Delhi University students face accommodation woes

A cramped, matchbox-sized room with no windows, just a narrow, low door—and within this space, two people are living, cooking, and studying. And there are hundreds of such rooms, housing thousands of residents across the national capital.

With virtually no ventilation, natural sunlight, or enough space to move freely, Delhi University (DU) students, including girls, are being forced to endure such deplorable conditions due to the lack of accredited rented accommodation or hostel facilities.

Every year, thousands of students arrive in Delhi, hoping to advance their careers and secure a better future. Those coming to the capital to pursue higher studies at DU face considerable difficulties in finding accommodation for the duration of their courses.

Patriot visited North Campus and nearby localities to assess the condition of paying guest (PG) accommodations in areas such as Kamla Nagar, Karol Bagh, Nehru Vihar, and Gandhi Vihar.

Miranda House

Divya Prakash, a B.Sc. Honours student at Miranda House, shared, “I’m from Bihar and come from a middle-class family; my father runs a confectionery shop in our hometown.”

Reflecting on the challenges she faced in finding accommodation in the capital, Prakash said, “It took me four days to find a place because of the broker nexus in the city, which makes it difficult for students to find affordable PGs or flats.”

She explained that the rates for PGs and flats were skyrocketing, making it nearly impossible for someone from a middle-class family to afford accommodation. She added that the average rent for a single bed in a room shared with four to five others was around Rs 10,000.

“Even with a higher budget of Rs 15,000, you’re still sharing with three others, while twin-sharing rooms cost up to Rs 18,000—far too expensive for a student to manage alongside other living expenses,” Prakash added.

Ramjas College

Kundan Sharma, another student from Ramjas College who hails from Muzaffarnagar, said, “I have been searching for accommodation for the past five days, but so far, I haven’t had any luck. The places I thought would be suitable are too expensive for me to afford.”

Sharma explained that brokers in the area had made it difficult for students to rent accommodation in nearby localities like Nehru Vihar and Gandhi Vihar. They demanded a hefty brokerage fee, and students also had to pay one month’s rent in advance when renting an independent flat.

“It is not possible for students from middle-class families to afford such a large amount all at once. I’ve also been offered room-sharing options, which directly cut the cost in half,” he said.

“In addition to the rent, the owners also charge for electricity, even though 200 units of electricity are free in the capital city. The owners are asking for Rs 4 to Rs 5 per unit for electricity.”

“The colleges should provide hostel facilities, but the educational institutions do not want to take responsibility for the students,” he said.

Kalindi College

However, not everyone’s experience was the same. Yatharth Sharma, who recently got admitted to Kalindi College and hails from Bihar, rented a PG—The Hostel Yard Snapdragon PG—in Kamla Nagar for Rs 15,000 on a twin-sharing basis.

Yatharth said, “The PG is very good and affordable as it includes food for the whole month in the Rs 15,000 rent. The rooms are in excellent condition with brand-new paint.”

He added that the room was fully furnished with an AC, refrigerator, and all the facilities a student might need.

The PG had a common area with board games, which helped students relax after hours of studying.

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“It took me only two days to find this accommodation, as all the information about PGs is available online, which allowed me to explore several options. This PG was the best among them all.”

Unscrupulous property brokers

“I have been living in Nehru Vihar for more than five years, and I can tell you that brokers have made students’ lives difficult. They just want to fill their pockets, regardless of the students’ economic background,” said Chandan Kumar, a PhD scholar.

“They have created a nexus in the locality, making it difficult to rent a property without the brokers’ approval,” Kumar added.

He pointed out that students from economically weaker sections of society faced significant hardships due to the situation. He explained that in a single room, four to five boys were managing because rents in the locality were skyrocketing due to brokers. Also, students had to make do with only one washroom.

Kumar claimed that this situation was not limited to Nehru Vihar; other localities in the area, including Gandhi Vihar, were similar.

The rent for a single room in these areas started at nearly Rs 10,000. However, he said that in Mukherjee Nagar, the rent soared to Rs 14,000, and in Karol Bagh and Kamla Nagar, it was approximately Rs 20,000.

“The colleges should provide hostels for students coming from different regions of the country. There are no hostels available for students. The brokers are taking advantage of this and exploiting the students, making education expensive for people of the country.”

DU admissions

Delhi University has confirmed 74,108 allocations for its 71,600 undergraduate seats so far, including 764 under the newly introduced supernumerary quota for single girl child applicants.

On September 4, the university released the allocations made in the third round of admissions, which began on August 31.

Under the single girl child quota, one seat in each programme across DU colleges is reserved, while the orphan quota reserves one seat each for a male and a female in every programme.

The university has also allocated seats to 132 orphaned students, a supernumerary quota introduced last year to support children affected by COVID-19.

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Out of the total confirmed students for the 2024-25 academic session, 28,810 applicants have applied for an upgrade, hoping for a better college and course combination.

Meanwhile, 45,298 applicants have chosen to freeze their admission, accepting the university’s allocations.

This phase of admissions will include performance-based programmes and supernumerary quotas, such as those for children of widows of armed forces personnel (CW), and those with special achievements in extracurricular activities (ECA) and sports.

According to data released by the university, ECA allocations stood at 1,061, sports allocations at 1,648, and performance-based allocations at 332.

The seat allotment for Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and the CW category is still pending and will be announced shortly, according to DU.