Crores of people across the country leave their homes, villages and cities to live in other cities for study, job or business. The biggest problem such people face is accommodation because they have to go to another city and find a place to live. The biggest victims of this problem are the children going to study because most of them find it difficult to live in cities like Delhi, Mumbai by paying a lot of money. The recent accident in Satyaniketan, Delhi has drawn everyone's attention to how students are forced to live in unsafe places. Apart from this, the students leaving the room or PG after the incident are not even being refunded their security. That means exploitation is taking place at every turn.
The compulsion to find a room in a short time and in a low budget often forces students to take a house or PG without proper investigation. The consequences of this may later appear in the form of arbitrary rent increase, withholding of security money, sudden eviction of the room, extra recovery in the name of electricity and water and poor security arrangements. The recent PG building accident in Satya Niketan, Delhi has made this entire issue more serious.
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Discussion started after the accident
After this accident in Delhi, it came to light that it is not enough for the people living on rent to just see the room and location, but it is also important to see whether the building in which they are living is safe or not and whether it is being used as a PG or hostel as per the rules or not. After the accident, a survey of PG buildings in Satya Niketan was also conducted and some buildings were found dangerous. There are many buildings in the surrounding areas which are dangerous. Now the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court are talking about getting such buildings inspected across the country. But before this, people themselves have to become aware so that they can avoid this type of exploitation.
Keep these things in mind
First of all, a written agreement is necessary and most of the time landlords do not make a rent agreement. While buying a house, make sure to enter into a rent agreement instead of relying on the word of the owner or broker. In this, the monthly rent, security money, condition for increasing the rent, electricity and water account, responsibility for repairs, notice period, condition for vacating the room and the deadline for returning the security should be clearly written.
For this, merely getting the signature done at the notary is not enough; it cannot be considered sufficient in every situation. According to Delhi Police, in some official works, only registered rent agreement is considered valid proof, whereas only the agreement attested by a notary is not considered sufficient. The requirement of registration for long-term lease is also prescribed differently in the law. Along with this, police verification is necessary at any place.
Rules vary depending on location
The tenant should also understand the security and other financial matters first. Rent rules may vary from state to state and cities, and state as well as local municipal rules should be taken into consideration. New tenancy rules of 2026 have been implemented in Chandigarh, in which clear arrangements have been made for many matters including digital registration, rent and security deposit. There, a time limit has also been fixed for the settlement of landlord-tenant dispute and appeal. Therefore, it would not be correct to consider the rules of any one city as applicable to the entire country. The tenant must check the rules applicable in his state or city. The landlord also cannot arbitrarily impose conditions that are against the agreement or local law.
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Check carefully before buying a house
Before buying a house, check the entire building, not just the room. There are many things to keep in mind like huge cracks in the walls, water leakage from the ceiling, weak stairs, water in the basement, illegally extended rooms or extra floors without permission. Along with this, if you are staying in a hostel, PG or a room in a big building, then definitely check the fire protection system. Also check in PG whether the exit is open or not, whether there is an emergency exit or not.