Illegal PG house owners sign rent pacts to evade action

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 29

The UT Administration may have revised its paying guest (PG) accommodation policy, but the owners of a number of illegal PG accommodations in the city have found a novel way to evade action by the authorities. They are signing a rent agreement with the occupants.

A neighbour of one of the major PGs in Sector 15 shared, “The owners are signing rent agreements with PGs to show them as tenants. The agreements are being signed with a mutual understanding to evade any action following police strictness after the recent Sector 32 PG fire incident, which claimed lives of three girls and caused injuries to two others.”

Sharing the modus operandi at one of the PGs, another resident, wishing anonymity, said, “The PG norms make it mandatory for the owner to stay in the house and operate the facility. But what some house owners are doing is that they have leased out a complete floor of their house to a PG operator. Besides providing accommodation, the operator also provides tiffin service to the occupants. When officials come for checking, the house owner, who resides on the ground floor, tells them that he has directly rented out the place.”

Incidentally, the same was the scenario at the Sector 32 PG where the mishap took place. As per the police, the arrested building owner, Gaurav Aneja, was not staying at the house. Nitish Bansal, who has been arrested, along with his partner Nitish Popli, was operating the ill-fated PG with several building and fire safety violations.

“The police and the Estate Office should not overlook facts related to rent agreement,” said a senior citizen.

At some places, house owners have clearly told the students if they want to continue to live as PG without any problem they should state to officials that they were tenants. This category of people has not even got rent agreement made.

However, there are cases where those who have actually rented out the place have complained of harassment at the hands of the police or some UT officials.

A senior UT official, not wishing to be named, agreed, “It is a grey area and people are taking advantage of it. It is a legislation matter and will be considered.”

Residents and those running PGs said the Administration needs to define the terms PG and tenant. “There is no clarity from the Administration despite a major mishap in the city. How many persons can stay in a PG or in a rented room? What are the norms for food in both categories? Whether building bylaws and fire norms are applicable in both cases? They must also check the term of the rent agreement,” said Baljinder Singh Bittu, chairman, Federation of Sectors Welfare Association Chandigarh (FOSWAC).