How to rent your property to Blinkit, Zepto or Instamart

Updated October 2026

Rent figures are market estimates. The apps do not publish rates. A lease is a legal contract, so have a lawyer check it, and confirm your property’s zoning with your municipal body before you sign.

Which apps take property offers from landlords

Running a store yourself is a separate deal, such as the Blinkit partner and franchise routes.

What Blinkit’s rent-your-property form asks for

• Who you are: landowner, property consultant or broker.
• Name, email, phone, locality, PIN code, city and state.
• Carpet area (from under 500 to over 8,000 sq ft), property type (commercial, residential, or empty land / bare shell) and expected rent.
• A latitude-longitude or Google Maps link and a photo of the property.

Your property must have at least 2,000 sq ft of carpet area and a floor-to-roof height of 9 ft or more, with level flooring. It also needs dedicated parking for 40 bikes, space for a truck and at least 30 kV of power. Two washrooms must be inside, or kept for your tenant’s sole use in the compound.

How much space a dark store needs

Apps are moving to bigger stores so they can stock more products, which suits owners of larger halls.

• Older dark stores were mostly 2,000–3,000 sq ft. Newer ones are above 5,000 sq ft.
• Instamart had 4.92 million sq ft across 1,171 stores on 30 June 2026, or about 4,200 sq ft per store. It had 1,240 stores by 30 September 2026.
• Ground-floor space works best. Pickers move trolleys and crates all day, and trucks unload stock every morning, so a level floor and easy loading access matter.

A 4,000 sq ft or larger space suits a ground-floor hall, an old showroom or a small warehouse on a wide road.

Lease length, deposit and lock-in

Most leases run 2–3 years, with a 9–12 month lock-in and a security deposit of 4–6 months’ rent. Some run 3–9 years, with rent going up 5–15% at set intervals. These are rough market norms, so expect to negotiate.

What your property could earn as a dark store

Typical city rent ranges, from dark store rent per sq ft, multiplied by two common store sizes. Treat them as an illustration, not a quote.

Monthly rent before GST and maintenance.

Clauses to put in a dark store lease

A dark store is harder on a building than a normal shop. Riders wait outside, trucks unload and cold rooms draw heavy power. Make sure your lease covers each of these:

• Permitted use. Name it plainly, such as storage and delivery of groceries. The tenant should get every licence (FSSAI, trade licence, fire NOC) in its own name and pay any fines.
• Lock-in and exit. A lock-in that binds both sides, the notice period after it, and what the tenant pays if it leaves early.
• Rent increase. The percentage and how often, such as 5% every year.
• Deposit and fit-out. The security deposit, and how many rent-free months, if any, the tenant gets to set up.
• Power and generator. Who applies and pays for extra sanctioned load, a separate meter and any diesel generator.
• Changes to the building. Your written consent before cold rooms, racks, ramps or shutters go in, and the condition the space must be handed back in.
• Neighbours. Rider parking inside the plot, loading hours, and noise limits. The tenant should handle complaints and any cost if the authority acts on them.
• Sealing or closure. What happens to rent and the deposit if an authority seals the store or the app shuts it.
• Transfer. Whether the tenant can pass the lease to a partner company that runs the store.
• Registration and tax. A lease longer than a year must be registered and stamped under your state’s rules. The tenant company will deduct TDS from rent, and commercial rent can attract GST, so check both with your CA.

How to lease your property to a dark store, step by step

1. Check zoning and approvals. Confirm the approved use, occupancy certificate and fire-safety position with your municipal or development authority. Take extra care in a housing area, where zoning rules hit dark stores in residential areas hardest.
2. Measure honestly. Carpet area, clear height, sanctioned electricity load, parking and truck access are what the apps screen for.
3. Keep your papers ready. The title or sale deed, occupancy certificate, latest property tax receipt and an electricity bill showing the sanctioned load. A tenant company will ask for them before it signs.
4. Apply through official routes. Use Blinkit’s form. For other apps, deal only with a broker or employee who can show a written mandate or a company email address.
5. Negotiate the lease. Cover permitted use, lock-in, rent increases, power and what happens if the store is sealed. Have a lawyer read the draft.
6. Check the tenant entity. The lease should be with the app’s company or its named partner company, not an individual.
7. Plan for neighbours. Most complaints are about rider parking, night deliveries and noise. Agree house rules in the lease.

Fake brokers and listing-fee scams

Police and courts have so far acted against fake franchise and job sites in the apps’ names. Landlords face the same trick: a “broker” who says he works for Zepto or Instamart and asks for a fee to get your property shortlisted.

Walk away if someone asks for a “registration” or “listing” fee to rent out your property, cannot show a company email, or pushes you to pay by UPI. Report fraud on 1930 or at cybercrime.gov.in. The same tricks show up in fake dark store franchise offers.

Sources

1. Blinkit: Rent your property (official form)
2. Kotak Neo, updated 22 May 2026: How dark stores are reshaping India’s cities and real estate (rent per sq ft by city)
3. Storyboard18, 23 Dec 2025: 7,500 dark stores, 100+ cities (Savills India report)
4. Swiggy Ltd, 30 Jul 2026: Shareholders’ letter, Q1 FY27 (store count and floor area)
5. National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (Government of India)