Finding a house of choice on rent in a new city could be tiresome. More so for bachelors moving into new towns for work. Apart from dealing with the whimsical demands of the house owners, they have to face the unwritten moral policing rules of the housing societies.
A notice issued by an apartment owners' association in Thiruvananthapuram has brought to light the stark realities that Kerala's young tenants have to face. While many apartment societies implement the same rules, this is for the first time that an owners' association has issued them as a circular.
The notice issued by Heera Twins Owners' Association at Pattom in Thiruvananthapuram, and addressing bachelor tenants (or as the circular puts it “in flats where only females or males are staying”) states that “except blood relatives, no one from opposite sex can enter the rented properties.”
Not only tenants have to provide their Aadhaar cards, they have to share the phone numbers of their parents of guardians.
And “non families occupying the flats will have to vacate their flats withing 2 months as this building is meant for families only” (sic).
Put simply, the elders want to keep the 'familial' atmosphere of the society even if the rules do not gel well with the progressive outlook Kerala espouses. While young tenants point out that their right to freedom and privacy are being questioned, rule makers prefer these restrictions in the name of safety.
While the said owners' association did not respond to Onmanorama's queries, some working women, who stay for rent in the same builder's property in Vazhuthacaud, spoke about the irrationality behind these rules which applies to their building too. “These guidelines, which include eviction of unmarried people, is a huge blow to us, as we don’t have another place to move to,” one of the women said.
She recounted the horrifying incident when a few residents’ association members barged into their flat late in the night for inspection. “They claimed that they were inspecting if there there were any issue regarding the water supply. But there was no issue like that. They barged in to check if any male was there with us or if we were engaged in some 'trouble-causing' act,” she said, requesting anonymity.
Johnson James, a registered real estate agent in Thiruvananthapuram, emphasised the importance of equal rights for all irrespective of gender, age, nationality or religion. “An owner of a property can suggest a few rules for his/ her tenants, however, owners' associations cannot implement any kind of restrictions violating one's right to privacy and equality,” he said. “A tenant can easily challenge these rules legally, as they violate our laws. I have seen several apartments keeping an 'unwritten' rule that they do not prefer unmarried people as tenants. However, the reasons that they put forth are implausible. At the end of the day, anybody can cause trouble, no matter what their marital status or gender,” said Johnson.
“Under the laws, a bachelor, can purchase a flat in society, without any restriction. A housing society cannot prohibit/restrict any person, whether an unmarried or a widow from purchasing a flat in a society, he added.
But, there are many people, who believe that these guidelines would help the property in maintaining a decorum and avoid 'unnecessary' incidents. They have also highlighted the need to take enough precautionary measures to prevent any trouble or event that would affect the safety of the residents.
Things are not different in Kochi either
Speaking to Onmanorama, Najiya Nazrin, a Kochi-based journalist, said the rules for tenants were further strengthened following the number of murder cases in prominent areas such as Kakkanad and a series of drug busts across the city. “Some of my female colleagues and I share an apartment in Kaloor. On New Year's eve, one of our male friends joined us for dinner in our apartment. Though our flat owner did not raise any issue, the residents' association and security personnel confronted us and asked us not to bring the opposite sex to the apartment. They claimed that a male friend sharing a meal with us would cause disturbance to other residents,” she said.
Kottayam native Arjun R, an employee of an MNC, said even young married couples are subjected to the moral policing. “My wife and I face constant questions from association members about our friends who used to visit our rented flat in Palarivattom. Moreover, the residents' association had issue with us returning home at midnight after my wife's late night shifts. They used to claim that we were putting the security of other residents at risk by not allowing them to lock the gates by 10 pm,” he said.
Arjun, who has been residing in Kochi for the past three years, said he had to shift three apartments in this short period due to various issues with such nosy residents' associations. “One time we were asked to show our marriage photo or a copy of our marriage certificate, just to prove that we were not living together. They wanted to make sure that we were not absconding after causing any 'trouble',” he said.
