In Bengaluru, landlords are now adding ‘no paan-chewers’ to rental restrictions, joining familiar clauses like ‘no pets’ or ‘no bachelors.’ A few rental agreements now include conditions around paan-chewing, smoking, and even the type of food that can be cooked in the kitchen.
A few property owners say they’ve had to repaint walls or replace marble tiles at their own expense due to stains caused by paan spit.
A Bengaluru landlord recently shared on Reddit that his rental contract includes a clause prohibiting tenants from chewing paan.
“We recently repainted our building, and within weeks, the corners of the ground floor had red blotches again,” one of the landlords told HT.com. “It’s not just about how it looks, it’s also about hygiene and respect for shared spaces.”
Legal experts, however, note that while it’s reasonable to set rules for shared spaces like corridors or balconies, enforcing such restrictions for tenants can raise legal and privacy concerns.
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Stains and smells
Paan is a popular chewable made with betel leaf, areca nut, lime paste, and sometimes tobacco. In urban apartment complexes where community rules often mimic corporate-level codes of conduct, chewing and spitting paan is increasingly frowned upon.
{{/usCountry}}Paan is a popular chewable made with betel leaf, areca nut, lime paste, and sometimes tobacco. In urban apartment complexes where community rules often mimic corporate-level codes of conduct, chewing and spitting paan is increasingly frowned upon.
{{/usCountry}}“Paan stains are very difficult to clean. The smell lingers, and if tenants keep chewing and spitting near lifts or corridors, other residents start complaining,” said a property manager overseeing multiple rental units. “So now, during background checks, we ask prospective tenants if they chew paan?”
In a few gated communities, resident welfare associations (RWAs) have also imposed fines for chewing paan on premises.
This is what legal experts say
“This is just a new form of profiling,” said Akash Bantia, a Bengaluru-based advocate.
“Today it’s about paan, tomorrow it could be about food habits, language, clothing, or even someone’s accent. We are witnessing a worrying trend where landlords are increasingly using lifestyle choices to filter tenants, which can easily cross the line into discrimination.”
Bantia points out that while landlords do have a legal right to select who they rent to, they cannot impose arbitrary lifestyle restrictions once the tenant has moved in, especially if those habits are legal and practised within the privacy of the home.
“Several rental agreements now include clauses about paan-chewing, smoking, or even what kind of food can be cooked in the kitchen. While it's one thing to request certain behaviours in shared spaces like corridors or balconies, it’s entirely another to police what someone does inside their home,” he said.
This is probably the first time we’re seeing such specific lifestyle-based restrictions in rental agreements," said advocate Vittal BR, a Bengaluru-based legal expert who specializes in tenancy law.
"Traditionally, landlords have included broad clauses like 'no pets' or 'families only.' But now, some are going further, stating explicitly that tenants must not chew paan, consume alcohol, or smoke, even within the confines of their own home."
Vittal explains that while landlords do have certain rights over whom they rent to, placing overly restrictive lifestyle conditions, especially those that extend into the tenant’s private space, can raise legal and ethical questions.
“If you own a property, you can certainly choose your tenant, and you may include clauses like ‘no alcohol’ or ‘no smoking’ if both parties agree before signing the agreement,” he said. “However, once the lease is signed, trying to control a tenant’s legal, personal habits inside their home could be challenged under the right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises.”