The establishment of home stay facilities shall be limited to the following areas, and shall comply with related supervisory regulations on land use:
1.Non-urban land
2.Urban land in the following areas:
(1)Designated scenic spots
(2)Tourist sites
(3)Aboriginal reservations
(4)Remote areas
(5)Offshore islands
(6)Recreational farms with business registration certificates issued by the administrative authority for agriculture, or recreational agriculture areas designated by the administrative authority for agriculture.
(7)The historic sites, historic buildings, monuments, building clusters, and buildings or facilities in cultural landscape areas which are designated or registered in accordance with the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act, has drafted the management and conservation plans or the preservation plans.
(8)The cultural and historical area.
3.National park

The business operation of a home stay facility shall be at a scale of no more than 8 guest rooms, with a total floor area of no more than 240 square meters. However, a business registration certificate may be issued to a home stay facility that has an operating scale of no more than 15 guest rooms, with a total floor area of no more than 400 square meters, provided that such home stay facility is located in an indigenous area, a recreational farm with a registration certificate issued by the administrative authority for agriculture, a recreational agriculture area designated by the administrative authority for agriculture, a tourist site, a remote area, or on an offshore island.
If a farmhouse located in an area covered by the provisions of Paragraph 1 is used as a home stay facility, the total floor area of guest rooms shall be no more than 300 square meters.
The “remote area” as mentioned in the first paragraph shall be determined by the local administrative authority, which shall file the criteria for determination with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications for reference before implementation of such criteria. Such criteria may be modified in accordance with practical necessity.

The building facilities of a home stay facility shall comply with the self-governance ordinance enacted by the local administrative authority based on local and building characteristics together with the local administrative authority of buildings in accordance with the Local Government Act.
Where the local administrative authority does not enact a self-governance ordinance in accordance with the preceding paragraph, and the number of guest rooms is no more than eight, the building facilities of a home stay facility shall comply with the following provisions:
1.The inner walls and ceilings shall be of fire-resistant materials.
2.The partition walls of non-fire-safety compartments that shall have one-hour fire resistance as required by current regulations may be substituted by walls made from incombustible materials.
3.For home stay facilities that were completed before February 16th, 1974, the net width of hallways may not be less than 90 cm; if one side of the hallway is an outer wall, the width may not be less than 80 cm; and the inner wall of hallways shall be made from incombustible materials. For home stay facilities completed between February 17th, 1974 and April 18th, 1996, if the total floor area of rooms for each above-ground floor is over 200 square meters or the total floor area below ground is over 100 square meters, hallways with rooms on both sides shall have a width no less than 160 cm, and other hallways shall have a width no less than 100 cm; if the total floor area does not reach the above criteria, hallways shall have a width no less than 90 cm.
4.A building with a floor area of over 200 square meters for each above-ground floor, or one with a total floor area of over 200 square meters for all below-ground floors, shall have staircases and platforms with a net width of 1.2 meters or above; the net width shall not be less than 75 cm for buildings that do not reach the total floor area above. A floor whose area is over 400 square meters directly above the emergency shelter, and any other floor whose area is over 240 square meters, shall have no less than two staircases that have a direct connection to all the other floors of the building. A building that does not comply with the above requirements shall comply with the following requirements:
(1)Each floor shall have at least one staircase that leads directly to the emergency shelter or ground.
(2)Walking distance may not exceed 50 meters.
(3)The direct access staircase shall have a fire-resistant structure and the interior shall use incombustible materials.
(4)Additional direct access staircases shall be emergency staircases with a width over 90 cm.
If the local administrative authority has not enacted a self-governance ordinance as referred to in Paragraph 1, a building with at least 9 guest rooms shall comply with the following requirements:
1.The materials of the inner walls and ceilings of rooms shall be at least level-three fire-resistant materials, and shall be at least level-two fire-resistant materials for hallways and staircases.
2.The partition walls of fire-safety compartments shall be made from incombustible materials.
3.If building has a total floor area of over 200 square meters for all guest rooms in each above-ground floor, or a total floor area of over 100 square meters for all below-ground floors, hallways with guest rooms on both sides shall have a width no less than 160 cm, and hallways with guest rooms on one side shall have a width no less than 120 cm; if the total floor area of all guest rooms in each above-ground floor is less than 200 square meters or the total floor area of all below-ground floors is less than 100 square meters, the hallways shall have a width no less than 120 cm.
4.If a building has a total floor area of over 200 square meters for all guest rooms in each above-ground floor, or a total floor area of over 100 square meters for all below-ground floors, direct access staircases and platforms shall have a net width no less than 120 cm; if the building does not meet the above criteria, direct access staircases and platforms shall have a net width no less than 75 cm. If the staircase is outdoors and used as an emergency staircase, the width may be reduced to no less than 90 cm; the net width of other outdoor direct access staircases shall be no less than 75 cm.
5.If the total floor area of a floor exceeds 240 square meters, the floor shall have at least two direct access staircases.
The two paragraphs above do not apply to home stay facilities located in an area covered by the provisions of Paragraph 1 of the preceding article.

The fire safety facilities of a home stay facility shall comply with the self-governance ordinance which is enacted by the local administrative authority based on local and building characteristics according to the Local Government Act.
If the local administrative authority does not enacted a self-governance ordinance as referred to in the preceding paragraph, the fire-safety facilities of a home stay facility shall meet the following requirements:
1.Each guest room, staircase shaft, and corridor shall be equipped with emergency lights.
2.Home stay facilities shall be equipped with automatic fire-alarm systems, or each guest room shall be equipped with fire alarm.
3.No fewer than two fire extinguishers shall be securely installed in places of good visibility and accessibility. At least one fire extinguisher shall be installed on each floor in a building which has more than one floor above the ground.
If the local administrative authority has not enacted a self-governance ordinance as referred to in the preceding paragraph, and the total floor area of the building’s first floor reaches 200 square meters or above, total floor area of the second and higher floors reaches 150 square meters or above, or total floor area of below-ground floors reaches 100 square meters or above, besides complying with the preceding paragraph, the building shall also comply with the following requirements:
1.Hallways must have manual alarms.
2.Hallways must have emergency exit lights.
3.Curtains, rugs, and screens must be made from fire-resistant materials.

The water heater of a home stay facility shall be installed outside the building. This does not apply to electric water heaters.

Applications for the registration for home stay facilities shall comply with the following provisions:
1.The structure of a home stay facility shall be for residential use only. However, a farmstead may be used as a home stay facility when it is located in an area covered by the provisions of Paragraph 1, Article 4 and the operator is the owner of the farmstead and the land on which it is located.
2.A home stay facility shall be operated by the actual user of the building. However, an operator of a home stay facility with no more than 15 guest rooms commissioned by the local government or central administrative authority on an offshore island may be exempt from this provision.
3.A home stay facility may not be established in a communal dwelling house. However, if the applicant gains the approval of all owners and submits an application for the entire communal dwelling house, the local administrative authority may approve the application under the condition of retaining the right to revoke the home stay facility registration.
4.A guest room may not be established in a below-ground floor of a building. However, if any one of the following conditions apply, the home stay facility may be exempt from this provision if the local administrative authority and the local administrative authority of buildings determines that it does not violate building related laws and regulations:
(1)The local administrative authority of indigenous peoples determines that the building has traditional architectural features of indigenous peoples.
(2)The below-ground floor is the result of elevation difference of the surrounding terrain and the below-ground guest room has a window.
5.A home stay facility may not share a direct access staircase, hallway, or entrance with another home stay facility or lodging facility.

A person who conforms to any of the following conditions may not operate a home stay facility:
1.Not having complete capacity to execute legal transactions.
2.Having been convicted under the Organized Crimes Control Act, Statute for Narcotics Hazard Control, or Firearms Control Act.
3.Having been convicted under any of the following laws: Articles 22 to 31 of the Law on the Prevention of Child and Teenage Sex Trade; Article 31 to 42 of the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act; the sexual assault provision of Chapter 16 of the Criminal Code; Articles 231 to 235, Articles 240 to 243, and Article 298 of the Criminal Code.
4.Being an ex-convict sentenced to imprisonment of five years or more, and having completed the sentence or been pardoned less than five years previously.
5.Having a home stay facility registration revoked by the local administrative authority in accordance with Article 18 or the Statute less than 3 years ago.

The name of a home stay facility may not be the same as that of any other home stay facility, tourist hotel, or hotel located in the same municipality, county, or township.

Those intending to operate home stay facilities shall, before commencing operations, submit an application together with the following documents to the local administrative authority for registration, pay the required fees, and obtain a home stay registration certificate and exclusive trade symbol:
1.Application form.
2.One photocopy of the certifying document of land use classification for the premises (when the premises are located in an urban area).
3.Documentation evidencing consent for use of the premises (not required when the applicant is the owner of the premises).
4.Documentation evidencing consent for use of the building (not required when the applicant is the owner of the building).
5.One photocopy of building use permit, or documentation which can verify the legitimacy of the building use.
6.One photocopy of business liability insurance policy.
7.Photos of exterior and interior of the home stay facility, including guest rooms, bathrooms, and other business-related facilities.
8.Other documentation as required by the local administrative authority.
If the applicant is not the sole owner of the land, the acquisition of documentation evidencing consent for use of the building specified in Subparagraph 3 of the preceding paragraph shall be handled in accordance with Paragraph 1 of Article 820 of the Civil Code on management of shared land. However, if ownership of land is complicated or there are numerous owners and handling the land in accordance with Paragraph 1 of Article 820 of the Civil Code is indeed difficult, provided that all other documentation is available, the local administrative authority may approve the application under the condition of retaining the right to revoke the home stay facility registration.
The difficult situations and elements for revoking a home stay facility registration in the preceding paragraph shall be determined and established by the local administrative authority.
Where all or part of the home stay facility does not fall under the purview of the Building Act as stipulated by other laws, Subparagraph 5 of Paragraph 1 may be replaced with other documentation in accordance with the relevant law.
If the home stay facility has already received a home stay facility registration certificate, application for registration as provided in Paragraph 1 is not necessary. The operator may attach the change of registration application form and related documentation to apply for a change of operator registration, and transfer the home stay facility to a direct relative or spouse to continue operating the home stay facility. If the home stay facility is inherited, this registration may be carried out by the inheritor within six months after inheriting the home stay facility.
If the operator received a home stay facility registration certificate prior to the amendment of these Regulations, the operator may continue to operate under the regulations and approved items when the home stay facility registration certificate was received; the same shall apply to a change of registration in accordance with the preceding paragraph.

Historic sites, historic buildings, monuments, building clusters, and buildings or facilities in cultural landscape areas that are used as home stay facilities after renovation in accordance with Article 26 or 64 of the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act, or laws and orders under its authorization, are not bound by restrictions in Articles 5 and 6.
When operators of home stay facilities that comply with the preceding paragraph and apply for registration according to the preceding article, the documentation specified in Subparagraph 5 of Paragraph 1 of the same article is not required.

Documentation evidencing structural safety issued by an architect, civil engineer or structural engineer and a simple fire safety facility floor plan approved by the local administrative authority may be used before documentation specified in Subparagraph 5, Paragraph 1, Article 11, provided that the local administrative authority has verified there is no safety hazard and one of the following conditions apply. The situation shall be reported to the local administrative authority each year for reference, and the local administrative authority shall continue to provide guidance and management after giving its approval:
1.An indigenous person applying for the registration of a home stay facility within the tribal area of the indigenous tribe.
2.For buildings in Matsu that were unable to acquire documentation specified in Subparagraph 5, Paragraph 1, Article 11 and the local administrative authority determined it was the result of not completing land survey and registration, and the building was already listed as needing guidance before the amendment to these Regulations.
Structural safety evaluation items in the preceding paragraph shall be determined by the local administrative authority together with the local administrative authority of buildings.

A home stay facility registration certificate shall document the following items:
1.Name of home stay facility.
2.Address of home stay facility.
3.Name of operator of home stay facility.
4.Date of registration approval, document number, and registration certificate serial number.
5.Other items required by the administrative authority.
The format of the application form for home stay facilities shall be stipulated by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and printed by the local administrative authority.
The format for exclusive trade symbols is shown in Attachment 1.
The local administrative authority shall issue a plate with the exclusive home stay exclusive trade symbol according to the format, and specify the issuing agency and serial number; the format is shown in Attachment 2.

When reviewing an application for home stay facility registration, the local administrative authority may call in competent authorities for health, fire, building affairs, and agriculture to conduct onsite investigations.

In the event of any items needing to be submitted or corrected concerning an application for home stay facility registration, the local administrative authority shall notify the applicant in writing of the items to be submitted or corrected within a fixed deadline.

The local administrative authority should reject an application for home stay facility registration, in written documentation stating the reasons for the rejection, in any of the following cases:
1.The required items are not submitted or corrected within the fixed period of time after notification is issued.
2.The application fails to comply with the Statute or these Regulations.
3.The application is found by other competent authorities to have failed to comply with laws or regulations.

In the event any one of the following conditions apply to operators that already have a home stay facility registration certificate, the local administrative authority shall revoke the home stay facility registration certificate:
1.The documentation contains false information or forged documents were provided for registration.
2.The home stay facility registration certificate was acquired through fraud, threats or other improper means.

In the event any one of the following conditions apply to operators that already have a home stay facility registration certificate, the local administrative authority shall revoke the home stay facility registration certificate:
1.Losing the right to use the land, building or facilities.
2.The building was deemed in violation of the law by the relevant administrative authority and its water was shut off, power was shut off, or the building was shut down or compulsory demolished.
3.Violating provisions on registration of home stay facility in Article 8 and failing to make improvement within the specified period.
4.Having conditions in Subparagraphs 1 to 4 of Article 9 that prohibit the operation of a home stay facility.
5.Violating the conditions attached by the local administrative authority that retained the right to revoke the home stay facility registration in the provisions of Subparagraph 3 of Article 8 or Paragraph 2 of Article 11.

Operators that register their home stay facility in accordance with the Business Registration Act shall report it to the local administrative authority within six months after their business registration is approved.
The person-in-charge on the business registration in the preceding paragraph must be the same as the operator, and the same shall apply to any changes.
If the name of the home stay facility is not registered as a trademark, the name of the home stay facility shall be part of the company name used in the business registration referred to in Paragraph 1. If the name of the home stay facility is registered as a trademark, the operator shall be the trademark owner or person that authorizes its use.
After operators complete business registration for their home stay facility in accordance with the law, the local administrative authority shall notify the local administrative authority at the place of the business registration if any one of the following conditions applies:
1.Operating a home stay facility without acquiring a home stay facility registration certificate in accordance with these Regulations, and being ordered to close down by the local administrative authority.
2.The local administrative authority revokes the home stay facility registration certificate.

In the event of change in any of the items of a home stay facility registration, the operator shall submit the change to the local administrative authority along with an application form and pertinent documentation within 15 days after the occurrence of the change.
The local administrative authority shall, by the 10th day of the following month, submit to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications the documentation on the establishment and change of the home stay facility.

An operator shall pay the following fees for the home stay facility registration certificate and exclusive trade symbol plate when registering a home stay facility; the same shall apply for change of registration, reissuance, and renewal of the home stay facility registration certificate or exclusive trade symbol plate:
1.Home stay facility registration certificate: NT$1,000.
2.Exclusive trade symbol plate: NT$2,000.
There will be no charge for registration certificate renewal or reissuance necessitated by a change of address caused by the rezoning of the administrative district or by a change in the house numbering system affecting the home stay facility in question.

In the event of any loss, destruction of, or damage to the home stay registration certificate or exclusive trade symbol, the operator shall apply to the local administrative authority for reissuance or replacement within 15 days after the occurrence of the aforesaid conditions.