'Exploitative PG Crisis': Bathrooms In Balconies, Tables For Rs 2,000 Show Delhi Students' Ordeal

News cities new-delhi-news 'Exploitative PG Crisis': Bathrooms In Balconies, Tables For Rs 2,000 Show Delhi Students' Ordeal

Last Updated:September 10, 2026, 20:38 IST

Students in Delhi’s education hubs say cramped PGs, rising rents and safety concerns are making affordable housing harder to find.

Delhi draws students from across India with the promise of top colleges, universities and coaching centres. But once they secure admission, many face another challenge: finding a place to live that is safe, decent and affordable.

In some of the capital’s biggest student neighbourhoods, accommodation often means squeezing into tiny rooms, sharing basic facilities with several others and paying extra for things as simple as a study table. Students say they accept these conditions because better options are often too expensive and they do not want to increase the financial burden on their families.

A PTI spot check across major student hubs, including Mukherjee Nagar, Kamla Nagar, Old Rajinder Nagar, Satya Niketan, Moti Bagh and Laxmi Nagar, found students living in cramped and poorly maintained spaces. The ground reality came to light after the tragic death of seven students in the Satya Niketan building collapse.

In Mukherjee Nagar, one PG room being prepared for the next batch had barely any space apart from a bed. A small sink and toilet had been placed in the balcony.

“The bathroom could not be made inside because the space meant for it is occupied by a temple in the home of the family living on the floor below," a broker said.

Some other rooms measured only around 6-7 feet by 4-5 feet. In another, a cardboard partition had been used instead of a proper wall. Rooms designed for two or three students were filled with beds, tables, racks, books and clothes, leaving little room to walk around.

For many students, even basic facilities come at an additional cost.

“An attached bathroom can cost you Rs 5,000 or Rs 6,000 more. So most of us compromise and take a room where one small bathroom is shared by two or three rooms," said a student living in Satya Niketan.

Depending on the facilities, rooms can cost around Rs 6,000 without food and Rs 12,000-Rs 13,000 with meals. Tiffin services can add another Rs 2,500, while electricity is charged separately. Students also said old furniture and second-hand appliances can make their living conditions more uncomfortable and sometimes push up electricity bills.

Even a place to study can mean another expense. Students said they are sometimes charged Rs 1,500-Rs 2,000 for an additional table, with some being provided plastic ones.

“Imagine staying here for years for IAS coaching or university and having to pay separately for something as basic as a place to sit and study. When you add that to the rent, electricity charges and all the other extra costs, the amount becomes quite a lot for a student," said Ritik, an IAS aspirant.

Brokers And Online Listings

Students in Old Rajinder Nagar also alleged that some brokers take advance payments after promising to arrange accommodation and then disappear.

“My roommate lost Rs 10,000 to a broker. They ask for Rs 10,000 or Rs 12,000 as advance money, saying they will arrange a room, and then suddenly they disappear," said a student from Lucknow.

“The worst part is that students are desperate. We have classes, exams and coaching to worry about, and brokers know that we don’t have much time to keep searching," he said.

Online listings, students said, can also create unrealistic expectations. A student in Moti Bagh said photographs often show clean and well-lit rooms that look very different when students see them in person.

“We see these places online and they look so nice in the pictures. You see a clean room, good lighting, a decent building and you think, okay, maybe this is where I can stay. But when you come here and you are desperate for a room, you don’t always have the luxury of walking away," the student said.

Heat, Waterlogging And Lack Of Privacy

In Laxmi Nagar, a student preparing for CA and CS examinations said she has been living under a tin shed on the rooftop of a five-storey building since last year.

She said the room becomes extremely hot by afternoon and she has to switch on the air conditioner almost immediately. Her electricity bill can reach Rs 5,000 a month during summer, despite spending much of her day at coaching classes or the library.

Rain brings another set of problems. Narrow lanes around some PGs can become muddy and waterlogged, making the daily journey to college, coaching centres and libraries difficult.

“After rain, narrow lanes around the PGs can fill with stagnant water and mud, turning the route to college, coaching centres and libraries into a daily struggle. Inside, thin walls carry conversations from one room into another, leaving students with little privacy even when they shut their doors," said 22-year-old Austin from Kamla Nagar, a Master’s student at St Stephen’s College.

Another student said the condition of some buildings is very different from what their exterior suggests.

“From outside, some of these buildings look freshly painted and perfectly fine, but you wonder what is happening inside the walls. They look pretty from the outside, but many of them feel like they are slowly rotting from within," she said.

Fire And Safety Concerns

Safety concerns are particularly serious in buildings where shops and other commercial establishments operate below student accommodation.

“Some of these hostels have sweet shops and chaat shops on the ground floor, and the cooking fire is running almost throughout the day. Above them, you have students living in extremely congested rooms. There are wires everywhere, narrow staircases, narrow corridors and basements that are not properly cleared. There aren’t proper entry and exit points," said a Bihar student preparing for the IAS examination.

“If a fire starts in one of these shops and catches onto the building, where are we supposed to go? There are so many people packed into these buildings that even one accident could put everyone at risk," he said.

For 19-year-old Akanksha, a student at Daulat Ram College, the danger came from an electric pole beside her PG. She said a spark in May lasted 10-12 minutes and set clothes hanging in the balcony on fire.

For women students, concerns extend beyond the buildings themselves. An 18-year-old student in Satya Niketan said the narrow, poorly lit lanes become particularly uncomfortable after dark.

“At night, it becomes a completely different place. There isn’t enough lighting, and you don’t know who is standing around the corner. As a girl living here, you become very conscious of your surroundings the moment the sun goes down. You just want to reach your PG quickly and get inside," Shweta said.

For students who come to Delhi to study, their PG is often the only place they can call home during their years in the capital. Yet many say they are having to compromise on space, privacy, basic facilities and safety simply to keep accommodation within their budgets.

They described clean, affordable and safe housing as a basic need, particularly for students who spend years preparing for competitive examinations or completing university courses, and urged authorities to address what they called an “exploitative PG crisis" in the capital.

(With inputs from PTI)

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Anushka Vats

Anushka Vats is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for storytelling and a curiosity that extends beyond the newsroom. She covers both national and international news. For more stories, you can ...Read More

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