Help

What is Habita?

Habita is a trust-first marketplace that connects renters with verified local Scouts who visit rental properties on their behalf.

Scouts provide real, on-the-ground insight through photos, video, checklist responses, notes, and practical observations that may not be clear from a listing alone.

Habita is especially useful when you are relocating, cannot attend a showing, are short on time, or want another set of eyes on a property before moving forward.

Who is Habita for?

Habita is designed for renters who want more information before applying for, traveling to, or committing to a rental property.

This may include:

• People relocating for work or personal reasons;
• Students and recent graduates moving to a new city;
• International and out-of-area renters;
• Busy local renters who cannot attend every showing;
• Parents or family members helping someone move; and
• Anyone evaluating a property without being able to visit it in person.

Where is Habita available?

Habita is currently focused on rental properties in the Los Angeles area.

Availability may depend on the property location, Scout coverage, scheduling, access, and other operational factors.

What is a Tour Plan?

A Tour Plan is the request you submit for a Scout visit.

It may include:

• The property address or listing;
• Your preferred visit timing;
• Questions or concerns you want the Scout to address;
• Required photos, video, notes, or checklist items; and
• Optional add-ons selected during booking.

The details and total price will be shown before you confirm payment.

What does a Scout do?

A Scout visits the requested property or location and follows the requirements of the accepted Tour Plan.

Depending on the booking and available access, the Scout may capture:

• Photos or video of the property;
• Observations about the layout and visible condition;
• Natural light and storage details;
• Building entrances and shared areas;
• Street activity and surrounding context;
• Noise observed during the visit;
• Checklist responses;
• Access issues or visible concerns; and
• Answers to specific questions you submitted.

A Scout will not trespass, bypass access restrictions, secretly record where prohibited, or continue a visit that appears unsafe or unlawful.

Can I request specific things for the Scout to check?

Yes. You may include questions, priorities, and concerns when creating your Tour Plan.

For example, you might ask the Scout to pay closer attention to:

• Storage;
• Natural light;
• Visible wear or damage;
• Street noise;
• Parking access;
• Laundry facilities;
• Building common areas; or
• Work-from-home setup.

Requests must be lawful, safe, reasonably related to the property, and possible to complete with the access available.

Can I book visits for multiple properties?

Yes. Each property generally requires a separate Tour Plan because access, scheduling, travel, deliverables, and Scout availability may differ.

Can I choose my Scout?

Habita may match or assign an available Scout based on factors such as location, service area, availability, timing, and the requirements of the Tour Plan.

Scout availability is not guaranteed.

How quickly will my visit be completed?

Available timing and estimated delivery will be shown or communicated during booking.

Completion depends on Scout availability, property access, listing schedules, location, safety, and the requirements of the Tour Plan.

Habita cannot guarantee that every property can be visited or that every request can be completed within a specific timeframe.

What is included in a Scout report?

A Scout report may include:

• Photos;
• Video;
• Checklist responses;
• Scout notes and observations;
• Access information;
• Visible concerns or red flags;
• Responses to renter questions; and
• Other items included in the accepted Tour Plan.

The exact deliverables depend on the service and options selected during booking.

Is a Scout report a property inspection?

No.

Scout reports provide limited, time-specific observations based on what the Scout could reasonably see, hear, access, and document during the visit.

They are not formal inspections, appraisals, safety certifications, habitability determinations, environmental assessments, legal reviews, or guarantees of property condition.

A Scout may not identify every defect, hazard, sound, odor, restriction, or concern. Conditions may also change after the visit.

You should verify important information directly with the property owner, manager, listing agent, relevant authority, or an appropriately qualified professional before making a housing decision.

Does Habita guarantee that a listing is legitimate or available?

No. Habita does not own, manage, lease, or control the properties submitted through the service.

We do not guarantee that a listing is genuine, accurate, available, lawful, safe, habitable, or accurately represented.

Renters remain responsible for independently evaluating the listing, property, lease, landlord, property manager, and related transaction.

What should I do if something is missing or incorrect?

Contact Habita Support promptly and explain the issue.

Please include:

• The property address;
• Your booking or confirmation information;
• The specific item you believe is missing or incorrect; and
• Any relevant supporting details.

Material report issues should be reported within seven calendar days after the report or service is delivered.

Habita may review the Tour Plan, submitted media, checklist responses, messages, access information, and other available records.

Depending on the circumstances, Habita may request clarification or corrections, offer a refund or credit, arrange another resolution, or determine that the service was completed as described.

How much does a Scout visit cost?

The price of a Tour Plan is shown before you confirm payment.

Your total may include:

• The base visit price;
• Optional add-ons;
• Clearly disclosed rush, distance, access, cancellation, or attempt-related fees;
• Applicable taxes; and
• Other amounts shown before checkout.

Pricing and availability may vary based on the property location, service selected, timing, Scout availability, access complexity, or promotional offers.

How do I pay?

Payments are completed securely through Habita using the payment methods shown at checkout.

Habita uses Stripe to process renter payments and Scout payouts.

Do not pay a Scout directly or move a Habita booking off the platform.

When is my payment collected?

Your payment method may be authorized or charged when you confirm your Tour Plan, as shown during checkout.

A booking may be delayed, paused, or cancelled if payment cannot be completed.

What if I need to cancel?

Cancellation outcomes depend on when you cancel and whether a Scout has already accepted the request, coordinated the visit, begun traveling, attempted access, or completed the work.

More than 24 hours before the scheduled visit, a booking may qualify for a full refund. Later cancellations may be subject to a cancellation or attempt fee.

Once the visit is completed, it can no longer be cancelled as a standard cancellation. You may still contact Habita if you believe there is a material quality issue.

Review the Refund & Cancellation Policy for complete details.

What happens if the property cannot be accessed?

A property may be unavailable or inaccessible because of:

• Listing changes;
• Incorrect information;
• Denied entry;
• Property rules;
• Scheduling problems;
• Safety concerns; or
• Circumstances outside Habita’s or the Scout’s control.

Depending on what happened and how much work was already completed, Habita may offer:

• A full or partial refund;
• A credit;
• A rebooking;
• Another reasonable resolution; or
• Appropriate attempt compensation to the Scout.

Each situation is reviewed based on the available information.

How long do refunds take?

When Habita approves a refund, we typically begin processing it within three to five business days.

After it is submitted, the renter’s bank, card issuer, or payment provider may take an additional five to ten business days to make the funds available.

Review the Refund & Cancellation Policy for more information.

Do I need an account?

Certain Habita features require an account, including:

• Submitting or managing Tour Plans;
• Receiving reports;
• Applying to become a Scout; and
• Accessing account-specific information.

You must be at least 18 years old and provide accurate account information.

How does Habita use my information?

Habita collects and uses information needed to operate the marketplace, including account details, Tour Plan information, communications, reports, payments, Scout applications, technical information, and support records.

Information may be shared between renters and Scouts when reasonably necessary to evaluate, coordinate, complete, or support a Tour Plan.

Habita may also share limited information with service providers that support hosting, authentication, payments, communications, analytics, security, and customer support.

Habita does not sell personal information for money.

Review the Privacy Policy for complete details.

Will Habita send me emails or text messages?

Habita may send service-related communications about your:

• Account;
• Scout application;
• Tour Plan;
• Scheduling;
• Report;
• Payment or payout;
• Security; or
• Support request.

Promotional emails or marketing text messages may be sent as permitted by law and based on the consent or preferences you provide.

You may unsubscribe from promotional emails or opt out of an applicable marketing text program. Opting out of marketing does not stop necessary service-related communications.

How do I request access to or deletion of my information?

Email [email protected] with the subject line Privacy Request.

Habita may need to verify your identity before completing the request.

Some information may need to be retained for transactions, payouts, disputes, fraud prevention, security, tax, legal, or regulatory reasons.

How do I apply to become a Scout?

Visit the Become a Scout page and complete the application.

Submitting an application does not guarantee approval, activation, Tour Plan requests, or compensation.

Who can become a Scout?

For the current Los Angeles pilot, Scout applicants must:

• Be at least 18 years old;
• Be a Los Angeles resident;
• Be able to complete visits in person;
• Have reliable transportation;
• Have access to a smartphone with a suitable camera;
• Provide accurate application information; and
• Meet Habita’s eligibility, onboarding, verification, quality, safety, and conduct requirements.

Habita may review applications, conduct interviews, request additional information, and perform lawful identity and eligibility checks.

Are Scouts Habita employees?

No. Scouts provide services as independent service providers and are not employees, agents, or representatives of Habita.

Scouts are responsible for their own availability, transportation, equipment, expenses, taxes, and legal obligations, except where applicable law provides otherwise.

What response time is expected of a Scout?

Habita asks Scouts to reply to a renter’s message within 24 hours while an accepted tour is still open, not counting overnight hours. This is separate from the window to accept or decline a new tour request, which has its own 24 hour clock. Consistently slow replies may affect a Scout’s standing on the platform.

How are Scout payouts determined?

The potential payout for a Tour Plan will be shown or communicated before the Scout accepts it.

A payout is generally earned only after Habita determines that the Scout timely and satisfactorily completed the accepted Tour Plan, including its required:

• Photos;
• Video;
• Checklist items;
• Notes;
• Renter questions;
• Add-ons; and
• Quality, safety, privacy, and delivery requirements.

Receiving, accepting, traveling to, or partially attempting a request does not automatically earn the full payout.

Habita may request reasonable corrections or clarification and may delay, reduce, withhold, deny, or reverse a payout where permitted if the Tour Plan was materially incomplete, unusable, false, unsafe, fraudulent, or otherwise failed to meet the accepted requirements.

Habita will not deny an otherwise earned payout merely because the renter dislikes the property or because the Scout reported accurate but unfavorable observations.

Can a Scout accept payment directly from a renter?

No. Payments and payouts related to a Habita Tour Plan must remain within the Habita Service.

Off-platform payments bypass Habita’s booking records, support, quality review, refund processes, and marketplace protections and may result in account restrictions.

What should I do if something feels wrong?

Pause before moving forward.

Contact Habita if a booking, property-access situation, Scout interaction, payment request, photo, video, or report does not seem right.

Scouts should not enter or remain in a property or situation that appears unsafe, unauthorized, or unlawful.

For an immediate emergency, contact local emergency services first.

Should renters and Scouts pay each other directly?

No.

Payments related to a Habita Tour Plan should only take place securely through Habita.

Never pay a Scout directly, and Scouts should never accept direct payment from a renter.

What should renters verify independently?

Scouts provide on-the-ground observations, but renters should still confirm important details directly with the property owner, manager, or leasing team.

This includes:

• Lease terms;
• Rent and fees;
• Deposits;
• Property availability;
• Application requirements;
• Utilities;
• Policies; and
• Other material property details.

Where can I learn more about Habita’s safety practices?

Visit Trust & Safety for more information about:

• Scout verification;
• Property access;
• Report quality;
• Payments;
• Privacy;
• Marketplace conduct; and
• Reporting concerns.

Email [email protected].

For faster assistance, include:

• Your name;
• The property address;
• Your booking or confirmation information, when applicable; and
• A brief description of the issue.

Your use of Habita is also governed by our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Refund & Cancellation Policy.