Registering a homestay under Rajasthan's 2026 scheme

Rajasthan's 2026 scheme is one of the most open in India: the owner no longer has to live on site, and a lessee or designated caretaker may run the house. The obligations have not gone away, though.

Havelis in Jaipur's walled city, guest rooms above Udaipur's lake ghats, family homes in Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Pushkar: Rajasthan has hosted paying guests in private homes for decades under its paying guest house schemes. In February 2026 the state replaced its earlier framework with the Rajasthan Homestay (Paying Guest House) Scheme, 2026, and changed several of the points that matter most to owners.

What the 2026 scheme changed

• Owner residence is no longer required. A homestay may be operated by the owner, a lessee, or a caretaker designated in line with the scheme's guidelines.
• More rooms. The ceiling per residential unit rises from five rooms to eight, with a limit of 24 beds.
• A single window. Registration moves online through local Tourism Department offices, with fewer documents; in rural areas, owners can go to the nearest Tourist Reception Centre.

For an owner who lives in Delhi, Mumbai or abroad, this is the key difference with states like Kerala or Karnataka: a professionally run house with a designated caretaker fits the Rajasthan scheme.

Minimum standards

Each room must have an attached bathroom. The house must have adequate water and electricity, ventilation and cleanliness, and meet fire safety requirements. Parking and waste disposal must follow the standards of the local body. Heritage buildings in old city cores can make some of these points harder than they look, so walk through the house with them in mind before you apply.

Records and foreign guests

• Keep a guest register for at least seven years — longer than most states ask.
• Report the details of foreign guests to the authorities. Nationally, this means Form-III (formerly Form C) on indianfrro.gov.in within 24 hours of arrival, under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.

What to confirm with the Tourism Department

We have not been able to verify from the official scheme text the exact registration fee, the validity period, the deemed-approval timeline or the penalties, so we do not quote them here. Ask your district Tourism Office, or read the scheme PDF on the Rajasthan Tourism website, before you commit. Also check with the municipal body or panchayat whether a trade licence or other local permission is needed for your house, and with your accountant on GST: rooms up to ₹7,500 a night carry 5% without input credit since 22 September 2025, 18% above.

Designating a caretaker the right way

If you rely on a caretaker, put the appointment in writing, give the caretaker a copy of the registration, and make sure he or she knows how the guest register and foreign-guest reporting work. The scheme allows delegation of operation; it does not remove your responsibility as owner.

Lessees: read your lease first

The scheme lets a lessee operate a homestay, but it does not rewrite your lease. If you rent a haveli to run it for guests, make sure the lease expressly allows paying guests and registration in your name as lessee, and keep a copy ready for the Tourism Office.

Where Hexuvium fits in Rajasthan

This is the state where our model matches the rules most directly. The registration stays in your name as owner; under a written management mandate we can act as, or organise, the designated caretaker's work, and run listings, pricing, guest messages, housekeeping, the seven-year register and Form-III.