Moving to Delhi

The first week

Before the boxes are open, ask the landlord for the last paid electricity, water and gas bills. They tell you which company supplies the house, and they show whether old dues are sitting on the account. Delhi Jal Board will not sanction a connection while dues are outstanding, and IGL wants dues cleared before a transfer, so settle this before you sign.

Then get the rent agreement signed and the police tenant form filed. Almost everything after that, from your Aadhaar address to a bus pass, asks for proof that you live here, and the agreement is usually the first document you have.

Electricity, water and gas

Delhi has more than one electricity company. Most homes are with BSES Rajdhani, BSES Yamuna or Tata Power-DDL, and the NDMC area has its own supply from the council. Don't guess from the colony name. Check the company printed on the last bill.

In a rented flat the connection usually stays in the owner's name and you pay it. For a new connection or name change, apply on the company's website. NDMC has an online form too.

Water connections and name changes (called mutation) go through the Delhi Jal Board's Zonal Revenue Officer for your area. A tenant applying for a new connection needs a no-objection certificate from the owner.

Piped gas comes from IGL. Its ownership transfer process is written for buyers and heirs, with original forms and a notarised NOC, and says nothing about tenants. Most renters leave the gas in the owner's name.

Paperwork

Rent agreements are made on e-stamp paper, and the Delhi Revenue Department says the tenant pays the stamp duty on a lease. Under the Registration Act, a lease for more than a year has to be registered with the sub-registrar, which is why so many Delhi agreements run for 11 months. Check the current stamp duty on the Revenue Department website before you buy the paper.

Tenant registration is done on the Delhi Police website, under Citizen Services, as Domestic Help/Tenant Registration. Do it in the first week and keep the acknowledgement. If anyone in the household is a foreign national, the landlord also has to report the stay to the FRRO on Form C within 24 hours of arrival.

For your Aadhaar address, the myAadhaar website accepts a rent agreement as proof, registered or not, as well as an electricity, water or gas bill not older than three months. To move your voter registration, file Form 8 for shifting of residence on the Voters' Service Portal.

Getting around

For the metro, buy a card at any station. From May 2026 DMRC began issuing a RuPay On-The-Go card under the National Common Mobility Card scheme, and the older DMRC cards still work. You can top it up in the DMRC app, which also sells QR tickets if you would rather not carry a card.

On DTC and cluster buses, free travel for women and transgender residents of Delhi now needs a Pink Saheli Smart Card. The paper pink tickets have gone. The card asks for proof of Delhi residence, so update your address first. The One Delhi app shows bus routes and live timings.

Autos have meters, but many drivers will quote a fixed price. Booking through an app saves the argument, at least for the first few weeks.

Schools

If you are moving mid-year, ring schools directly and ask about vacancies in your child's class. Bring the transfer certificate, report cards and birth certificate. For classes 1 to 8, the Right to Education Act says a delay in producing the transfer certificate cannot be a reason to delay or deny admission.

Nursery, KG and class 1 places in private schools follow a schedule set by the Directorate of Education. For 2026-27, forms opened on 4 December and closed on 27 December 2025. The 2027-28 dates had not been announced when we wrote this, so watch the Directorate's website from November. Our admissions page has the full picture.

Winter can be disruptive. When pollution reached GRAP Stage IV in December 2025, physical classes for primary schools were suspended and older students were given an online option.

Your car or bike

Under section 47 of the Motor Vehicles Act, a vehicle kept in a new state for more than twelve months needs a new registration there. Get an NOC on Form 28 from your home state, then apply to the Delhi Transport Department. Its website lists the forms and documents.

The Delhi government announced on 20 October 2026 that non-BS-VI vehicles registered outside Delhi cannot enter the city from 1 November 2026 to 31 January 2027. Electric and CNG vehicles are exempt. Reports differ on whether private cars are covered, so check the Transport Department's notice before you drive in. The same plan makes a valid PUC certificate a condition for buying fuel.

Older vehicles are a separate problem. Since a Supreme Court order in December 2025, diesel vehicles over 10 years and petrol vehicles over 15 years can face action if they are below BS-IV.

Small things locals know

Renew the PUC certificate a week before it lapses. With the fuel rule in force, an expired one can leave you stuck at the pump.

Keep a folder with copies of the rent agreement, police acknowledgement and a recent bill. Banks, schools and the Pink Saheli card all ask for some mix of them, and an Aadhaar with the new address takes a while to arrive.