Renting a Flat: What to Check Before You Pay a Deposit

The deposit on a rented flat is often the largest sum a tenant hands over in one go, and it is usually paid on the day of the visit, standing in the flat, with another family waiting to see it after you. That pressure is real and sometimes manufactured. This checklist puts the checks in the order you will need them, so that the deposit is paid after them rather than instead of them.

What should a rental listing tell you?

A good rental listing names the locality, the rent, the deposit, the size and the configuration, whether it is furnished, and when it is available. That is what we ask landlords to include, and a listing that leaves most of it out will leave out other things later. On a property listing, the Beds, Baths and Square ft rows appear beside the description when the seller filled them in; if they disagree with the text, ask which is right.

Read the rent with care. Every price on this site is shown in US dollars, and many landlords type their local-currency figure into the dollar field, so a monthly rent can look like a year’s salary. Ask for the rent and the deposit in your first message rather than trusting the number on the page.

Look at the photographs as evidence, not decoration. Photos of the actual rooms, taken from the doorway, are what an owner takes. Glossy pictures of a show flat, or the same photos you have seen on another listing in another city, are what someone takes from somewhere else. An image search on any photo that looks too good takes a minute.

Why should you never pay before you see the flat?

Because the most common rental scam needs you to. The story varies — the owner is posted in another city, serving in the forces, working abroad — but the ending is the same: a “token amount” to hold the flat, a fee to arrange the visit, or the deposit up front so the keys can be sent by courier. The flat may be real; the person you are paying does not own it.

Nobody needs money from you to show you a flat. See it in person, or have someone you trust see it, before any payment of any size. Ads here may not carry phone numbers or email addresses, so you will first reach the landlord through the Respond to ad form on the listing page. If they move you to a chat app at once and the visit keeps being postponed while the payment requests keep coming, stop replying.

How do you know the person is the owner?

Ask, politely and before you pay. An owner can show a recent property tax receipt or electricity bill for the flat in their name, and an identity document with the same name. If the flat is in a housing society, the society office knows who the owner is and often has its own rules for tenants. If you are dealing with a broker, ask for the owner’s name and confirm it the same way, and agree the brokerage fee in writing before the visit rather than after.

On the listing page, View Profile on the seller’s card shows what else the account has listed. Twenty flats across a city belong to a broker, which is fine if they say so. The same flat at three different rents belongs to someone you should not pay.

How much deposit is normal, and how do you protect it?

It depends on where you live. India’s Model Tenancy Act, 2021 caps the deposit on a residential let at two months’ rent, but it applies only in states that have adopted it, and some cities customarily ask for far more. Know your local norm before you visit, so that a deposit far above it is a question rather than a surprise.

Whatever the amount, protect it the same way:

• Pay by bank transfer to the owner’s account, never in cash, and get a receipt that names the flat and the amount.
• Write the deposit, and when and how it will be returned, into the agreement.
• On the day you move in, photograph every room, every appliance and every existing mark, and send the photos to the owner so that both of you have them with a date.
• Note the electricity and water meter readings on the same day.

Most deposit disputes are about damage that was already there. A dated photograph settles them in a minute.

What should the rent agreement say?

Read it before you sign, and check that it covers at least:

1. The rent, the date it is due, and how and when it can be increased.
2. The deposit, and the deductions that can be made from it.
3. The notice period on both sides, and any lock-in period.
4. Who pays maintenance charges, electricity, water and gas.
5. Who pays for repairs, separating routine wear from major faults.
6. A list of the furniture and appliances, for a furnished flat.

In India most agreements run for eleven months because a lease of more than a year must be registered under the Registration Act, 1908. An eleven-month agreement on stamp paper is normal. Many cities also require the landlord to register the tenant with the local police; ask whether it has been done, because it protects you as much as them.

When to walk away

Most landlords are honest, and a checked flat is a good one to rent. Walk away, though, from any of these:

1. Any payment asked for before you have seen the flat.
2. An owner who cannot meet you, cannot show the flat and cannot show proof of ownership.
3. A deposit demanded in cash, or paid into an account in another name.
4. No written agreement, or an agreement you may only sign after paying.
5. A rent far below everything else in the area, with urgency attached.

Those are the warning signs of a classifieds scam in any category. If a listing here turns out to be one, use Flag this ad at the top of the listing page so the next tenant does not pay it. A real flat will still be there tomorrow, after you have checked it.