'Greed has no limit': Bengaluru actor alleges landlord sought 50% rent hike before asking him to vacate home

Bengaluru-based actor and entrepreneur Vasant Marimuthu has accused his landlady of asking for a steep 50% rent increase before serving him a 30-day notice to vacate the property. Marimuthu, founder and CEO of Teestra Lifestyle, shared the dispute on X, saying the eviction came after he asked for a formal rental agreement.

What Marimuthu alleged

In his post, Marimuthu said his landlady had increased the rent at every renewal, often beyond the usual 5% to 10% annual hike. This year, he claimed, she demanded a 50% increase. When he requested a formal agreement reflecting the revised terms, he alleged that she later said her sister needed the house and asked him to leave.

“Our landlady has been consistently hiking the rent every tenure (above the normal 5% or 10%) which is the normal - this year when she asked for a 50% hike, I requested her to make a fresh agreement - after a week, she comes back saying she needs the place for her sister moving in and has given us a 30 day notice,” Marimuthu claimed in his X post.

READ ALSO: ₹1 lakh deposit, ₹19,604 returned: Bengaluru tenant alleges massive deduction by landlord

Expressing his frustration, he wrote: “Greed has no limit.”

He also said the property is located in JP Nagar, Bengaluru, and that he had lived there for five years. In replies to users, Marimuthu added that rent had been paid on time every month and that the relationship with the homeowners had remained cordial.

“There was no issue. Timely rent paid every single month, increased by 20% every 11 months - even now we agreed to pay her expected rent, stressed on an agreement and she flipped,” he claimed.

Online debate follows

Marimuthu’s post triggered a wider debate on social media, with users weighing legality against fairness. One commenter wrote, “While a 50% hike seems excessive, if the lease permits termination with 30 days' notice for personal occupation, then the landlady may be acting within the agreement. Unreasonable on the rent hike, but legality and fairness aren't always the same.”

Another user shared a personal concern about housing insecurity, saying, “As a single mother, such situations are terrifying. Hence, I have gone ahead and bought an apartment in my name. EMI is tight, almost half my salary. Still, I decided to go ahead in order to avoid tantrums from house owners like this.”

A third user took a different view, writing, “They own the property and can do what they want."

Marimuthu’s post has since become part of a broader conversation online about steep rent hikes, tenancy agreements, and tenant protection in Bengaluru.