India, Aug. 3 -- A Bengaluru tenant has sparked a debate over tenants' rights after he alleged that his landlord refused to refund the remaining Rs.10,000 of his security deposit unless he returned his copy of the signed rental agreement. According to the tenant, the agreement contains no clause requiring the tenant to surrender their copy before the security deposit is refunded, and the landlord already possesses the original signed document.

According to the Reddit post, the tenant had vacated the apartment after the landlord deducted painting charges and adjusted the pending rent. The only amount left to be refunded was Rs.10,000 from the security deposit.

The tenant alleged that for several weeks, the landlord delayed the refund, cl...