Relocating to a new city is always a tedious task. There are many issues one has to deal with, right from understanding a new language to adapting to the environment and most importantly, choosing a home.
Earlier, to avoid the entire process of hunting a house, youngsters chose to move into a PG or hostel located close to their college or workplace. However, in the last few years, the city is seeing a changing trend, where people from the age group of 18 to 30 want a space of their own.
The reasons are many, one being affordability, especially among college students. Instead of paying an entire year’s hostel fees, college students like Annette Francis, an engineering student, are opting to rent an apartment near the college. “During my stay in the college hostel, I had to pay the entire amount at the beginning of the year. Now that I have rented an apartment, I pay a small part of the rent every month. And if you are sharing the house, the rent gets divided, reducing the living cost,” she shares. Another factor that leads most students to move out is the strict timings. “We have to be back at the hostel by 7pm, making it difficult for students who have work in the city to return to hostel on time,” Annette adds.
While women in the city have good options to choose from when it comes to hostels and PGs, men find it difficult to find a decent hostel accommodation. Thus, adding another factor to the trend catching up. “The quality of men’s hostels and PGs is not good in Chennai. They might offer air conditioned rooms and other facilities but the rooms are cramped. There is hardly space to set up two beds and a table. And to add to this, most of these PGs are situated in congested localities with minimal or no ventilation,” shares Karthik Krishna, an IT professional. Like Karthik, many bachelors are left with no choice but to take homes on rent.
With new IT corridors opening up in the city and more homes being available to choose from, agents and brokers are receiving queries from bachelors for homes on sharing basis. “Youngsters want homes in gated communities and societies as it promises them security. With amenities available in many projects, tenants weigh factors like comfort, apart from cost, while choosing a house. Looking at the rise in the trend, many home owners are now open to the idea of accommodating bachelors in their homes,” says M D Palanivelraj, proprietor of Avinaash Realtors.
According to Shanmugan Sundaram, a house owner, who has rented out his apartment in Amjikarai, landlords are particular about two things. “Home owners want tenants who can treat and maintain the home as their own and return it to us in good condition while vacating. Landlords want occupants who do not create any problems for others living in the society or building. Most house owners stay far away from the property rented out so they do not want to be called time and again to sort out problems between their tenants and society members. When we get good tenants, we are ready to rent it out to them,” he shares. This trend is a good sign for the rental market in Chennai.
Source Dishya Sharma, Times Property, The Times of India, Chennai