Guest Houses in Lahore

Guest houses in Lahore cluster in Gulberg, Johar Town (near Shaukat Khanum Hospital), the railway station and McLeod Road area, Garden Town, Cantt, Mall Road and Faisal Town; legal operators must report every guest within 24 hours through Punjab's Hotel Eye system and should be able to show their tourism department registration.

A guest house in Lahore is a small lodging, often a converted house or a few floors of a building, renting rooms by the night or week. Legitimate operators register with Punjab's tourism department and must record every guest's identity in the Home Department's Hotel Eye system.

Where Lahore's guest houses are found

The Department of Tourist Services hotel list has about 251 Lahore entries, most of them hotels with roughly a dozen guest houses or lodges. Their addresses cluster in a few areas:

The list is undated and counts are approximate, so treat it as a guide to where licensed lodging sits, not a full census.

The rules a legal guest house follows

Guest reporting. The Punjab Information of Temporary Residence Act 2015 requires hotel and guest house owners to report guests within 24 hours of check-in, as summarised by LUMS SAHSOL. Penalties run up to six months' imprisonment and/or a fine of Rs10,000–100,000.

Hotel Eye. The Punjab Home Department made Hotel Eye registration mandatory for all private guest houses by 15 June 2025, APP reported. Bookings made through online platforms are covered too. In October 2025, the tourism department said private guest house owners must upload guest data with their own login, APP added.

Licensing. The Department of Tourist Services registers and licenses hotels under the Punjab Hotels & Restaurants Act 1976, and since October 2025 has offered online licensing. The pages we checked publish no fee schedule.

Can a house in a residential society be a guest house?

Often not without permission. DHA Lahore's construction regulations define the residential zone as exclusively for habitation and name guest houses among barred uses (cl. 2(b)(80)). Conversion needs Executive Board approval (cl. 46).

In LDA areas, any use that is neither permitted nor permissible is prohibited, and permissible uses need committee approval and a fee, per a summary of the LDA Land Use Rules 2020. Private schemes also need the sponsor's NOC. Ask the operator which approval covers the building.

What to check before you book

1. Ask whether the guest house is registered with DTS and Hotel Eye. A legal operator will ask for your CNIC or passport.
2. Confirm the full address and check it on a map before paying an advance.
3. Ask for the total price per night, including tax and any extra-bed charge, in writing.
4. Check fire exits, extinguishers and a working generator or UPS.
5. For families, ask about room separation and who else is staying.
6. Get the cancellation and refund terms before transferring money.

Red flags

• No ID requested at check-in. That suggests the guest house is not reporting guests, which puts you at risk during police checks.
• Advance payment demanded to a personal account with no receipt.
• A different address given on arrival than the one booked.
• Rooms in a residential block with no visible signage or licence.

Sources