Anurag Khetan has been sharing a flat with two of his friends in Hextax Commune apartments, Sector 43, Gurugram, for almost a year now. “It was one of the few societies that was economical, was in a prime location and didn't have any weird restrictions,” said the IIM Lucknow alumnus.
But on September 1, Mr. Khetan was given a rude shock. A three-page notice was pasted near the elevator announcing that all bachelors staying in the group housing society would have to vacate the premises after their lease expired as it won’t be renewed.
The reason: bachelors have too many parties and create unhealthy living conditions for other residents; they make too much noise in the common areas; they have a lot of visitors, and they keep the flats dirty.
Mr. Khetan, a native of Patna, had planned to stay in the apartment for another year but now that seems impossible. “All of a sudden this happened. None of the tenants were consulted in this regard,” he added.
The estate manager of Hextax Commune, Raj Jha, said that the RWA had received several representations from the residents with regard to its decision and had therefore reconsidered.
“We have decided to let the incumbent single tenants stay, but the RWA is firm in its decision that bachelors would not be rented flats in the society in the future,” Mr. Jha said.
Such stories rarely ever make headlines, but the fact is that residents’ welfare associations (RWAs) in the National Capital Region, especially the satellite towns of Delhi, are increasingly imposing arbitrary and absurd restrictions on single tenants — men or women.
The regulations, which sometimes defy all logic, range from restrictions on guests of the opposite gender, not allowing them access to common areas, and preventing them from ordering food beyond a stipulated time at night.
In Delhi too, there have been several incidents of RWAs imposing restrictions on bachelor tenants.
Ashish Paul, a masters student living in Delhi University's North Campus, said that his lease in his previous accommodation was cancelled abruptly mid-session in 2015. The house owner complained that “multiple women had been visiting the house”.
“We were a group of four boys living together and some of our women friends would visit us after or between classes. We tried to explain to them that these women were friends, but they wouldn't hear us out,” said Mr. Paul.
He said that the owner mentioned that it would have been all right if they had one “special friend” visiting, but multiple women showed their “poor character”.
In another PG accommodation for women at GTB Nagar in Delhi, tenants had to give a week's notice to the landlord before inviting guests.
“We would hang out at a friends' houses as our landlord wouldn't allow us to have guests without advance notice. It was apparently done for the safety of the occupants,” said a Delhi University student, who did not wish to be named.
Almost a year ago, Mohit Agarwal, another IIM Lucknow alumnus living in Gurugram, took to social media to express his anger over not being allowed to host a woman friend from Barcelona.
“There are housing societies that clearly declare that they don't allow bachelor tenants. I think that is more noble than what Palm Grove does. During my masters in Europe, I made many friends. One of them, a girl from Barcelona, was coming to intern here in Delhi at a Human Rights organisation. She wanted a place to stay for three-four days before she could rent a flat. I volunteered to host her. On a Saturday evening, she arrived at the complex… the society guard stopped her saying girls are not allowed in an unmarried boy’s house (sic),” wrote Mr. Agarwal in a Facebook post.
The management also restricted the entry of all two-wheelers on the premises, prompting Mr. Agarwal to sarcastically add: “Thats all folks, and get married soon, and buy a car, and be a man - because a bachelor doesn't have equal rights! And a woman! And a person from another country! And a two-wheeler driver! (sic).”
Young single women have it worse.
An advertising executive recalled how the society members of a building in Essel Towers had accused her and others of “supporting prostitution” when they protested against the RWA's decision to not allow tenants to have guests over at night.
The matter escalated to the point where the complaint reached the office of the Deputy Commissioner and a probe was ordered.
“Single woman tenants are treated no differently from the males, but a woman is forced into silence by casting aspersions on her character. Also, in case of a woman, she cannot afford to rent builder floors due to security issues. So, not left with any options, the bachelor tenants prefer to suffer in silence,” said the 26-year-old.
She added that many of her single friends, both male and female, staying in Gurugram had similar stories to tell.
“Even outside the housing societies, there are few public spaces left for the youngsters to hang out without being pestered. We are tagged as criminals.”
Six months before the face-off between the single woman tenants and the RWA, Raj Gopal, a young senior business analyst staying in another building of Essel Towers, made a Facebook post to protest against moral policing by the RWA after he was not allowed to entertain women guests at his flat on two separate occasions.
He also shared a notice by the RWA, which allegedly read: “Where only girls are staying, boy visitors shall not be allowed and where boys are staying, girl visitors shall not be allowed”.
“What does this mean to us living in a plush society with the mindset ageing centuries back? It is moral policing of the gravest order… The liberty to lead a peaceful social and personal life has been snatched from us… The consequences can be dire if we let this hooliganism spread across the town (sic),” Mr. Gopal wrote in his post.
A native of Mumbai, Mr. Gopal said he had stayed in several apartments across the country, including Bengaluru and Mumbai, but never came across such “regressive” rules.
A young woman, staying at one of the group housing societies in Sector 15 Part-II, recalled how the RWA members created a scene over one of her male friends visiting her at night.
“When I told them that he was my fiancé, they asked me to call my parents and get it verified. The matter escalated and the police were called in. It was all so embarrassing,” she said.
The former general-secretary of the society, however, justified the restrictions on single tenants saying that the conduct of the bachelors had bad influence on the minors living in the society and caused discomfort to the families.
“We have no objection to what they do inside their flats. But the RWA had to intervene when a woman tenant hosted her birthday party in the park with her friends. Around a dozen people were consuming beer till late night. Following this incident, the residents were told to not rent out their flats to bachelors. Also, most of the bachelor tenants were from the same institute and would assemble at one of the flats every weekend for a party and play loud music. The restriction on renting to single tenants was lifted a year ago,” the former office-bearer said.
Despite so many incidents, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Deepak Saharan said that he could not recall any complaint by single tenants being referred to the police.
“It is undemocratic and conservative to impose restrictions on entry of visitors from opposite gender and other similar arbitrary regulations. But I have never come across any such complaint. If we receive a complaint, action will be initiated as per the law,” said Mr. Saharan.
Legal experts said that the law provided the right to housing societies to frame their own rules for members, however, such rules could only pertain to issues such as parking, maintenance charges, and safety etc.
Rudra Pratap Singh, a real estate lawyer, explained that any regulation that infringes upon the fundamental rights of an individual could be challenged in the court of law.
“The housing society regulations don't have the same stature as that of a law. Every Indian citizen has the right to reside anywhere in the country and they cannot be discriminated against based on religion, caste, gender, eating habits or marital status,” said Mr. Singh.
He added that if a tenant or a house owner felt that a housing society had been implementing unfair rules, they can file a police complaint against the managing committee, claiming infringement of their rights as a citizen.
“They can also take legal recourse such as approaching the civil or co-operative court. Another option is to appeal to the deputy registrar of housing societies,” said M. Singh.
Commenting on the social aspect of the constraints that housing societies often put on tenants, Yogesh S., an M.Phil from the Delhi School of Economics, said: “The discourse is that Indian society is still 'traditional' and not 'western'. It is also about the common understanding of what ‘family’ means in India. This ‘public knowledge’ about what ‘family’ means helps the owners occupy the moral high ground and to say things such as: boys not allowed, girls not allowed, come back by 7.30 p.m. or 10.30 p.m., no friends, no parties. The owner’s authority is further heightened due to the recognised dependence of the tenant”.
(With inputs from Soumya Pillai and Shinjini Ghosh)
