PLURAL

“Make Renting in Mumbai Affordable Again” — featured in the Mumbai Mirror — explores how Mumbai’s rental market needs a serious rethink to meet the aspirations of a mobile, younger workforce. Authored by Oormi Kapadia and Jasmine Saluja, the piece highlights practical strategies to shift from a homeownership-dominated approach to one that supports secure, affordable renting for all.

The article sheds light on the growing rental demand among youth, the limitations of current housing finance models, and why Mumbai needs innovative solutions like co-living, rent management policies, and new financial mechanisms to make renting truly affordable again.
This is part of our broader research titled Renting Realities in Mumbai, which not only aims to document but also actively shape the narrative around rental housing in India.

🔗 Explore the project: www.rentingrealities.com
📺 Watch our ongoing work unfold on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/ds8JxsvQ

Affordable for whom? ⁉️

I pay ₹48,000 for a 450 sq.ft. 1BHK in Andheri East—that’s ₹80-85 per sq.ft. Meanwhile, my domestic help rents a room in an informal settlement nearby for just ₹15 per sq.ft.

When the market fails to provide dignified, affordable rentals, people are forced to self-build in desperation. Yet, the same workers who keep the city running—cooks, drivers, security guards, delivery agents—are pushed to the margins.

Mixed-income housing isn’t just fair—it’s efficient and economical for everyone. After all, the city runs on their labor.

💬 Know the rental disparity in your locality! Drop a comment with:
1️⃣ Your locality
2️⃣ Your rent per sq.ft.
3️⃣ Your domestic worker’s locality
4️⃣ Their rent per sq.ft.

Let’s document the gap together!

There is demand for a new form of housing type which can address the shelter needs of the mobile working youth population. Scaling up of the co-living start-up models perhaps can benefit from institutional support to address new age living in the city.

Our research RENTING REALITIES IN MUMBAI is exploring new housing types for the changing demographic demand.

The choice of whether to stay closer to his place of work and pay high rent or commute long hours and afford a better quality of living outside city limits is the question that plagues most working professionals in Mumbai.

Our research RENTING REALITIES IN MUMBAI is identifying many such situations where quality of living is questioned.