NEW DELHI: The Delhi Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed the Delhi Bed and Breakfast Establishment (Repeal) Bill, 2026, repealing a 17-year-old law and paving the way for a new, more liberal and convenient homestay policy.
The main objective of the bill is to eliminate outdated and complex regulations and put in place a system that can safely and systematically regulate the sector in line with evolving modern needs. The government said tourism has undergone radical changes, with new models making the old legal framework increasingly irrelevant.
The Bed and Breakfast Establishment (Registration and Regulation) Act was implemented in the NCT of Delhi in 2007 by the Sheila Dixit government. It was amended in 2010 and 2021.
The Rekha Gupta government has recently drafted a Bed and Breakfast Policy 2026, proposing clearer and stricter regulations, including increasing the maximum room limit to eight, mandatory CCTV installation and police verification. The scheme came into the spotlight following a massive fire at the Flourish Stay guest house in Malviya Nagar, which claimed 21 lives on June 3 this year.
The new policy seeks to simplify regulations for bed and breakfast establishments while ensuring compliance with rules relating to safety, public health, municipal governance and public order. The government said the new system would be more “facilitative”.
Establishments already registered under the old law, as well as those whose applications are being processed, will face no difficulties pending implementation of the new policy.
‘No extra cost to exchequer’
The Financial Memorandum accompanying the new bill states that repealing the law and implementing the new policy will not impose any additional burden on the government exchequer.