Only 9 PG premises running legally

Tribune News Service

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Chandigarh, January 18

Almost two years after the UT Administration clarified the definition of a paying guest (PG) accommodation, only nine persons have come forward to get their accommodation registered under the revised policy.

In absence of any survey, the UT Estate Office estimates that there are more than 1,000 PG accommodations in the city, mainly in Sectors 15, 19, 22, 27, 32, 35, 40 and 44.

With only nine of these approved, all remaining are being run illegally.

A major reason behind the reluctance of PG operators to get themselves registered is that once registered they have to pay commercial rates for water and electricity.

“In the past few years, some of the paying guest accommodations have been sealed for misuse of the premises. This, however, is not a regular exercise,” said an official in the enforcement wing of the Estate Office.

What is UT’s PG policy

Only owners of houses with an area of 7.5 marla or more can provide a PG accommodation. In the original notification, only owners of houses with an area of 10 marla or more were allowed to run PG services. Those registered have to pay electricity and water bills at commercial rates. As per the amendments made in the policy in 2013, PGs are not allowed to have their own kitchen. A paying guest can be asked to leave the residential premises by its owner any time, that too without giving a notice. The practice of building owners entering into a rent deed with PGs to circumvent the law has also been curbed.