1. How do I get a booking?
2. How do I find out my students arrival time?
3. What happens if I cancel a booking?
4. What happens if my booking gets cancelled?
5. How am I paid? / Who pays me?
6. What happens if my student wants to stay longer than the original booking?
7. Do I have to pay tax?
8. Who is responsible for any damage?
9. What do I do in an emergency?
10. Can I take two students from the same country?
11. How many students can I take?
12. What do I do if my details change?
13. Do I have to give students a house key?
14. What do I need to put in the students room?
15. Do the students need to use my phone/internet?
16. Does the student need to use my washing machine?
17. Does the student need to use my kitchen?
18. Does the student want to bring guests into my house?
19. I have a dog, is this ok?
20. Is having a student the same as having a lodger?
21. What food do I need to provide?
22. My student stays out late at the weekend. Is this ok?
23. Which laws affect me as a host?

The booking

Our staff will normally contact you by telephone to discuss and offer you a booking.  Brief details of the student are given verbally and followed up with the appropriate paperwork together with full payment details.

Arrival time

We will endeavour to advise you of a student’s arrival. However if this is not possible due to any changes/delays, the student has been told to contact you direct by telephone (given to them after you accept their booking). We will inform you of all the students contact details should you need to clarify time of arrival.

Cancellation of booking by a host family

When accepting a booking from us, please be aware that upon agreeing to take a student, a chain of events is activated. While it is understood that occasionally hosts have to cancel due to family emergencies, we do not expect our hosts to cancel (even with several weeks notice), unless it is absolutely unavoidable.  A cancellation not only involves extensive administration for us, but it damages our credibility with the client school, which in turn damages the school’s reputation with the agent.  Worst of all a change of plan can be anxiety provoking for the student who has mentally prepared him or her self for their new home-away-from home.

Cancellation/Curtailment of booking by student

If a student cancels the accommodation we have booked with you, we will notify you as soon as possible and place you on top priority for a replacement (subject to matching criteria). Should the cancellation occur one week or less prior to the booked arrival date, and if Home from Home Student Services Ltd is unable to supply a suitable replacement student, you may be entitled to receive financial compensation.  Compensation will also be paid if a student fails to arrive without having given prior notice (no-show).

If a student asks to cut short their stay, please contact our office immediately. Our terms and conditions are designed to protect hosts from the inconvenience of a student leaving at short notice, the student is normally expected to give reasonable notice before leaving in order to avoid penalty. The exception is when a student leaves as a result of a complaint about the accommodation, in which case Home from Home Student Services Ltd will resolve the matter with the host.  Please refer to the contract for further details.

Payment

Payment is guaranteed by London Homestays and paid by bank transfer 10 days after the student’s arrival. The first payment will cover the first 4 week period and subsequent payments will be made every 4 weeks, depending on the student’s length of stay. If the duration of stay is less than 4 weeks, the full amount will be transferred 10 days after the student’s arrival.

If the named student/guest requests an extension, you must advise London Homestays in order that we may collect additional payment from our client(s). London Homestays will not be responsible for any additional payments for extended stays that have not been authorised by us. Hosts should not take payments directly from students/guests. This is a serious breach of contract and you will risk being excluded as a London Homestays host for future bookings. Host families are solely responsible for reporting their earnings to the Inland Revenue. London Homestays are NOT responsible for payment of hosts’ taxes.

Under no circumstances should you contact a student’s school or agent regarding payment.

Booking extensions

If a student tells you that he/she wishes to extend their stay, please ask the student to arrange this with our office. We are under obligation to pay you only for the period of stay booked by us. Only extensions of stay authorised by Home from Home Student Services Ltd will be paid to Host families.

Direct payments & confidentiality

Under no circumstances should you accept payment directly from a student or discuss your rates of pay and arrangements with Home from Home Student Services Ltd. This is a serious breach of our contract and puts all concerned in an awkward position.  Please refer any students, who enquire about price, to our office at Home from Home Student Services Ltd.

Tax liability

It is the host’s responsibility to meet any tax liability incurred as a result of hosting Home from Home Student Services Ltd students. At the time of going to print, the amount that a host is entitled to earn from letting rooms in their home without any tax liability is £4,250.00 per annum.  Please contact your nearest Tax office for further details.

Insurance

Home from Home Student Services Ltd is not responsible for loss or damage to the property of either yourself or your student guest. You are recommended to check with your home contents insurance provider if your cover extends to paying guests. You may want to consider purchasing public liability insurance. If you would like to receive details of an inexpensive policy, which will cover you for all aspects of hosting guests in your home, please see our website for full details.

Problems & Emergencies

In case of any difficulty with a student, which you cannot resolve yourself, please call us in the office on 0208 288 6843 or email us at info@londonhomestay.com. We want you to enjoy hosting the students and are here to help you if there is a problem.  We may be able to assist by speaking directly to the student; possibly in his or her own language. We expect our hosts to be patient with their student guests as sometimes what seems to be a big problem is the result of a cultural difference or misunderstanding of the language.

We regret that we are unable to answer general queries outside of office hours and you are asked to telephone during office hours for anything that is not of an emergency.

The welcome

The welcome a student receives from you and your family may be the first impression of Britain that they receive. For some students this will be the first time they have been away from home and they may feel lost, homesick or overwhelmed.

We count on our hosts to give our students a warm welcome. In registering as a homestay or private home you are expected to treat the student as a member of your family and include them in as many aspects of family life as possible.

Misunderstandings may occasionally occur over cultural differences or language.  Hosts should try to resolve these sympathetically and cheerfully and try not to appear impatient or judgmental.

Family harmony is important.  It can be frightening for a student to witness an argument, however minor, as they may not understand what is being said.

Nationality

If hosting more than one student at a time in your home, please bear in mind that students who speak the same mother tongue cannot be placed within the same household. The only exception is when two or more students arrive together and request to be placed in the same family.

If you are hosting for other agencies or schools, you are obligated to advise us at the time of booking if you have accepted another booking for a student of the same mother tongue. Failure to do so could result our having to relocate the student without compensation to you.

Number of students

To be classified as a “homestay” you must host no more than four students at any one time. Should you wish to accommodate more than four students, you would be classified as a “private home”. Should you add an extension to your home or start to let additional rooms, it is imperative that you advise us as soon as possible. It may simply be a matter or re-classifying you in line with the ENGLISH UK/British Council guidelines. We are able to provide students for hosts of both homestays and private homes.

Change of details

Should the description of your accommodation change in any way whatsoever (such as, if there have been additions/departures to the family, you have acquired a pet or made significant changes to students’ rooms or living areas) it is your responsibility to contact us immediately, so that we can change your details on our database. Failure to do this could result in our placing a student with you who may have matched your original details but may not match your new ones (such as requesting a home without pets when a newly acquired pet is now in residence). This could cause us to have to relocate a student, once placed with you, without notice or compensation.

Information

Hosts are expected to assist students upon arrival and provide them with information such as how to get to their school by public transport. This includes explaining where to find the nearest underground/train station/bus stop and how to purchase a travel card.

Other information, which should be offered, includes:

The house & cleanliness

Students must be allowed to utilise all public areas of the house in the same way as any family member.

Public areas as well as the kitchen and bathrooms should be kept very clean. Please ensure that your home is always clean and tidy, while hosting a student.

Keys

Students age over 18 must be provided with their own door key, which should be returned to you on the day of departure. Students must be allowed to come and go as they please but are expected to do so quietly, particularly late at night.

Heating

Adequate heating should be provided in the student’s room and throughout the home (at no charge to the student). Many students who come from warmer climates feel the cold and are not used to the heating being switched off during the night. You may need to offer the student an extra blanket or duvet.

The student’s room

No more than two students (age over 18) should be accommodated in one private room and they must be booked by Home from Home Student Services Ltd as a “twin share”. It is NOT acceptable for our students to share with “strangers” to whom you are letting a bed from another source.

The room must be of a reasonable size (The 1986 Housing Act requires bedrooms to be a minimum of 70 sq. ft. for one adult and 110 sq. ft. for two adults).

You must not offer rooms in your home, which have not already been inspected by our Assessor. Rooms must have comfortable full size bed(s) (at least 4’6” by 6’32 for double beds and 2’6” by 6’3” for single beds). Bunk beds, sofa beds and fold up beds or futons are not acceptable.

Each room must be well decorated and maintained (not shabby) with good lighting including bedside lamp, a carpet or rug, curtains or blinds at windows (windowless rooms are not acceptable), a wardrobe, storage space such as a chest of drawers, a bedside table, a desk or writing table with chair and a mirror. The room should be for the student’s exclusive use and storage space should be empty for the student’s use and not contain any items belonging to the family.

Students are expected to keep their own room tidy but they are not expected to clean it. The room should be cleaned once a week by the host.

Bed linen, which is provided by the host, must be spotlessly clean and in good repair. Sheets and pillowcases must be changed and laundered weekly by the host.

Students’ privacy must be respected and the host should not enter the student’s room except to clean it.  Your children or pets should never be allowed to enter a student’s room. Students are not recommended to leave valuables or money in their room and it would be appreciated if you would advise them as to a safe place in your home where valuables can be stored.

Bathroom

Bathrooms should be kept spotlessly clean. Soap, hot water and toilet paper should always be provided (at no cost to the student). You should also provide a bin for the disposal of feminine sanitary protection. The student should not be expected to clean the bathroom but they should leave it tidy after use.

The host is responsible for providing the student with towels, which should be changed and laundered by the host, once a week.

You are recommended to agree a bathroom schedule with the student soon after arrival, if there are several people using the bathroom during busy times.

Telephone & Internet

A telephone must be available for the student to receive a reasonable number of incoming calls from their family abroad, especially in the case of an emergency. The telephone should be located in a common area which is accessible to the student. Hosts may wish to ask the student to advise friends and family not to telephone before or after a certain time each day so as not to disturb the family’s sleep.  However, many students come from countries where there is a time difference, so a degree of compromise may be the answer.

Hosts are not expected to allow students to make outgoing calls unless they purchase a telephone card and use it under the host’s supervision. It is also recommended that hosts contact their telephone provider to enquire about placing an access pin to their telephone for outgoing calls.  Internet access is frequently requested and students do appreciate being able to retrieve and send e-mails if permitted by the family. You are under no obligation to offer this facility, however, and if not available, are advised to direct the student to the nearest Internet café’.

Laundry

Host families should allow the student use of the washing machine once or twice a week or do the student’s laundry free of charge. The loan of an iron and ironing board may also be requested and would be appreciated.

If the student wishes to use the washing machine more than once/twice a week, the host is at liberty to charge a reasonable fee for the extra washes.

Kitchen use

Hosts are expected to allow the student to make tea and coffee in the host’s kitchen (within reason).

Light kitchen use for bed and breakfast and occasionally half board students is appreciated. The host’s agreement to this is normally established by our Assessor during the inspection visit.  “Light” kitchen use means use of microwave, making toast, heating soup or another ready-made meal on the stove, or boiling pasta.  Students who are permitted to cook are expected to provide all their own ingredients and not help themselves to your food.  Please provide a small space in your refrigerator to store their food.  Students who are allowed this facility are expected to clean up after use, leaving the kitchen as they found it, and to use the kitchen at times convenient to the host.    Students booked on a self-catering basis will obviously have full use of the kitchen with cooking times to be agreed between the host and student.

Friends

Students appreciate being allowed to invite their friends over occasionally but this in entirely at your discretion.  Students do not have an automatic right to bring their friends home and must always ask your permission. You are not expected to let students have their friends or family to stay overnight with them in their room, and if you receive such a request, please contact our office.

Pets

Students from some other countries are not always as comfortable with family pets as the average British person and your student may be afraid of your pet, at least in the first instance.

Pets should NOT be allowed near the table at mealtimes, to jump up on surfaces where food is prepared or to eat from the same dishes as the family.

Family life

Young students expect to be treated as you would your own son or daughter (older students as a family member) and included in as many aspects of family life as possible.  This includes free use of the living room and public areas. Students often like to watch television with their host, even if they have their own TV in the room.

Part of being a host is to converse with the student for a reasonable length of time each day so that they can practice their English. Help with homework is often appreciated.

Meals

Some students are used to eating later than the average British family. Please discuss meal times soon after the student’s arrival, as there may be a conflict of schedules, which needs resolving.

Meals are to be taken with the host and family. Students should not be expected to eat alone, except when arriving late after the normal mealtime in which case their food can be kept warm or re-heated.  If it is not possible to eat breakfast together due to work commitments or if you have to be out one evening, please explain to the student where to find the ingredients for their breakfast or be sure to leave a pre-prepared meal for them if you have to be out at dinner time. It is advisable to check with the student shortly after arrival as to whether they have special dietary needs or cannot eat/do not like certain foods. Any special dietary requests will normally have been advised to you at the time of booking.

Breakfast

Hosts are expected to provide Continental Breakfast (unless booked as self catering). Sometimes students arrive in Britain expecting an English (cooked) Breakfast but this is not part of our accommodation offer. However, if you normally cook breakfast for yourself and your family, then it should be offered to the student.

The minimum requirement for breakfast consists of: cereal, toast or bread/rolls with butter, marmalade or jam, fruit juice and tea or coffee with fresh milk.

Some students appreciate a piece of fruit for breakfast. Others expect cold ham, cheese or yoghurt. The provision of these additional items is entirely at your discretion and you are under no obligation to provide them. Some hosts suggest that student’s purchase their own extra (cold) breakfast items and allow them a space in the refrigerator to store them.

Dinner

Dinner should consist of a substantial cooked meal, consisting of a main course of *meat or fish, with potatoes, pasta or rice and green vegetables or salad.  This should be followed by fruit or dessert and/or cheese. Many overseas students appreciate bread with their meal.

*Exception is Vegetarian students. Students are not expected to help in the kitchen with meal preparation or washing up/ cleaning the kitchen if the meal has been prepared by the host. Some students may offer, in which case, by all means let them help out. This may provide the student opportunity to interact with their hosts, establish friendships and to practice their English.

Staying out

Students aged over 18 are at liberty to stay out late or even spend the night away from home without family interference. They should, however, always advise you if they are going to be late for meals or home very late. An exception to this rule is with juniors (under 18). If you are worried about young students over the age of 18, please contact our office for advice.

Welfare

If you have any worries or concerns about a student staying with you (for example if they are excessively homesick or appear to be behaving irresponsibly in a way that might threaten their personal safety) please contact us immediately. We will then either speak to the student ourselves or discuss your concerns with the student’s school or agent.

Safety

Safety is one of our major concerns and all our hosts are required to adhere to the following safety rules which we may check from time to time:

For further information on any of the above, please contact our office.

Conclusion

Hosts should always contact Home from Home Student Services Ltd in case of any query.  It is Home from Home Student Services Ltd‘s responsibility to handle queries and problems, which we may discuss with the school ourselves if we believe that it is necessary.

Laws which affect you as hosts

This information sheet should be read in conjunction with Home from Home Student Services Ltd’s “Guidelines For Hosts” information leaflet and the contract, which you signed when you first became a Home from Home Student Services Ltd host.   It is intended as a general guide only.  For further information on specific legal matters and your rights, please contact the appropriate official body.

Contract between host & Home from Home Student Services

When a member of Home from Home Student Services Ltd staff books accommodation with you either verbally (over the telephone) or in writing, you are entering into a legally binding contract.  For details of your legal obligations as well as those of Home from Home Student Services Ltd, please refer to the contract, as well as the Host Guidelines.

Should a student fail to arrive or leave before the end of the period booked, you are entitled to compensation under the conditions specified in the contract. Alternatively, Home from Home Student Services Ltd may offer you another (replacement) student.  A host cannot reasonably refuse this offer and if they do so, they cannot expect financial compensation.

The Data Protection Act

Home from Home Student Services Ltd holds information on each registered host (which includes the hosts name, address, telephone number, transportation, details of the host and other family members, description of accommodation and history of placements made with that host on its database.

Home from Home Student Services Ltd will not disclose this information to any third parties other than to the potential student, school or agent after the host has agreed to accept a booking and occasionally to British Council inspectors, when either we or our client English language schools are inspected as part of their accreditation process.  This will involve giving details of hosts who have accommodated students from the school in question to the British Council inspector(s), who also keep this information confidential.

Race relations

As a host, you are entitled to refuse to host a particular race, nationality or religious group.  You must not publicise such discrimination. At Home from Home Student Services Ltd we reserve the right to match students to their preferred host. Many students require to be lodged with traditional British hosts as part of their educational experience. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion or nationality when taking people onto our books as potential hosts (providing they have an acceptable level of spoken English) as not all our students expect to be lodged with traditional British hosts.

Rent acts

As a host, you are not risking students having security of tenure (becoming “sitting tenants”) providing food is supplied. This includes hosts who provide breakfast only as well as those providing half board (breakfast and dinner). When you do not provide meals (self-catering accommodation) or are letting a bed-sit, studio or furnished flat, this may be classified as a “holiday let” providing the student’s stay does not exceed 8 months. This also means that security of tenure should not apply.

Department of Social Security

Under the Social Security Administration Act of 1992, local DSS inspectors have right of access to any records of payments to hosts, as part of their investigation into Social Security fraud.  Home from Home Student Services Ltd does not routinely provide the DHSS with such information.  However, should we ever be required by a DHSS inspector to make these records available to them, we would be legally bound to reveal them.

Income Tax

You are currently (at the time of writing) entitled to earn £4,250 per year from hosting students without incurring any tax liability. You would only pay tax on any amount you earned above that figure. This amount is separate from any other income you may earn.

If you earn more than £4,250 per year, you may choose:

i) To pay the tax on the amount by which your gross rent exceeds £4,250 without separate tax relief or allowable expenses   OR

ii) To calculate your profit from letting (gross rents less actual expenses) and paying tax on that profit in the normal way.

For further information, please refer to the Inland Revenue leaflet IR87 Rooms to Let.

Capital gains tax

If you sell your home, you will not be liable for Capital Gains Tax on room’s used, short or long term, by students so long as meals are provided and the sitting rooms and/or other rooms are shared with students.

Fire precautions, Health & Safety

If there are more than six guests in the house, they must sleep on the ground or first floor.  Where six or more students are accommodated, the provider must comply with the Fire Precautions Act, the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and the Housing Act 1985. The Housing Acts of 1989 and 1985 state that, at the discretion of the local council, a home may be designated a “House of Multiple Occupancy” (HMO).

Home from Home Student Services Ltd requires all its hosts to have smoke alarm(s) fitted.

Electrical wiring should be checked before hosting students.

Gas safety

Every year there are a number of incidents reported nationally which involve gas appliances. These include asphyxiation, carbon monoxide poisoning, fires and explosions. You are required to take the following precautions:

All gas appliances must be checked annually by a Gas Safe registered engineer. The law also states that:

Size of rooms

The 1986 Housing Act requires bedrooms for a house in multiple occupation to a minimum of 70 sq.ft. for one adult and 110 for two adults.  In this case an adult is anyone of 10 years of age or over.

The Children Act 1989

If you are hosting “Juniors” (i.e. students under 18 years of age), you will be required to sign a declaration attesting to your suitability to foster children privately. This form, which is supplied to you by Home from Home Student Services Ltd must be completed by all members of the household who are over 16 years of age. This form registers your agreement to the local authority arranging for police records to be checked for previous convictions, subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and exemption orders.  Section 70(a) of the Children Act 1989 provides that a person who makes any statement in this notice which he knows to be false or misleading, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5.  As an accommodation agency we are required to ensure that extra care is taken when placing juniors.  Home from Home Student Services Ltd may request that its host families conduct a Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) check. If this is requested full support and advice will be given on how/where this can be requested.

Mail & Luggage

A host may not hold or destroy mail addressed to a student. We advise you to keep a note of a student’s forwarding address. Please either forward their mail or return it to the post office marked “gone away”. A host may hold luggage or other property belonging to a student against a disputed debt providing authorisation is obtained by Home from Home Student Services Ltd management.

If property is left behind or abandoned by a student it may be held by the host or, preferably by the school/organisation. After a reasonable period the student or their parents will be contacted and asked for instructions as to the disposal of the goods or payment in advance for the cost of postage or carriage.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at info@londonhomestays.com if you require any further information on any of the above.