How to register a homestay in Himachal Pradesh (2025 rules)

Himachal Pradesh changed its homestay rules in 2025. If you registered under the old Home Stay Scheme of 2008, or you have never registered, this is what the new rules ask of you, as far as published reports and Airbnb's summary for Himachal hosts describe them. We could not read the gazette text itself, so treat the figures below as a starting point and confirm them with your district tourism office before you pay or build.

The rules in one paragraph

The Himachal Pradesh Home Stay Rules, 2025 were notified in June 2025 and replace the 2008 scheme. Every homestay registers with the Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation. Units registered under the 2008 scheme, or under the Incredible India Bed and Breakfast scheme, have to apply again. Applications are made online, and the department inspects the property before it registers it.

What counts as a homestay

• One to six rooms. Airbnb's summary gives one to six rooms, each with an attached toilet, and allows a separate toilet in rural units. Some summaries also mention a limit of twelve beds.
• Minimum room sizes are set for single rooms, double rooms and toilets. The figures differ between summaries, so check them for your building.
• Only the recorded owner can register, as named in the revenue record. Reports say the owner no longer has to live on the premises, which the 2008 scheme required, but the unit cannot be leased to someone else to run.

Silver, Gold and Diamond

Homestays are graded by the room rate they charge:

Reports say Gold and Diamond units pay commercial rates for electricity and water and must register for GST, while Silver units keep domestic rates. Talk to your accountant about GST for your own case.

The fee

The yearly fee depends on the category and on where the homestay is: a municipal area, a town planning or special area, or a gram panchayat. Published summaries put it between ₹3,000 and ₹18,000 a year, with the lowest for a Silver unit in a gram panchayat and the highest for a Diamond unit in a municipal area. Some summaries also mention a discount for paying three years at once and a concession for women owners, but they disagree on the details. The portal shows the fee for your unit before you pay.

Where and how to apply

1. Apply online on the state's homestay portal, homestay.hp.gov.in (HP Tourism eServices), launched in February 2026.
2. Keep your documents ready. Airbnb's summary lists the application, revenue papers, an affidavit, an undertaking on stamp paper about Form C for foreign guests, and the guest register and bill book for verification. Some summaries add a structural stability certificate.
3. The department inspects the property. Reports say a decision is due within sixty days.
4. Registration lasts one year, or up to three when paid for three. Renew it before it lapses.

Reports also say homestays must register with the local municipal body or panchayat, and that running without registration can bring a fine of up to ₹1 lakh, with water and power cut for repeated offences.

Running the homestay once registered

• Keep a guest register and a stamped bill book.
• Display the registration certificate and your rate list.
• Report foreign guests on Form C, as every lodging in India must.
• Set your own rates, with separate season and off-season rates if you like; the rules say rates should not be excessive.

A StayCraft site keeps the guest register and the Form C sheet for foreign guests on every plan, and you can show your registration number on your site once you have it. We do not handle the registration itself.

Before you rely on this

Rules change and summaries make mistakes. Read the notified rules on the department's portal, or ask the district tourism development officer for your district, before you pay a fee, add rooms or change your rates.