News: Piped Gas May Lift Rents If LPG Worries Persist-15-03-2026
Concerns over LPG availability have grown in several parts of India amid the US-Israel-Iran war, and real estate brokers say homes with a piped natural gas (PNG) connection could start to command moderately higher rents and values if the shortage continues. For now, they say, PNG is neither a major tenant requirement nor a deal breaker, and decisions still turn on location, connectivity, budget and infrastructure.
Brokers in Noida note that apartments do not get higher rents just for having PNG. Tenants have traditionally cared more about furnishing, the unit’s position within the society, and preferences such as sun-facing flats, park or main gate views, or ground-floor homes. Nitin Jain of Prudential Realtors, a Noida-based broker, said a landlord can install a connection fairly easily, usually for around Rs 6,000 and within about a week, so it adds only incremental value.
That may change if supply fears last. Brokers believe builder floors and independent apartments without PNG could see lower demand, while builder-developed housing societies, which typically already have piped gas infrastructure, may gain an edge unless builder-floor landlords upgrade.
Sunil Singh, a Bengaluru-based broker, said tenants at present usually ask how and where to get an LPG cylinder, but a PNG connection may become a unique selling point and fetch a moderate premium if the shortage persists.
Saurabh Garg, co-founder and CBO of NoBroker, said there is early consumer curiosity about PNG, driven by LPG concerns, but it is too soon to call it decisive. If disruptions continue, he said, it could emerge as an added advantage, particularly in urban markets where piped networks exist. In the immediate term he expects a "knee-jerk reaction" in buyer and tenant queries, not a structural shift in demand.
To head off a domestic energy crisis, the Centre has invoked the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, which allows it to override existing commercial gas supply contracts. Under the order, Priority Sector I, covering domestic PNG and compressed natural gas (CNG) for transport, is assured 100% of its average consumption over the past six months. Available gas in the national grid must therefore go first to household pipelines before factories or power plants.
LPG is a mixture of propane and butane obtained during crude oil refining and delivered in pressurised cylinders that need periodic replacement. PNG is natural gas, mainly methane, supplied continuously through underground pipelines by city gas distribution networks. It is produced by regasifying Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), which India imports largely from Qatar, United Arab Emirates, the United States and Oman, as per media reports.
In Delhi, many households, particularly in housing societies, use PNG supplied by Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL). Government of Delhi figures put the number of PNG connections at 17.23 lakh as of 2025.
On March 14, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas changed supply rules so that households with PNG connections can no longer keep, obtain or refill domestic LPG cylinders. The aim is to streamline allocation and direct LPG to homes without piped gas.
