US woman living in Bengaluru says landlord increased rent 33%, calls it ‘a problem’

An American woman living in Bengaluru has voiced her frustration with the city’s problematic and uncontrolled rent hikes. Dana Marie said in an Instagram video that her landlord wants to increase her rent 33% — a steep hike any measure. What made it worse is the fact that if she refused, she could easily be evicted as there are plenty of people willing to pay the price.Dana Marie flagged problematic rent hikes in Bengaluru (Instagram/danamarie.irl)The Bengaluru-based content creator contrasted this hike with the rental system in the US, where landlords often have to abide rent caps.“This is a problem. Do you know in the US, this wouldn’t even be legal in a lot of places,” she revealed. “They have rent caps like 10% annually. You can’t increase more than that, and people actually follow the law.”‘The craziest part’Dana Marie said that the craziest part is not the increase in her rent, but how normal it feels in Bengaluru.In the caption of her Instagram video, she wrote: “Rent up 33%/ Not even the craziest part. The craziest part is how normal this is starting to feel. That’s how it happens.”Watch the video here.She compared Bengaluru with the US, where rent hikes are much lower. “For comparison, rent increases in the states are usually 3-5% and Americans have trouble keeping up with that,” said Dana Marie, questioning whether Bengaluru’s rent increases are sustainable.She pointed out even a 10% annual increase in rent translates to rentals increasing leaps and bounds in just a few years.“Lets say here in Bengaluru, you get a very average 10% annual increase on your rent. Over 10 years a 30k rent becomes 80k and 1L becomes 2.6L. Is it sustainable?” she asked.Dana also questioned the practice of landlords demanding four to six months of rent as security deposit, despite a Karnataka law stipulating that landlords cannot charge more than two months of rent as deposit.“Tell me why none of us can get a place without committing to at least four to six months’ rent as deposit on a place,” she questioned.How Instagram reacted“No body cares about law in India, which is the sad part,” wrote one person in the comments section of the video.“A 33% rent hike is rough. But Bengaluru housing gets even more unhinged… a Google engineer who had worked in Seattle, US literally had to sit through a landlord interview just to rent an apartment… and initially got rejected,” another person revealed.“As per new law deposit can’t be more than 2 months’ rent, also landlords can’t increase rent more than 10%. These laws are implemented from April 2026,” a user added.“Thanks for being vocal about it. The government can’t enforce any law,” an Instagram user said.