Students living in Delhi’s education and coaching hubs are paying high rents for cramped rooms with inadequate facilities and safety concerns, a PTI spot check has found.

The inspection was conducted across student areas including Mukherjee Nagar, Kamla Nagar, Old Rajinder Nagar, Satya Niketan, Moti Bagh and Laxmi Nagar following the death of seven students in the Satya Niketan building collapse.

In one Mukherjee Nagar paying guest (PG) accommodation, a sink and toilet were installed on a small balcony because there was no space inside the room. Other rooms measured about six to seven feet by four to five feet, while one had a cardboard partition instead of a wall.

Students said rooms cost around ₹6,000 without food and between ₹12,000 and ₹13,000 with meals. A tiffin service can cost an additional ₹2,500, while electricity is charged separately. Some students also pay ₹1,500–₹2,000 for a study table.

An attached bathroom can increase the monthly rent by ₹5,000–₹6,000, forcing many students to share one bathroom between two or three rooms.

Students also reported losing advance payments to brokers who promised accommodation and later disappeared. Others said rooms advertised online often differed from the photographs shown in listings.

In Laxmi Nagar, a student preparing for CA and CS examinations said she had been living in a tin-roofed room on top of a five-storey building since last year. She said the room becomes hot during the afternoon, pushing her summer electricity bill to around ₹5,000 a month.

Students also raised concerns about waterlogging, poor lighting, limited privacy, exposed electrical wiring, narrow staircases and inadequate entry and exit points. Some buildings have food outlets operating on the ground floor beneath student accommodation, increasing concerns about fire safety.

Women students said poorly lit and narrow lanes made them feel unsafe after dark.

The students called for clean, affordable and safe accommodation and urged authorities to address what they described as an exploitative PG housing crisis in the capital.

Inputs from PTI

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