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Bengaluru man highlights salary-rent gap, says 'salary stuck in 2006, but rent is living in 2046'
The resident highlighted an “absolute mathematical comedy” between corporate salaries and rental prices in areas such as New Thippasandra and Indiranagar.
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Bengaluru’s rental market has become a growing pain point for residents, with soaring rents, hefty security deposits and rising living costs putting pressure on tenants. Now, a Reddit post comparing stagnant salaries with the city’s rapidly rising rents has sparked a discussion online.
In a Reddit post titled “Salary is stuck in 2006, but Bengaluru rent is living in 2046. Anyone else trapped in this time paradox?” the resident highlighted an “absolute mathematical comedy” between corporate salaries and rental prices in areas such as New Thippasandra and Indiranagar. He said that private-sector salaries appeared to be “beautifully preserved from 20 years ago,” while landlords were demanding rents that seemed to belong to the future.
“We recently audited our monthly expenses and realized a hilarious structural glitch: The privates sector pays us a salary that seems beautifully preserved from 20 years ago. It’s a wonderful, nostalgic throwback to the days of early IT hubs. Meanwhile, independent house owners are holding a calculator and demanding rents that are living 20 years straight into the future,” the OP wrote.
The Reddit user cited rents of ₹22,000 - ₹24,000 for a 1BHK, along with a ₹1.5 lakh security deposit, for what he described as a more than 15-year-old second-floor walk-up apartment. He also pointed to dependence on timed municipal water supply as another concern.
“It’s an incredible economic time machine,” he wrote, adding that companies compensate employees “like it’s the past”, landlords charge “like it’s the future”, while municipal infrastructure is still operating on “basic legacy software from the 90s”.
(Also Read: Woman pays ₹2.2 lakh security for ₹52,000 rented Bengaluru house: ‘Balcony gets so much sunlight’)
Social media reactions
The post drew several reactions from social media users, who shared similar complaints about Bengaluru’s rental market.
Reacting to the post, one user wrote, “Don't forget the definition of 1BHK, 1RK by these Landlords and broker....A small granite slab in one corner is termed as kitchen here. They'll ask you 1month rent for painting and stuff. But none of them have given me freshly painted flat till date while renting.....the faaking hypocrisy.”
“Agreed.... Bangalore needs a rent check at this point, once people and companies start shifting away from Bangalore they'll understand the implications and it's high time this happens,” commented another.
“This is exactly why people negotiating with bangalore companies need to explicitly state that working from bangalore will need another 20% salary extra. Else, that you will work from tier 2 cities. Large firms have started doing this and give this as an option to people who ask. I personally know that firms have setup offices in places like Nagpur, Bhubhaneshwar, Coimbatore, etc EXACTLY for this reason,” wrote a third user.
“The yearly rental increment has become more than the salary increment,” said another.
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
