Mumbai has no room for the young and single

MUMBAI: The new face of Mumbai — young, single, and independent — wants to make it big. But it is a tough task in a city that seems to have no room for them.

In a market where demand exceeds supply, singletons have the toughest deal. They are at the bottom of the list of desirable tenants for housing societies that govern the affairs of buildings in the city.

It took five months and many rejections before Jovy Philip and his five friends found an apartment on rent. At each place they tried before, they were turned away with the familiar line, “This building is only for families.”

Philip said, “We looked everywhere, from Andheri to Borivli. People in Mahim were the most averse to singles. When we finally found a place, we had to promise the society that we would not have late-night parties or smoke and drink. We even gave them a letter of reference from our college.”

Vijayendra Mohantoi, who works for an advertising agency, had similar trouble. “Though they don’t cite reasons, you can sense their reluctance,” he said. It took Mohantoi three months of rigorous house-hunting to find a place in Andheri.

It is not single men alone who have trouble finding space in the city. Women have it worse. Entrepreneur Seema Devisingh, who runs a talent agency, said, “About eight to ten societies refused to let out an apartment to me because I was single. The standard reply was, ‘We have a policy of not letting flats to singles because it leads to problems.’ I have no clue what these ‘problems’ are. And if there are any, at least check our backgrounds before turning us away.”

All sorts of assurances have to be given to find a place. Shweta Dharia, who lives with her sister, had to bring her mother into the picture to convince the society. “I also had to endure questions like, ‘Will guys come over? Will you have late-night parties?’ Only after I agreed to all their conditions did they let me move in.”

Sneha Agarwal faced worse. She had to agree to a dress code: wear what you want at home, but no walking around the building complex in shorts.

Clearly, Mumbai isn’t all that embracing anymore. Sameera Khan, a researcher with the Gender and Space Project at Pukar, said, “The city is becoming exclusionist. Anyone who does not conform to people’s social standards is not accepted.”

Khan said it is not the government or managements who are to blame; it’s the people. “The nature of the city is such,” she said, “that though people come here to work and make a life, acceptance is hard to come by. The difficulty singles have in finding accommodation is only a reflection of the city’s rigid mindset.”

Real estate agent Bhagwan Bhirwani said, “It has become difficult to find accommodation for tenants who are single, especially for independent women, in areas like Andheri.”

Bhirwani explained that this is the result of bar dancers renting flats and creating trouble. “Usually, societies are worried that a girl will call men over and this will influence children,” he said. “Even bachelors working in IT firms or BPOs are turned away because of their unusual timings and the assumption that they are perpetually drunk. Also, renting out to a family provides some guarantee that rent will be paid regularly. A family cannot disappear overnight.”

Some real estate agents, however, see an opportunity even in this adversity and jack up their rates for singletons. Vidisha Ghoshal said, “The broker first showed me shoddy places with exorbitant rents and then made it worse by hitting on me.”

People are therefore forced to resort to subterfuge to beat the system. Apeksha Saraf went house-hunting with some friends and told the landlord her mother would be joining them soon. The landlord was later “regretfully” informed that the friends had “opted out” and her mother’s programme was cancelled.