The short answer
Start with the applicant, property and operating model.
The Himachal Pradesh Home Stay Rules, 2025 are the current homestay-specific rules and replaced the 2008 scheme. They allow qualifying private houses in urban and rural areas across the state.
The published route is owner-centred: the applicant is tied to the person recorded as owner in the record of rights. The owner does not have to reside in the registered homestay, but the rules do not clearly create a separate registration-holder route for a lessee or management company.
Scope: Source-checked public guidance, not legal, tax, architectural or property approval. It does not determine eligibility for an address or submit an application.
01 / Current rules
Use the final June 2025 Rules—not the draft or the old scheme.
The final Rules came into force on publication on 25 June 2025 and expressly repealed the Himachal Pradesh Home Stay Scheme, 2008.
A discoverable February 2025 draft contains provisions that changed before notification. Requirements found only in that draft should not be presented as current law.
Himachal Tourism · Himachal Pradesh Home Stay Rules, 2025 Himachal Tourism · e-Services procedure and checklist
| Applicant | Owner of the qualifying private house; owner is tied to the record of rights |
|---|---|
| Owner residence | Not mandatory under Rule 8(1) |
| Capacity | 1–6 guest rooms and no more than 12 beds |
| Categories | Silver, Gold and Diamond, determined by room tariff |
| Authority | District Tourism Development Officer or Assistant DTDO |
02 / Eligibility
Test the actual arrangement before spending.
- Fix the exact address. Identify the municipal, planning, Panchayat, highway-zone and any protected or specially regulated jurisdiction before treating the property as feasible.
- Confirm the recorded owner. A caretaker, investor, lessee, LLP or management company should not be treated as the eligible registration holder without a written departmental answer.
- Check the house. The unit must be a suitable private house in good condition. Vacant land requires the separate construction and development route first.
- Count rooms and beds. Keep the tourist accommodation within six rooms and twelve beds, including the overall bed effect of family suites.
03 / Category
Use the category that matches the facts.
The 2025 Rules regulate homestays separately from larger accommodation categories. Do not use the homestay label merely to avoid another tourism-unit route.
| Category | Starting position |
|---|---|
| Homestay | Owner-centred private-house route; owner residence is not mandatory; maximum six rooms and twelve beds. |
| Guest house or hotel | Separate tourism-registration framework. Consider it where scale or the property model does not fit the homestay Rules. |
| Farm setting | A qualifying private house in a farmhouse, orchard or tea garden may use the homestay route; there is no separate farm-stay class in the located Rules. |
04 / Property standards
Design for the rule and the inspection.
- New accommodation: double room at least 120 sq ft, single room at least 100 sq ft and bathroom or toilet at least 30 sq ft.
- Already-constructed dwelling: corresponding minimums of 100 sq ft, 80 sq ft and 25 sq ft.
- Each guest room ordinarily needs an attached toilet; the Rules provide a limited rural exception for a dedicated separate toilet where attachment is unavailable.
- Prepare clean ventilated rooms, hygienic kitchen and waste arrangements, purified drinking water, online-payment capability, basic fire equipment and CCTV in common areas.
- Tourism registration does not establish title, Section 118 permission, sanctioned use, completion status, structural compliance or address-specific planning approval.
05 / Documents
Prepare one consistent property file.
- Prescribed application through the Tourism e-Services route.
- Jamabandi and Tatima, together with co-sharer material where applicable.
- Section 29 affidavit and the prescribed stamp-paper undertaking.
- Guest register and bill book or homestay pad for verification.
- Property and room photographs required by the current portal.
- Confirm the authenticated upload list before filing: the public portal checklist is shorter than Annexure II of the Rules.
06 / Application
Keep the submission and inspection trail.
- 01. Resolve title, address jurisdiction, building status and the proposed registration holder.
- 02. Create the official e-Services account and complete the current homestay application.
- 03. Upload the current documents and pay the tariff-category and location-based fee.
- 04. Answer scrutiny observations and correct defects; excluded time means the 60-day rule is not an unconditional approval guarantee.
- 05. Prepare for inspection of location, facilities, surroundings, hygiene, cleanliness, security and safety.
- 06. Check the issued certificate carefully and retain the complete submission, payment and query trail.
A Rudraleela enquiry starts a property or business conversation. It does not create a government account, make a statutory declaration or pay a registration fee.
07 / Fees and validity
Use the current official amount and printed dates.
| Item | Current position |
|---|---|
| Silver | Below ₹3,000 per room/day; ₹8,000 MC, ₹5,000 TCP/SADA/NP/Panchayat, ₹3,000 Gram Panchayat per annum |
| Gold | ₹3,000–₹10,000; ₹12,000 MC, ₹8,000 middle column, ₹6,000 Gram Panchayat per annum |
| Diamond | Above ₹10,000; ₹18,000 MC, ₹12,000 middle column, ₹10,000 Gram Panchayat per annum |
| Discounts | 10% for three-year payment; additional 5% for a woman owner; Pangi charged at 50% of the otherwise applicable fee |
Rules 6 and 7 operate on one- or three-year registration and renewal. Section 59 of the amended parent Act states that a registration certificate is valid for two years. Because the Act and Rules are not aligned, confirm the period in writing and rely on the dates printed on the issued certificate.
08 / After registration
The certificate begins the operating work.
- Display the registration or renewal certificate and maintain the verified guest register and bill book.
- Issue stamped bills and provide online-payment facilities, subject to the connectivity exception stated in the Rules.
- Maintain the approved room count, hygiene, waste, purified-water, fire and CCTV standards.
- Intimate the relevant urban or rural local body and address any separate local approvals.
- For foreign guests, use current Form III reporting under the 2025 Central rules rather than relying on the State Rule’s old Form C reference.
- Check the applicable FSSAI route if food is prepared or supplied as a food business.
For central compliance, start with the official FSSAI information and Bureau of Immigration accommodation-reporting portal.
09 / Business planning
Make the commercial structure fit the registration.
A management contract cannot turn a non-owner into the Rule 2(h) owner or transfer the tourism certificate. Identify who owns the property, holds registration, invoices guests, receives payments, employs staff and operates the food business.
The tariff category affects not only the annual tourism fee: the Rules state commercial water and electricity rates for Gold and Diamond and domestic rates for Silver, subject to Government revision.
Treat the notified interest-subvention programme as a separate financing assessment. Do not place a subsidy in the project budget until the applicant route, bank process and sanction are confirmed.
10 / Common questions
Before you proceed.
Can the owner live elsewhere?
Yes. Rule 8(1) says residence by the owner is not mandatory, but the owner-centred registration test remains.
Can a lessee or management company register?
A clear separate registration-holder route was not located in the final Rules. Obtain a written answer before structuring the project around one.
How long is registration valid?
The official texts conflict: the Rules say one or three years while the amended Act says two. Use the certificate’s printed dates and seek written clarification.
Does tourism registration approve construction?
No. Land, Section 118, planning, building, completion, fire and environmental questions remain separate.
11 / Sources and review
Use the official document behind the answer.
Checked . The final 2025 Rules, amended statutory text and public e-Services material were compared. No authenticated application was submitted and no property-specific departmental clarification was obtained.
- Himachal Tourism · Himachal Pradesh Home Stay Rules, 2025
Current homestay-specific Rules, including definitions, eligibility, capacity, fees, duties and annexures.
- Himachal e-Gazette · Tourism Development and Registration Amendment
Substituted section 59 states a two-year registration-certificate period, creating the unresolved conflict with the 2025 Rules.
- Himachal Tourism · e-Services procedure and checklist
Public implementation information. The authenticated homestay form and hidden upload constraints were not inspected.
- Himachal Pradesh Town and Country Planning · Acts and Rules
Starting point for separate planning and development controls; the exact property still requires address-specific review.
- Ministry of Home Affairs · Immigration and Foreigners Rules, 2025
Rule 17 governs electronic accommodation records and arrival and departure reporting for foreign guests, including at homestays.
- FSSAI · Revised turnover-threshold order, 13 March 2026
Current national turnover thresholds from 1 April 2026. The correct registration or licence still depends on the food activity and applicable Kind of Business criteria.
Corrections and updates
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