How safe is it to rent houses and apartments for expats in Colombo?

One of the prime concerns for anyone when it comes having a roof on top of their heads is this aspect of security. Regardless of the condition of the property and its luxury orientation, the first and the prime requisite or criterion for any renter or potential buyer would be the security and safety pertaining to that particular property. 

We, at Mr. T had a rather strange experience with a client when we took the client to the apartment on a rather high floor and to our surprise the client simply said that this is not safe. When asked why, the client said that rogues/thieves could jump over and enter into the apartment as it had large windows designed purely for light penetration and ventilation purposes Now then, this is an apartment on a rather high floor in Colombo 07 and the whole building is under camera surveillance and there are two security guards at the entrance with a control room that monitors movements seen through all the cameras. 

Imagine that. 'This is not safe' Oh well!!! 

This is partly to do with the mentality of the client that this is not a safe country and that there are drug addicts and robbers roaming freely in literally all parts of Colombo. Fortunately, that isn't the case. Sri Lanka has never been this safe and pretty especially the city of Colombo. Yes, the common notion of problems, accidents and crimes is always on the back of your mind wherever there is human life making its presence but that does not mean that Colombo should be singled out as a "NOT SAFE" area. In fact, Colombo is probably the most super-safe area in the country. 

So the answer to the above question would be:

Yes, it's generally safe to rent / buy a house or apartment in Colombo. We see more and more expats / foreigners asking for houses. A few years back, it used to be only apartments but now foreigners / expats do like to rent a place in and around the city, sometimes outside of it as well. There is just a bit of risk involved when buying a house as opposed to the apartment and that is the security factor, you can simply lock an apartment and go wherever you like but you cannot do the same with a house or if you have too many enemies, an apartment might be an easier option. 

Think smart when investing in property and yeah, it's safe to to buy/ rent houses and apartments in Colombo. Enjoy your time while you are here! What is meant to happen will eventually happen!

Good luck and keep smiling! :)