Delhi-NCR's PG surge sparks safety concerns and regulatory crackdowns

Paying-guest accommodation has become a staple of Delhi-NCR's housing market, especially near colleges, offices and metro lines, but many conversions exceed permitted floor counts and lack safety clearances. In Noida villages such as Mamura and Chhalera, structures originally limited to two floors have been expanded to six or more stories, creating dense clusters of rooms for students and young professionals. Gurgaon authorities have conducted raids that sealed 15 PGs with 476 rooms and three guest houses with 87 rooms, while a separate drive shut 225 rooms across five illegal five-storey buildings.

The sector's growth is driven by landlords seeking higher rents and tenants needing cheap, flexible housing, yet the lack of fire-safety measures and narrow access routes raise serious risks, underscored by a fatal five-storey PG collapse in Delhi's Satya Niketan that killed seven people. The Gurgaon PG Association calls for a dedicated regulatory framework, but officials stress that residential properties cannot be repurposed without meeting planning and building codes. The ongoing tension between housing demand and safety enforcement highlights broader challenges for urban planning in the region.