A Bengaluru man’s candid LinkedIn post about his ordeal with a landlord who allegedly deducted over half of his security deposit, citing charges like ₹2,000 for lift usage and ₹55,000 for painting, has struck a nerve with tenants across India. The post has now become a rallying cry for better tenant protections in India’s major cities, where stories of unregulated rent hikes, withheld deposits, and landlord misconduct are increasingly common.

Shravan Tickoo, who recently vacated a 2BHK apartment on Sarjapur Road in Bengaluru after living there for two years, shared his story on LinkedIn, detailing how his former landlord returned just ₹68,000 of his ₹1.5 lakh deposit after levying arbitrary charges.

“So recently, I moved out of my 2BHK on Sarjapur Road after living there for two years, into a larger house,” Tickoo began his post.

“When I had moved in, my owner never spoke to me not once in two years. The reason? She only speaks Kannada. I used to communicate with her building representative, who told me the same thing.”

While the lack of communication meant no interference, it also meant no assistance with basic upkeep. Tickoo recalled a safety issue involving a broken windowpane on the 13th floor, which he had to fix out of pocket.

“Even basic repairs and maintenance were entirely my problem,” he wrote. “I tried reaching out once when a windowpane broke… and when I deducted the repair cost from the rent and sent her the invoice on WhatsApp, she flat-out refused. Her minion called and said, ‘Bhaiya, aise nahi hota hai.’”

Tickoo said he had already heard “rumors” that the landlord had harassed previous tenants during the exit process. Anticipating trouble, he mentally prepared himself—but was still shocked by the final settlement.

“Painting charges – ₹55,000. Miscellaneous damages – ₹25,000+,” he wrote. “I asked for a detailed list, and the damages were absurd. ₹2,000 for lift usage (bro, everyone uses the lift!).”

Despite repeated requests, Tickoo claims the landlord did not provide actual invoices or proof of the claimed expenses.

“I had asked her to provide a list of actual purchases, with invoices. All I got was a handwritten sheet with random charges,” he said.

In the end, Tickoo received only about 40% of his original deposit back. 

Tickoo’s post has triggered a wave of responses from users who shared their own experiences across Indian metros.

“This is beyond disgusting. I hope you are taking some action on her for this kind of greed,” one user commented.

Another LinkedIn user added, “It’s not just Bangalore. I got scammed in a similar way by my landlord when I was in Chennai. India has absolutely no regulations that create a fair platform for tenants, even though rental income constitutes 50% of real estate revenue in metro cities.”

Some shared strategies for mitigating deposit losses: “My advice to everyone living in BLR will be to avoid paying rent at least 3-4 months earlier and recover max deposit possible else the owner will deduct it anyway,” said one user, who claimed to have done the same after learning about their landlord’s past behavior.