Draft. Prepared from official sources for Adv. Varun Agarwal's review before publication.
Dotted terms explain themselves on hover or tap. Numbered notes sit in the margin; tap a number to open one.
What changed in June 2026
The Uttarakhand Tourism and Travel Business Registration Rules, 2026 (Notification No. 531, 5 June 2026) replaced the 2014 registration rules and the 2015 Homestay Rules, with immediate effect. For a small hill property, two categories matter:
| Homestay | Bed & Breakfast | |
|---|---|---|
| Who may own it | Permanent residents of Uttarakhand | Anyone |
| Where | Nagar Panchayat and rural areas | Rural and urban areas |
| Must the owner live there? | Yes, the owner or their family, permanently | No. It can be run by an operator under a registered contract |
| Size | 1–8 rooms, up to 24 beds | 1–8 rooms, up to 24 beds |
| Registration fee | ₹1,000 | ₹5,000 |
| Water, power, property tax | Domestic rates | Commercial rates |
For a family from Delhi or elsewhere: unless you are permanent residents of Uttarakhand, plan on registering as a B&B, not a homestay.1 An owner who does not live on site runs the B&B through an operator appointed by a registered contract: one registered with the Sub-Registrar under the Registration Act, 1908, not merely signed on stamp paper.
Before you buy: the land question
Uttarakhand amended its land law in 2025. News reports say the changes took effect on 1 May 2025:2 This summary relies on news reports because the gazetted text is hard to find online. Check the current text of the law before you buy.
- People who are not residents of the state can no longer buy agricultural or horticultural land in 11 of the 13 districts. Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar are the exceptions, and purchases there need state approval.
- A non-resident may still buy a residential plot of up to 250 sq m, once, on an affidavitAffidavitA written statement of facts sworn before a notary or oath commissioner. Making a false affidavit is an offence. that no such purchase has been made before.
- Land used in breach of the conditions can be taken over by the state.
The finer points are still being clarified, so have the specific plot checked before you pay an advance.
Registering the unit
- Where to apply: online on the Uttarakhand Tourism homestay portal.
- Conditions:
- a fire appliance in every room
- parking for one car per room
- co-owner consent for jointly owned property
- an affidavit that the building follows bye-lawsBye-lawsLocal building rules made by the development authority or local body, covering setbacks, height, floors and permitted use.
- police verification of any operator or caretaker
- in a residential society, a society NOCNOCNo Objection Certificate: written confirmation from an authority or a housing society that it does not object to what you propose., and the owner or operator living on the premises
- Validity: registration lasts five years, and the authority is to decide within 60 days.
- Already operating? Register within 180 days of 5 June 2026, that is, by early December 2026.3 Counting 180 days from 5 June 2026 gives 2 December 2026. Apply well before then; the authority has up to 60 days to decide.
- Penalty for running unregistered: ₹10,000, plus ₹1,000 for every day it continues.
Subsidies: who actually qualifies
- Deen Dayal Upadhyay Griha Awas (Homestay) Vikas Yojana: for native or permanent residents who live in the building, with 1–6 guest rooms, financed by a bank loan.
- Hill areas: a capital subsidy of 50% of project cost, up to ₹15 lakh.
- Plains: 25%, up to ₹7.5 lakh.
- Interest: 50% of the loan interest for five years.
- Excluded areas: municipal corporation and municipality areas.
- Apply: on the state self-employment portal.
- Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Paryatan Swarozgar Yojana: also for permanent residents. It covers hotels, resorts and similar units, not homestays.
Owners who are not permanent residents are generally not eligible for either scheme.
Running it: tax and day-to-day compliance
- GST:
- Registration is required above ₹20 lakh turnover.
- Rooms up to ₹7,500 a night attract 5% GST, without input tax creditInput tax creditCredit for GST already paid on your purchases, set off against the GST you collect. Without it, the GST on your costs stays a cost., from 22 September 2025.
- For bookings through platforms such as Airbnb, the platform pays the GST if you are not registered.
- FSSAIFSSAIFood Safety and Standards Authority of India. Food businesses, including small ones, must register with it or hold its licence.: basic registration if you serve food, for food turnover up to ₹12 lakh.
- Foreign guests: report each stay online through Form CForm CThe online report that anyone hosting a foreign guest must file with the immigration authorities. within 24 hours of arrival.
- Under the 2026 rules:
- keep a guest register and collect ID
- display the QR registration certificate and the women-helpline poster
- upload monthly tourist numbers by the 7th
Sources
- Uttarakhand Tourism and Travel Business Registration Rules, 2026, Notification No. 531, 05.06.2026
- Deen Dayal Upadhyay Griha Awas (Homestay) Vikas Yojana rules, Uttarakhand Tourism
- Uttarakhand land law amendment, Scroll, Feb 2025, and The Week, May 2025
- GST rate changes, PIB, Sep 2025
- Form C for foreign guests, Bureau of Immigration
Your checklist
Tick items off as you go. Your progress is saved in this browser.
This article is general information about the law as of the date above. It is not legal advice. Policies and schemes change; check the current position before you act.