Renting vs buying a home has always been a big topic of discussion. Whenever we look for any long-term accommodation, we analyze deeply whether to buy a house property or take it on rent.

Some people say that staying in a rented home is better as we don’t have to spend a huge amount of money upfront. Moreover, when we opt for buying a residence, we mostly prefer raising a home loan which can again be a big commitment. On the other hand, those who advocate acquiring a residential property, state that it feels completely different to live in one’s own house and the house is their biggest asset.

We shall take an example to analyze the question of renting vs buying a home.

Renting vs buying a home

Let us consider two guys, Rohit and Sumit, who have got jobs as freshers in the IT sector in Kolkata. The former has decided to stay in rented accommodation while the latter has chosen to buy a flat on loan.

Let us see how the financial picture of Rohit looks like.

Renting a home

Rohit has decided to stay in a 3-BHK apartment on rent. Let us assume Rohit’s rent to be Rs 20k per month with an average annual appreciation of 5% per annum. This is to be noted that if you take accommodation on rent, your landlord may increase your rent with time so as to adjust inflation.

Coming back to our example, the expected rent of the apartment after 20 years can be assumed to be Rs 40k per month. The monthly rent after 20 further years (a total of 40 years from now) is expected to become Rs 80k per month. If we calculate, we will find that after 40 years, Rohit would have paid Rs 2.9 crores towards the rental of his home.

Pros and cons of staying in rented accommodation:

As Rohit has opted to stay in a rented apartment, he needs to consider a few key things. First, he can’t treat his house as his own home as the legal owner is his landlord. Next, Rohit is always exposed to the risk of losing his shelter as his landlord may ask him to leave anytime (by giving a notice period as per the rent agreement).

Generally, the landlords in the majority of the states in India impose restrictions on the number of years a tenant can stay in his house. This happens as the landlords are not adequately protected by the applicable Indian laws. There are certain restrictions that Rohit will have to face with regard to the renovation of his apartment and keeping pets. Moreover, he has no scope of enjoying complete privacy in rented accommodation.

There are a few advantages too that Rohit can enjoy while staying in his rented residence. He is not required to pay any house taxes. Next, Salaried individuals, who live in rented houses, can claim the House Rent Allowance (HRA) to lower their taxes – partially or wholly. Apart from paying a refundable security deposit and sometimes the maintenance charge, he is not required to pay any further lumpsum amount upfront.

If Rohit changes his job to another location or he is transferred to another location in his existing job, it won’t bother him financially. His contract with the existing landlord will be canceled and he will enter into a fresh contract with a new landlord.

Also read: HRA – House Rent Allowance – Exemption Rules & Tax Deductions

So, far we have discussed only regarding Rohit. Let us now analyze the situation of Sumit.

Buying a home

It was stated earlier that Sumit has decided to buy a similar accommodation like Rohit by borrowing from a Bank. Let us assume the amount of his home loan is Rs 40 lakhs which he has to repay in 2 decades time. The applicable interest rate is 8.3% p.a and Sumit requires paying EMIs of Rs 34,200 for 20 years loan duration. So, if we calculate, the total amount that Sumit has to pay after 20 years, it will amount to Rs 82 lakhs.

After the loan is repaid, Sumit is not required to pay anything at all to the Banker. So, for staying in rented accommodation for 4 decades, Rohit has to pay Rs 2.08 crores more than Sumit. Although Sumit is required to pay Municipal Tax every year, it is a nominal amount and can be ignored in our analysis.

Sumit would get dual income tax benefits every year as long as he is repaying the loan on house property. On one side, his gross total income will get reduced by the Interest on Loans paid by him u/s 24(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. On the other side, he would get deduction u/s 80C of the said for the principal amount of loan paid by him. The maximum deduction allowed u/s 24(b) and 80C are Rs 2 lakhs and Rs 1.5 lakhs, respectively.

So, from the above discussion, Sumit’s decision of purchasing a house property seems to be financially more viable than that of Rohit’s choice of rental accommodation.

Pros and cons of staying in buying a home:

Let us discuss some major benefits that Sumit can enjoy by opting for buying an apartment.

It is needless to say that having one’s own house is a sign of pride, sense of achievement and source of privacy. If Sumit is transferred to a new location or takes up a job in another location, he can sublet his property to someone. Even if he doesn’t stay in his house, it doesn’t mean that he has to incur a loss if he has bought the apartment on loan.

Many people say that rentals are always cheaper than EMIs. But, the fact is that, as time passes, the rentals tend to get higher and higher while the amount of existing EMIs doesn’t.

As an owner of the house property, Sumit can obtain any personal loan keeping his apartment on collateral. Today, real estate is a growing industry where the price of properties is going up every single day. Therefore, as Sumit has chosen to buy a house property, he will be investing in a physical asset having huge potential to generate large returns in the days to come.

There are a few shortcomings of buying a house too. Although Sumit will get the house in his own name, he can only enjoy the ownership in a true sense after he has repaid the loan in full. Generally, a Bank charges a down payment while granting the home loan. This upfront payment could be as high as one-fifth of the price of the apartment bought. So, in the short term, Sumit has to incur a heavy payout to buy a house property on loan.

Also read: Are REITS in India a worthy investment option?

Closing Thoughts

The decision of buying vs renting a home is not going to be the same for every individual. Whether you want to buy a house property or take it on rental, it totally depends on your financial situation. If buying accommodation suits my financial situation, it may not suit yours.

Moreover, both the options are having their own perks and shortcomings. In this article, we have evaluated both the options where buying accommodation sounds financially fitter than staying in a rented home.