Homeowners: what we bring, what you disclose, what we do not promise

A home earns as a stay when guests trust it before they arrive. They trust it because they know who checked the other guests, who answers at night, and what standard the home is kept to. Shepherds Homes builds and keeps that trust, and the demand that comes with it. The homeowner brings the home. This page sets out how the two fit together. The signed agreement governs.

What Shepherds Homes brings

• Guests and demand: listings on the booking platforms and our own site, pricing, and enquiries from families, teams and companies.
• Trust and safety: every guest is identified before entry. Foreign guests are reported as the law requires. House rules, guest caps and the society's rules are applied to every stay.
• Operations: cleaning, linen, upkeep, staff, guest service and the records of every stay.
• Money and records: rent on the agreed date, tax deducted at source where the law requires it, with a certificate, and a monthly statement for revenue-share homes.
• Furnishing: set up and kept at our cost. It stays ours and leaves with us at the end.

What the homeowner brings and keeps

• The home in letting condition, and the structure, fittings and fixtures that came with it.
• The supply of water, power and drainage to the home, and the accounts in good standing.
• The relationship with the association or society, as a member.
• Property tax and the insurance of the structure.

What every homeowner discloses before signing

• The home: any defect known to the owner that a careful visit would not show.
• The surroundings: any open or overflowing drain, sewage smell, garbage point or construction close to the home, and any repeated water or power cuts. These are photographed and listed in the agreement, and we may tell guests about them.
• The society: its bye-laws and any resolution or notice on short stays, guest numbers or letting.
• Ownership: every registered owner, any co-owner's consent, and any notice, dispute or loan on the home that affects letting.
• People connected to the home: family, staff or association officers who may wish to stay, so their stays can be arranged directly.

How we work together

• Prices and bookings are set by us. Pricing, minimum stays and who stays are ours to decide, because that is what earns the rent.
• Guests are ours to look after. Owners, their staff and the association do not contact guests, our staff or our vendors about a stay. Concerns come to us in writing, and we act on them.
• Stays by people connected to the home are arranged directly with us, on direct terms, and not through a booking platform.
• Inspection: the owner may visit with 24 hours' notice, at a time that does not disturb guests.
• Owner's own stays: up to the nights set in the agreement, booked ahead, with the rent adjusted for those nights.
• Essential services: no one cuts power, water or access to a home while a guest is staying. If a supply fails, guests are moved and looked after first, and the cost is settled with whoever caused it.
• A problem outside the home (a drain, the building, the society, the supply) is taken up by the owner with the society or the authority. The agreement sets out how nights lost to it are reflected in the rent.
• Disputes: raised in writing, then discussed within 15 days, then decided by an arbitrator as the agreement provides.

What we do not promise

• Earnings: we do not guarantee earnings unless a fixed rent is written into the agreement. Occupancy and prices change with the season and the market.
• Society decisions: an association's decision on short stays is outside our control, and outside the owner's. The agreement sets out the notice, the transition and the fact that neither side is penalised.
• The surroundings: we cannot fix conditions outside the home. We disclose them, look after guests, and follow the agreement on rent.
• Guest data: guest documents are kept by us under India's data protection law and are not shared with owners. Owners receive stay counts and confirmation that the law has been followed.
• This page is a summary of our standard terms. The signed agreement with each owner governs.

Questions: +91 8971814740 or ceo@shepherds.homes.