As Russians, other foreigners leave for monsoon, their apartments are sublet

PANAJI: As the tourist season draws to a close as the monsoon sets in, many foreigners — mostly Russians who rent apartments along the Arambol-Morjim-Ashvem belt — either return home or travel to Himachal Pradesh till September, when the monsoon winds down. But what happens to their apartments?
It is “illegal”, but many of these foreigners sublet their apartments.Many of these foreign tourists who travel to India on a tight budget have mastered the craft of surviving in a foreign country. And they know that subletting their apartment for three or four months makes them a neat lakh or more.
Arambol sarpanch Bernand Fernandes said that subletting by foreigners is not uncommon. “Many of them do it, but it is not easy to find them,” he said.
A Pernem police staffer admitted that this kind of subletting is illegal, but said that police see that people who rent their houses (whether to locals or foreigners) have completed their documentation, and that the police station is informed. And no cases of subletting have been conveyed to them, he said.
“If a foreigner wishes to do business in India, he has to get a business visa. A foreign tourist doing any kind of commercial activity in is illegal,” said lawyer Joseph Vaz
A local said that most foreigners — they do not have a business visa — conduct one or another kind of commercial activity, and subletting is one of them.
“Some do gigs at clubs and hotels, conduct yoga classes, and some even do catering,” he said.
“They cook and sell food to their own tribe. These exchanges between foreigners take place either on social media or during social activities they organise for themselves,” he said.
The resident said that they call themselves an “Arambol community” and some Indians too are part of it.
Last week, Elena Krylova, of unknown nationality, posted a message on social media that she was sub-letting her one-bedroom apartment in Mandrem for Rs 20,000 plus electricity bill until August. More such posts can be seen in May, as most foreigners living along that belt leave, only to return a few months later.
The local said that the foreigners who sublet apartments normally rent a flat or house for a year, but with domestic travellers wanting to explore Goa and desiring a sneak peek at foreigners’ living — rent places in Arambol and Morjim, happily paying the high rent.
“With domestic travelers renting in Arambol, Ashvem, and Morjim, rents have been pushed upwards. Foreigners who were used to the lower cost of living in these villages now feel the pinch of inflation,” he said.
Not surprisingly, at the end of May, they put their belongings on sale — these could be everything from clothes to musical instruments to laptops to mattresses. “I wonder who buys that stuff, I mean, used clothes and all,” the local wondered.
Some who rent a big house or a three-room or four-room apartment sublet the extra rooms among the community. This happens without the knowledge of the landlord, but even if he learns about it, chances are that they won’t confront the tourists.
“Once the landlord receives the total lease amount, he is not concerned. That’s the attitude of most villagers who give their properties on long lease, ” he said.
Indians are also part of ‘Arambol community’
Some do gigs at clubs and hotels, conduct yoga classes, and some even do catering,” he said. “They cook and sell food to their own tribe. These exchanges between foreigners take place either on social media or during social activities they organise for themselves,” he said.
The resident said they call themselves an “Arambol community” and some Indians too are part of it. Last week, Elena Krylova, of unknown nationality, posted a message on social media that she was sub-letting her one-bedroom apartment in Mandrem for Rs 20,000 plus electricity bill until August.
More such posts can be seen in May, as most foreigners living along that belt leave, only to return a few months later. The local said the foreigners who sublet apartments normally rent a flat or house for a year, but with domestic travellers wanting to explore Goa and desiring a sneak peek at foreigners’ living — rent places in Arambol and Morjim, happily paying the high rent.
“With domestic travellers renting in Arambol, Ashvem, and Morjim, rents have been pushed upwards. Foreigners who were used to the lower cost of living in these villages now feel the pinch of inflation,” he said.
Not surprisingly, at the end of May, they put their belongings on sale — these could be everything from clothes to musical instruments to mattresses. Some who rent a big house or a three-room or fourroom apartment sublet the extra rooms.
This happens without the knowledge of the landlord, but even if he learns about it, chances are that they won’t confront the tourists. “Once the landlord receives the total lease amount, he is not concerned. That’s the attitude of most villagers who give their properties on long lease, ” he said.