For female professionals, landing a decent job can be easier than finding accommodation
If you are a group of single women working in the IT industry and looking for an affordable, plush house in the areas surrounding IT parks, chances are 100 per cent that you will be preferred over your male counterparts and sometimes — considering the high rent you will pay — even over families. But woe unto you in case you are a single woman hunting for a house.
“There are hundred questions asked, and if by any chance you take a male colleague along while you go house-hunting or to negotiate the rent, your chances get even slimmer,” explains Abhaya Roy, a 29-year-old marketing professional from Bihar who works in the city.
The number of women employed by the IT industry in the State exceeded 1.3 lakh this year, the highest number recorded by any State, according to NASSCOM. The city alone employs over 1 lakh women in various IT offices and BPO units, and hundreds of others in the banking and retail sectors. Life for these women employees is fraught with many challenges — and those who are single find it extremely difficult to feel at home in the city.
Akshi Chattur, who has been in the city for five years now, says while Chennai is safe is many respects, it still has to come out of its conservativeness. “House hunting is a ritual every IT fresher goes through. It is fun as a group, but when you do it alone, it takes almost three months to find a good house because many landlords do not understand why a working woman might want to stay alone,” says the 32-year-old professional.
The best way is to get an elderly couple accompany you, she says. As someone who is in the auditing wing of an FMCG company, Akshi travels to different cities and even when she is in Chennai, has to go to different offices every day. “Even the most liberal of landlords here think that as a single woman, you will leave in about a year to get married. When that does not happen, awkward questions are asked, and even your guitar tutor is suspected of being your partner,” she says.
And since houses are rented out on yearly contracts, most often, single women find their contracts not renewed by the landlord. “Even the reasons are not clearly specified,” says Mansi Pandey, an advertising professional living in Thiruvanmiyur.
There are several neighbourhoods which are more liberal than others, but the rents can be high. “They always don’t tell you on your face that you are not suited. They either quote a very high rent or say the apartment is not ready.
I remember a broker once told me that the landlord is very cultured and a family man and will let his house only to cultured people, and that I should arrange for two more room mates,” says Tara Agarwal, a manager in an IT firm.
Many PGs have their own way of working and rules too. Asha Kumari, a BPO employee in Triplicane says, “My landlady demands that we call our parents every day in front of her and also participate in the morning prayers. Call centre employees with night shifts are not allowed and outings are permitted once in a while we all go out to watch a hit Tamil movie.”
As you get older, the problems seem to increase. For instance, several working women’s hostels do not permit women over the age of 35. “We do lease out rooms on daily basis, but not for a longer time. There are adjustments problems,” J. Kalyani of Easwari Working Women’s Hostel explains rather cryptically.
Living on the outskirts — or for that matter on GST Road or OMR — might be an option but safety becomes a question. For instance Mansi, who travels almost 20 km one way every day, is emphatic that she still can’t think of staying at Siruseri or Navallur, where her other colleagues stay in groups. “If you want a house for yourself, you have to be in the city,” she says.
Keywords: Chennai accommodation, accommodation for women
I am a single woman who has been staying alone for the most part in Mumbai when I moved to Chennai last year. I did not have any relatives there but I did have colleagues who were from Chennai who prepped me for house hunting in Chennai (esp the part of taking along my parents). Staying on OMR proved to be too expensive and prompted me to ask "Where do the professors and the other ordinary folk stay?" and I moved to Chromepet.
Initially the Housing Society was not comfortable with a single woman staying. However, my collegue stayed in the very same lane and his mother was able to vouch for me, and I got the house on her reference. My colleague had prepared me for the intrusion into my life by the different aunties of the building and it was exactly as he said. However, they also helped me with pretty much everything needed to set up home. Chennai may be conservative, but they can be the very best friends when and if you take the trouble to get to know them and respect them.
Well for starters we do not see as many violence against women
reported from chennai as in other IT hubs. I am not going to say that
in anyway this is acceptable to turn down bachelors women or men in
the name of safety but the question is as much as you want them to
think from your boots YOU need to think from their shoes as well. The
grass always seems greener on the other side. The only solution lies
in you either spending money to get a good corporate housing or you
need to spend time looking for that house that is right for you in
your budget and the landlord is also in the same frequency as you.
The government can play a role here. There should be a simple tenant contract and rules clearly specifying that discrimination based on arbitrary perceptions is illegal. After all if you are earning money through renting out a property you own, surely you come under some kind of business act. Why can't there be laws governing a just way of doing business? Won't you seek legal recourse if your tenant abuses your property in any way? If it is then the government's responsibility to provide justice, how about participating in a just system to start with? I wonder how many landlords pay taxes on rental income in the first place.
Sorry, Chennai is not what you think how Delhi is. It is conservative and that gives the safety to women. You cannot feel the same good enviroment for women in Noida. Because this conservativeness does this. I had taken accomadations in apartments in Chennai when I was a bachelor. However, you should give them a good feeling that there is no problem from you. Especially people from non-conservative soceity are not giving this feel. Once you are left alone, you start with smoke and drinks and maintaining house seems very bad. Just because of agreement, you should not think that the house is yours. After somedays you start to call your friends to stay with you. There will no information on who is coming and going in an apartment. If something happens whom to blame? So you people should maintain proper gestures with the families around and should give a good feel. Become a landlord and you will understand the issues in keeping bachelors as tenants.
It is because of the conservativeness, a culture respecting women and
caring by elders (even you 'modern' wo'men' dont want to intrude your
privacy)you people are safe in chennai..it is family,relatives and
friendly neighborhoods protect the women from getting troubles..but
because of the false ego generated by the so called modern education
and financial independence, women have become more ignorant&
selfish..they put themselves in trouble. just visit other
'developed' cities in india to have a look. how rotten the work space
is and danger are the roads. as long as chennai keeps its traditional
identity , at least you can talk or do anything in the name of
freedom...and personally you the so called achieving women Dont know
how much it costs a family and human relationships especially
children...just try to think why ladies leave their parents, families
and work like a slave for few thousand rs..if you think, you are
achieving and standing on your own legs then wow to your ignorance..
I had analysed this issue in detail. There are broad minded people owning houses & would like to rent them out. But the risks involved in renting it to this enigmatic group in discussion, is really high. The adage "Appearances are Deceptive" is often proved these days. With such a high risk involved the house owner has to be greedy for the extra bucks or should be knowing the tenant well to let his house for him. With both these criteria not being satisfied it's understandable that the owner would reject such a tenant out-rightly, or if is a cultured person, politely. To circumvent this issue, I feel it would make sense if the system accepts an undertaking from the tenant(s), giving details of their Occupation & Permanent address with family details & photograph, mentioning that the house owner would be relieved of any responsibility if the tenants are involved in any unsocial/unlawful acts. If such an agreement is acceptable in the court of law, the issue could be solved unbiased.
Good observation,Chaitanya. Indians have to change. Change is a constant. Not every one has a family to haul around in order to get an accomodation, be it a single Lady or gent. I live in Delhi and i thought South indians were more libral. Now i think i am mistaken.
Good point; But you've forgotten the plight of young men like me who wants to stay alone. Its still difficult to get room for bachelors and more difficult if you stay alone. It took me so many months to get a reasonable house for me.
Any apartment you go have a board "family only". People fail to understand that they were bachelors during their times and its unfair to push out youngsters. Conservatism is just in our blood and I am sure people never change even after a century.
The city is safe for women because of the conservative society.
It is true that Chennaites need to broaden their outlook to some extent. but they will never compromise on safety of their women.
The question is what do we prefer?
"Akshi Chattur, who has been in the city for five years now, says while Chennai is safe is many respects, it still has to come out of its conservativeness." In my opinion, that is precisely the reason why Chennai is still safe in many respects.
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