As you reach the end of this article, roughly 1000 people more would have joined Delhi University’s diverse populace of students. As the new cut-off lists seem to bring relaxation in the high marks and become beacons of hope for hopeful students, the city of New Delhi plays host to a burgeoning crowd of these students and their parents who seek to not only confirm their ward’s admission into perhaps the most prominent university in the country but also to make arrangements for a comfortable, safe college experience for their children as the latter pursue higher studies.
Needless to say, the most important aspect of a student’s non-academic life is their place of residence. It is imperative to seek a residence that provides a convenient route to one’s college, is safe and is encompassed with the bare necessities and a few luxuries, subject to their financial powers. For people with such needs, Student Housings are the most preferred and popular choice.

Student Housing

Student housings, extremely prominent in cities like New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, to state a few, are places of residence that seek to replicate a hostel experience for students. An important distinction between hostels and student housings is that the latter provides generally more space to its residents, known as Paying Guests or PGs. Student housings are also generally owned by landlords and are run as normal rented apartment buildings, albeit with a few changes.

Student housings provide facilities like bedding, meals, washing machines, WiFi, and in some high-end ones, even television sets to its PGs. Since it is tough to attain admission into a hostel meant for a particular educational institute and not every student has relatives that could provide residence in a city like Delhi, student housings become an extremely viable option to educational expats. Previous articles have discussed factors to be taken into consideration while selecting a student housing, especially with regards to its proximity to campus.

Legal Requirements

Choosing and moving into a student housing is not merely a day’s activity nor is it something to be zeroed in on at a spur. The decision should involve considerable consideration and detailed discussions with the housing’s warden or landlord. This discussion and the agreement to occupy involves a lot of legal discussion and matters that should be duly attended to:

1. Arrangement of documents: Every change of residence requires a load of official documents and such documents should be arranged by the student and family to be furnished to the student housing. A valid proof of identity, a confirmation of the specific educational institute and an income statement of a parent are the three most common documents required by student housings all over the country. Most student housings also require the presence of a legal guardian of the student to be residing in the city in case of emergencies. In such instances, these housings also require a letter from the guardian declaring their guardianship and contact details.
2. Contract with the housing: A student housing representative and the student have to sign a contract declaring the student to be a resident of the specified student housing. This often becomes a proof of residence for students in further situations. It is very important that the student read through the document properly as it details out provisions of their stay, including the tenure of their tenancy, the money to be paid by them and timings of meals and other facilities.
3. Students’ Privacy: While this generally does not feature in contracts with landlords, laws in the country prevent the landlord from invading the privacy of their tenants. In lieu of this, it would be prudent for students and their parents to talk to the prospective landlords about the timings and notices for any investigation of the tenants’ rooms and means of ensuring that the rooms are not entered by someone else in the students’ absence.
4. Guests: Most student housings don’t allow guests into the housing after-hours. While not illegal, harbouring a guest after-hours without the prior permission and approval of the landlord can get a student evicted. The landlord also holds the rights to evict a student if the latter is found consuming alcohol or smoking in the premises of the housing.
5. Decoration of the room: Similar to the above stipulation, this doesn’t come into the legal purview but can lead to eviction if any decoration put up by the student is damaging to rooms or involves major changes in the outlook of the room, like painting the walls.
6. End of Tenancy: The date of the end of a student’s tenancy is usually stated in the contract and must be strictly adhered to. Moreover, students are expected and in some instances, obligated, to leave the room exactly in the same condition that it was when they moved in. This involves removing any decorations and clearing the room of all belongings.

Conclusion

With universities registering higher numbers of admissions with every passing year, student housings spring up in neighbouring areas, becoming a prominent preference among students. The facilities they provide coupled with the safety involved ensure that they’ll only grow in number in the years to come. And once a student takes care of these legal details, they’re ready to start the first part of the most important journey of their life!