Is Bengaluru slowly becoming a problem city? At one time considered a haven for the IT sector and is still a popular destination for several MNCs that are certainly bringing a lot of tech talent from around the country to the city, however, things might not be as rosy as one believes.
Over the past few years, issues related to expenses, safety, cab mafia, language problems, and more have been discussed online.
Skyrocketing Rent
The increase in rent in Bengaluru has been a topic of much debate and discussion for a while now. A 2024 study by ANAROCK Research showed how the Sarjapur Road in Bengaluru has seen a 76% increase in rent, going from Rs. 21,000 in 2021 to Rs. 36,900 in 2024.
Similarly, Thanisandra Main Road has also witnessed a 62% rise in rent from Rs. 20,000 (2021) to Rs. 33,200 (2024).
Beyond this, several people have posted online about difficulties they are having due to this incredibly high rent.
A few days ago, Ishan Arora, a LinkedIn user, posted a story about his friend who moved from Pune to Bengaluru, where he wrote, “A friend left his 18 LPA job in Pune. And joined a firm offering him 25 LPA in Bangalore. After spending a year in the city, he called me yesterday to express his disappointment. “Ishan, I shouldn’t have switched cities. Pune was way better, 25 LPA feels like nothing in Bangalore” My friend said “What are you saying? 40% increment is a decent hike, you should be saving more money. Why do you want to come back?” I asked curiously “It’s peanuts for Bangalore. Rents here are exorbitantly high. Landlords are misers, asking for 3-4 months’ of deposit Traffic is terrible and commuting costs a fortune. I miss Pune’s Rs 15 vada pav. At least life and savings were decent there.” He replied as we disconnected the call. Do you think 25 LPA is less for a city like Bangalore? Which would you prefer, ‘a metro city or a tier 2 city’ and why?”
Before this, another employee who relocated from Noida to Bengaluru claimed that the city was “dirty, unorganized,” with “bad roads and the worst traffic.”
In February this year, a video went viral where a man showed a tiny one-bedroom flat that costs over Rs. 25,000 per month in rent. The video was shared on Instagram by a user called Abhishek Singh, where he was showing this place that he claimed a friend used to live in.
Rent in bangaluru.25K
1 bedroom, balcony.
90% of Indians earn less than 25K. pic.twitter.com/oRKgYDHrq2— The Exploited TaxPayer (@IndiaNewGen) February 11, 2025
In another LinkedIn post from January this year, a user wrote, “I saw some decent listings. But I found a 1BHK for ₹40,000 rent and a 2/3BHK between ₹75,000 and ₹90,000 rent,” in the Koramangala and HSR Layout areas.
The post further said, “Rental here does not seem to be practical. Just because a landlord owns a property, can they ask ₹4.8 lakh as a deposit?”
Landlord Issues
As if the high rent was not enough of a problem, there is also the issue of landlords that several people in the city have complained about.
In January 2025, reports came out about how startup founder Shravan Tickoo had stated that “Bengaluru landlords are a menace.”
Sharing the story of a couple who rented a two-bedroom flat, he wrote, “This couple rented a 2BHK apartment in a high-end society for Rs 55,000 a month. Despite paying their rent on time, they faced recurring issues like leakage and other property defects. Whenever they tried to reach the landlord for help, their calls went unanswered. Instead, the landlord redirected them to the maintenance team with a blunt message: ‘It’s your problem to fix.’”
As per his post, the couple was forced to spend over Rs. 1 lakh in various other expenses during their stay there. Their troubles didn’t end there, as the landlord refused to return their security deposit when they were leaving the place, claiming that “The flat requires maintenance, so you shouldn’t get anything back.”
Bengaluru landlords have also been said to be trying to capitalise on the rising demand for homes in the country’s IT hub.
Sunil Singh of Realty Corps, as per an HT report, said, “Landlords usually market their apartments for 2-3 months before considering a 5% rent reduction if they struggle to find tenants. However, with demand on the rise, many are now holding firm on their asking prices, expecting to secure tenants at higher rents.”
Several online posts on social media platforms also claim that there’s still a lot of bias against people from certain communities, language barriers, bachelors, and more.
Read More: Loneliness, Hair Loss, High Rent: Tech Professional Talks About Life In Bengaluru
Cab Mafia
The issue of the cab mafia in Bengaluru has also often been discussed. Several posts and videos online have shown the growing problem of cab drivers taking unnecessarily long routes to dial up the bill or changing their tune in the middle of the ride, demanding an extremely high price and threatening the passengers if they deny them.
In August 2023, reports emerged that a cab driver in Bengaluru extorted a woman out of Rs. 20 lakh in cash and another Rs. 20 lakh of gold. The incident is said to have happened in November 2022 while the woman was speaking to a male friend during her ride in the cab booked via an app.
What she didn’t realise was that her cab driver was eavesdropping on her conversation where she was talking about her marital issues and more. The cab driver then tracked her and her husband down on social media using this information and threatened to expose the secrets of the woman to her husband.
The woman, fearing all this, while also battling depression, agreed to pay the driver Rs. 20 lakh. The man then managed to extort another Rs. 20 lakh of gold jewellery by harassing and tormenting her.
In September 2024, videos went viral that showed an auto-rickshaw driver assaulting and slapping a woman for cancelling an auto ride.
Language Issues
The language issue with Kannada being the official language of the state and the vehement anger against non-locals not knowing the language has been going on for a few years now.
An incident from March 2023 brought out the language issue after a 26-second video went viral where an auto driver and a Hindi-speaking woman are seen arguing. In the video, the auto driver is seen scolding the woman for not speaking in Kannada while in Bengaluru and asking him to speak in Hindi.
As per reports, the dialogue between them went like this:
“Driver: Why should I speak in Hindi?
Woman: Okay, okay, okay.
Driver: This is Karnataka. You have to speak in Kannada. You people are north Indian beggars.
Woman: Why. We will not speak in Kannada.
Driver: This is our land, not your land. You have to speak in Kannada. Why should I speak in Hindi.”
In July 2024, user Shaani Naani posted on her X/Twitter how an auto driver in Bengaluru demanded extra fare from her simply because she was a non-Kannadiga.
Hailing from Punjab, she wrote, “What a harassment it was to commute in auto from flat to office and back. The audacity of local auto drivers to strike a conversation on why I was in Bangalore when I belonged to North, if I was learning Kannada, asking if I like anything apart from weather, asking for more money as I was newly married and pretending not to understand a word when I would talk in Hin/Eng. I had a very bad experience with local crowd there.”
Non-Functional Police
A recent LinkedIn post by Mrinali Priyadarshni, an employee at Swiggy, talked about her brother’s harrowing experience with a cab driver while going home from the Bengaluru airport.
She further wrote how even though they encountered the police, they were of no help. Instead of protecting the young boy who is just 18 years old, they left him with the cab driver who was threatening and harassing him.
Other users in the comments section also highlighted this issue of the Bengaluru police not helping non-locals. 
In another incident from January 2025, entrepreneur Vatsal Sanghvi alleged in a now-deleted X/Twitter post that he and a friend were harassed by a police officer late at night due to a language issue.
In his post, he wrote, “A cop stopped by and started asking us why the heck were we sitting there, what were we doing etc etc – he was hostile at first but my friend reverted to him in Kannada and asked him that on what grounds/law was he asking us these things.
The cop immediately changed the tone, apologised and asked us to carry on. I’m pretty sure things would have been otherwise different had my friend not known Kannada.”
A person did clarify in the comments that “Not sure if you’re aware but that road actually has an underground dance bar. Near Rice Bowl, which is slightly ahead of where you were sitting. The cops have good reason to be very extra vigilant at night time esp on that street.”
To this, Sanghvi replied, “Did not know this and I’m totally okay with patrolling. My only point here is the indifferent treatment that was evidently visible. Positivity and warmth will forward the cause, such biases will no.”
The Bengaluru Police’s official account also responded, writing “Please provide the exact location of the incident happened and DM your contact number.”
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: Livemint, Hindustan Times, India Today
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: Bengaluru, Bengaluru rent, Bengaluru cab mafia, Bengaluru language, Bengaluru issues, Bengaluru problems
Disclaimer: We do not hold any right or copyright over any of the images used; these have been taken from Google. In case of credits or removal, the owner may kindly email us.
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