Hyderabad: Rent hikes burn holes in pockets of working class

Hyderabad: With employees opting to stay near their office locations, rents in the Financial District are shooting up. While there had been an average rise of nine per cent in house rents across the city, the increase was the sharpest at Banjara Hills, followed by Jubilee Hills.

The average hike in cities like Bengaluru and Chennai was limited to six per cent, said Anarock Properties, a real estate company which conducted a  a survey.

Apart from Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills, the areas which have seen a sharp rise in rents are Hitech City, Gachibowli, Begumpet, Kondapur, Nallagandla and Narsingi. The monthly rent for a one-bedroom flat ranges between `12,000 to `25,000, excluding the maintenance charges, according to Anarock Properties.

Ms Prathiba Utlawar, a techie who was looking for a house in and around Begumpet, said, “I searched for at least a week to get a decent and affordable flat near my office which is in Begumpet. I was ready to shell out a couple of thousands more to avoid travelling long distance. The rents have become very high and my previous owner at Madhapur has also increased the rent by 10 per cent.”

One of the offsets of this is the rise in co-living, where many tenants are willing to share an apartment.

Online platforms and apps have come up to facilitate house-sharing.