For the unaware, the Pagdi system is a unique colonial-era tenancy practice that has prevailed in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, etc., for over a century. In a nutshell, it is a rental law where the tenant pays a ‘pagdi’ to the landlord as a non-refundable deposit. A ’pagdi’ is a lump sum amount that allows tenants to pay a highly discounted rent every month.