MUMBAI: The video of a woman from Mulund narrating her ordeal of being denied a flat for being a Maharashtrian drew sharp reactions from citizens as well as politicians on Friday.
Some attribute such discrimination to the increase in the number of vegetarian-only housing societies in the metropolis. For brokers, asking potential tenants “Do you eat non-veg?” has become the norm. “I personally don’t care if the tenant is vegetarian or not but several owners who list their houses for rent ask us to inquire beforehand,” said broker Naresh Jadhav.” I once showed a house to a couple and the deal was almost fixed. But when the owner found out they were non-vegetarians, they refused to rent the house. There is little a broker can do in such cases, he added.
In some instances, the discrimination has less to do with dietary preferences and is more on religious lines. “I was looking for a 1BHK in Ghatkopar and I met the house owner along with my broker. They seemed keen to let me rent their flat, but on hearing my last name they increased the rent price from Rs 35,000 to Rs 41,000,” said Reshma Khan, a freelance graphic designer.
There are no written laws that prevent non-vegetarians from buying or renting houses.
However, Atul Khatri, chairman of a cooperative housing society in Kurla, said, “It is not discrimination in our housing society; more than 50% of residents are vegetarian. We do not have any problem if you are a single woman or man or what your religion is. Our only request is that you follow the rules of the society and eat vegetarian food. One must abide by the rules laid out by the housing society.”
“This has been an age-old problem in the city, it is getting traction now because of social media. House owners and housing societies should be more concerned about tenants creating a ruckus or being involved in anti-social activities. Worrying about food preferences is just frivolous,” said 57-year-old homeopath Anuja Chitnis.
But the question remains: is denying tenancy or ownership of houses on the basis of food preferences legal? Some say house owners are well within their rights to decide whom they choose to sell their house to. “Supreme Court in the case of Sanwarmal Kejriwal vs. Vishwa Co-operative Housing Society Ltd clearly stipulated that a member of a co-operative housing society has the right to sublet or sell the flat to a person of his choice. However, the concept in cooperative housing societies is open membership and bylaws of society are also crystal clear. Denying housing on flimsy grounds is in a way a violation of fundamental rights provided to each individual under the Constitution of India,” said advocate Vinod Sampath.
Sameer Tapia founder partner ALMT Legal reiterateD, “Cooperative housing socities by law should not discriminate on the basis of a person’s preference of food.”
In 2014, it was reported that the BMC passed a resolution stating that the civic body would stay construction of any residential project if the builder refused to sell flats to a person based on caste, religion, or gender.