging cost. Besides areas like DLF Phase — 3, Sushantlok-1, Maruti Kunj and Saraswati Vihar, which are directly linked to Metro stations, the rentals increased in other part of the city also because of the accessibility of the rapid transport system in their neighbourhood.
Old Gurgaon
Ironically, even the areas in Old Gurgaon with congested by-lanes have become costly. For example, a 2BHK flat in Ashok Vihar near railway station area which could have been easily rented at Rs 4,000-5,000 a month, is now priced at not less than Rs 7,000- 9,000.