How to register a homestay or B&B in Goa

Goa is one of the few states that expressly lets an absent owner rent rooms through a resident agent. The price is paperwork: yearly registration, monthly statistics and foreign-guest reporting.

The legal base

Paid accommodation in Goa falls under the Goa, Daman and Diu Registration of Tourist Trade Act, 1982 and its Rules of 1985, administered by the Department of Tourism (DoT). Section 7 of the Act requires anyone intending to operate a hotel in a tourist area to apply for registration before starting, and homestays and B&Bs are dealt with as "other accommodation". Alongside the Act, the DoT's Homestay and Bed & Breakfast Policy spells out who qualifies and what the unit must offer.

Homestay or Bed & Breakfast: choose the right box

The policy separates two categories, both in residential property and both capped at six lettable rooms (12 beds):

• Homestay: the owner or promoter lives in the same establishment with his or her family.
• Bed & Breakfast: the owner does not live there, but an agent or operator designated by the owner resides on the premises and looks after guests.

For NRI owners and anyone whose Goa house is a second home, the B&B category is usually the relevant one. Mind the condition: a person you designate must actually reside at the property. An empty villa with a key box does not match the description.

Documents the DoT asks for

• The application in the format prescribed under the 1982 Act.
• Title papers: sale or gift deed, Form I & XIV, house tax receipt.
• For a B&B run by someone else: the lease agreement or a notarised NOC from the owner.
• KYC: Aadhaar, passport, driving licence or PAN.
• Local approvals where applicable: trade licence, electricity and water connections, health, FDA, fire and pollution clearances.

Applying and paying

Applications go online through goaonline.gov.in, or on paper at Paryatan Bhavan, Patto, Panaji. The 2021 amendment to the Rules fixes the fee for a homestay or B&B (Gold or Silver category) at ₹1,000, paid on registration and at each annual renewal; the policy waives it for units already approved by the Ministry of Tourism. The first certificate is valid for one year. The DoT reserves the right to inspect without notice.

After the certificate: the monthly routine

• Monthly statistics: Rule 17, inserted in December 2022, obliges every registered unit to send details of the tourists who stayed, electronically, before the 5th of the following month. A missed return costs ₹10,000 the first time and ₹25,000 for every later default.
• Form-III (ex-Form C) for each foreign guest within 24 hours of arrival, on indianfrro.gov.in.
• A guest register with copies of photo ID, the certificate on display, numbered bill books endorsed by the DoT, and a complaints record.
• The policy also makes the government's T.I.M.E software mandatory for bookings.

Platforms and penalties

The 2020 amendment says online service providers must not list hotels that are not registered with the prescribed authority, and must display registration details. In practice, an unregistered Goa listing is exposed to removal. Section 22(1) of the Act provides for a fine of up to ₹1,00,000 for contraventions, and the DoT may cancel a classification after a serious deficiency.

How Hexuvium works with Goa owners

The title and the registration stay in your name. For a B&B, you appoint the resident operator in writing; we take care of what surrounds the certificate — listings that show the registration number, guest messages, housekeeping, Form-III the same day, statistics before the 5th. Before the first booking we check with you that the trade licence exists and the house tax is paid, because those are the first papers the DoT looks at.