The fire that killed at least 21 people at a bed and breakfast in Hoz Rani on Wednesday revealed a web of abuses that investigators, officials and locals said appeared to have effectively turned the building into a death trap.
What was licensed to be a six-room bed and breakfast (B&B) was actually operating as a 26-room hotel. What he had permission to run a tea and snacks outlet, was to operate as a full-fledged restaurant. Officials said the building had never received an approved building plan from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and lacked a mandatory fire safety no-objection certificate (NOC).
Together, these violations created conditions that turned the fire into one of Delhi’s deadliest fire disasters in recent years.
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What are these violations?
Authorities said Flourish Stay was registered under the Delhi government’s bed and breakfast scheme in 2024, with a license valid until 2027. The scheme aims to allow homeowners to rent out spare rooms while maintaining the residential character of the property. Under its rules, operators can operate a maximum of six guest rooms, and are mandatorily required to stay on the premises – neither of which has been followed.
According to the license issued by the Tourism Department, the property was allowed to operate only six rooms – three on the first floor and three on the second floor. But investigators found that the building contained at least 26 rooms distributed over the basement, upper floors, and roof.
Online booking platforms have advertised over twenty rooms across multiple categories of accommodation with tariffs ranging from $2000 L $3600 per night.
An MCD official, requesting anonymity, said the building was never booked for any violations by the civic body. The official said the construction plan was never approved.
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The snack outlet has been transformed into a full-fledged restaurant
Then there is the matter of the restaurant/café – Snacks and Bites – which operates from the ground floor of the building. Under the bed and breakfast system, establishments are not permitted to operate commercial kitchens or restaurants.
A second MCD official, who also requested anonymity, said the corporation had earlier obtained permission to open a tea and snack outlet, but that license expired in April. But then again, the so-called “snack” outlet was a full-fledged restaurant.
Local residents and officials said that the nature of the building was in no way residential in nature. The facade of the building was surrounded by reinforced glass and much of the structure was enclosed to maximize commercial space, eroding ventilation. Fire officials believe those modifications played a decisive role in the scale of the disaster.
“The entire building is like a pillar. It is closed on all four sides. Even in the front there is a facade, and the windows are closed. In buildings like this, the fire often spreads quickly,” said AK Malik, chief fire officer of the southern zone of the Delhi Fire Service.
When the fire broke out, smoke quickly spread through the building, trapping guests on the upper floors and leaving them with no safe way to escape.
Investigators and first responders said the basement contained rooms and a kitchen. Govind Kumar, a local vegetable vendor who helped in the rescue efforts, said the exit to the basement was blocked. “The shutter in front of the basement was broken and it was so hot that it was not possible to open it. We used iron bars to open it.”
According to building regulations, basements generally cannot be used for commercial housing. Their use is usually limited to storage.
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Lack of fire safety permit as well
Adding to the risks was the lack of a fire safety permit.
DFS officials said the property did not have a fire NOC and that no proposal for such approval had been referred to the department by the licensing authority.
Under DFS rules, hotels and guest houses over 12 meters high require a fire NOC. Officials said the building clearly exceeded that limit. The lack of a fire clearance permit meant that vital safety features and emergency preparedness measures were not formally inspected by the Department of Field Support.
The tragedy also highlighted a broader problem at Hoz Rani, where dozens of nearly identical bed and breakfast establishments operate as hotels.
In the evening, the MCD said that an investigation had been ordered and the officials responsible for allowing the set of violations would not be absolved – a usual announcement after every such tragedy witnessed in Delhi.
