Refund & Cancellation
Last updated: July 8, 2026
These Fees, Payments, and Cancellation Supplemental Terms explain how payments, Scout payouts, add-ons, cancellations, refunds, and related fees work when you book or complete a Habita Scout visit.
These terms are part of Habita’s Terms of Service. If something is defined in our Terms of Service and not redefined here, the same meaning applies here.
Habita is a marketplace that connects renters with verified local Scouts who visit rental properties on their behalf and provide real-world observations, photos, videos, notes, and a Scout report. Renters pay for the booking. Scouts are compensated for completing visits and related work. Habita helps coordinate the booking, payment, workflow, report delivery, support, and quality review process.
Our goal is simple: keep pricing clear, protect renters from surprise fees, and respect the time Scouts spend coordinating, traveling, waiting, and completing visits.
1. What Renters Pay For
When you book a Habita Scout visit, your checkout total may include:
- The base visit fee
- Any optional add-ons you select
- Any clearly disclosed travel, distance, rush, cancellation, or attempt-related fees, if applicable
- Any taxes or government charges that Habita is required to collect
- Any other amount clearly shown before you confirm payment
Habita does not add hidden mandatory fees at the end of checkout. If a fee is required for your booking, we aim to show it before you pay.
For MVP launch, Habita may offer a Recorded Tour as the primary visit type. Pricing may vary by location, availability, property access complexity, promotions, or other factors shown before checkout.
2. Base Visit Fee
The base visit fee covers the core Scout visit experience.
For a Recorded Tour, this may include:
- Scout coordination and visit preparation
- A visit to the rental property or property location
- Photos and/or video captured by the Scout
- Structured checklist responses
- Scout notes and observations
- A Habita report or summary
- Red flags, access notes, or other relevant property context when available
The base visit fee does not guarantee that a property will be available, that a landlord or property manager will provide access, or that the renter will choose to apply for or lease the property.
Habita helps renters make a more informed decision. We do not make leasing decisions, represent landlords, guarantee property condition, or provide legal, real estate, inspection, financial, or safety advice.
3. Optional Add-ons
Renters may be able to select optional add-ons during booking.
Examples may include:
- Area check
- Follow-up question pack
- Commute or transit context
- Multi-property comparison summary
- Second review or quality summary
Optional add-ons are charged only when selected by the renter or otherwise clearly confirmed before payment.
Add-ons may depend on Scout availability, property access, timing, safety, and whether the requested information can reasonably be captured during the visit.
5. Scout Payouts
Scouts are compensated for eligible work completed through Habita.
Scout payouts may include:
- Base payout for a completed visit
- Approved distance or travel reimbursement
- Approved parking or access-related reimbursement
- Cancellation or attempt-related compensation when applicable
- Other incentives, bonuses, or adjustments approved by Habita
Scout payouts may be adjusted, delayed, or withheld if:
- The Scout does not complete the visit
- Required photos, videos, checklist items, or notes are missing
- The wrong property was visited
- The Scout violates Habita policies
- The report is materially incomplete
- Fraud, safety, privacy, or quality concerns are identified
- A payment dispute, chargeback, or investigation is pending
Scouts are responsible for their own taxes, expenses, transportation, equipment, availability, and compliance with applicable laws unless otherwise stated in a separate agreement or policy.
6. Distance, Parking, and Access Costs
Some properties may require extra travel, parking, or access coordination.
Habita may include a standard travel area in the base visit fee. If a booking requires travel beyond that standard area, Habita may charge a distance or travel fee if it is shown before the renter confirms the booking.
Habita may approve certain parking or access-related costs when they are necessary to complete a confirmed visit. These costs must be reasonable, documented, and approved through Habita.
Habita does not reimburse or cover:
- Parking tickets
- Traffic violations
- Towing fees
- Illegal parking
- Unsafe or unauthorized access attempts
- Personal errands or unrelated travel
- Costs not approved by Habita
Scouts should never break building rules, trespass, misrepresent themselves, or take unnecessary risks to complete a visit.
7. Cancellations by Renters
Renters may cancel a booking before the visit is completed. The refund amount depends on how close the cancellation is to the scheduled visit.
Cancellation fees help compensate Scouts for real time spent traveling, waiting, and attempting access.
Recorded Tour cancellation fees
| Booking status | Cancellation outcome |
|---|---|
| More than 24 hours before the scheduled visit | Full refund |
| Within 24 hours of the scheduled visit | Refund minus a late cancellation fee |
| Scout en route, arrived, waiting, or attempting access | Refund minus an attempt fee |
| Visit completed | Cancellation is no longer available |
| Report ready | Cancellation is no longer available |
Once the visit is completed, the work has already happened. At that point, renters may request a quality review if something appears incomplete or incorrect, but the booking can no longer be cancelled as a standard cancellation.
8. Suggested MVP Fee Schedule
The following fee schedule may apply to Recorded Tour bookings unless a different amount is shown before payment.
| Event | Fee |
|---|---|
| Renter cancellation within 24 hours of scheduled visit | $30 |
| Scout en route, arrived, waiting, or attempted access | $45 |
| Cancellation after visit completed | Not available |
Habita may update this fee schedule over time. Any applicable fee will be shown before the renter confirms the action whenever possible.
9. When a Booking Cannot Be Completed
Sometimes a visit cannot be completed because of property availability, access issues, safety concerns, incorrect listing information, landlord or property manager restrictions, or circumstances outside Habita's control.
Depending on the situation, Habita may offer:
- A full refund
- A partial refund
- A free rebooking
- A credit toward another listing
- A report based on external observations only
- A quality review or support resolution
Approved refunds are typically processed by Habita within 3 to 5 business days. After Habita submits the refund, the time it takes for funds to appear on the renter's original payment method depends on the renter's bank, card issuer, or payment provider.
How Habita may handle common situations:
Property becomes unavailable before Scout work begins
Habita may offer a full refund or free rebooking.
Property becomes unavailable after the Scout has already coordinated or traveled
Habita may deduct an applicable coordination, cancellation, or attempt fee.
Renter provides the wrong address, bad contact information, or incomplete access details
Habita may charge a cancellation or attempt fee depending on how much work the Scout has already started.
Scout cannot safely access the property
The Scout should not continue the visit. Habita may review the situation and determine whether a refund, partial refund, credit, or alternate report is appropriate.
Scout cancels or fails to complete the visit
Habita may offer a refund, free rebooking, replacement Scout, or other support resolution.
10. Report Issues and Quality Reviews
After a visit is completed, cancellation is no longer available. However, renters may contact Habita if they believe the report has a quality issue.
Examples of quality issues may include:
- The wrong property was visited
- Required media is missing
- The report is materially incomplete
- The Scout did not follow the required checklist
- The submitted information appears inaccurate
- The visit was not completed as described
- There are safety, privacy, or conduct concerns
Habita may review available evidence, including timestamps, uploaded media, Scout notes, messages, access details, and booking history.
After review, Habita may decide to:
- Ask the Scout to clarify or supplement the report
- Provide a partial refund
- Provide a full refund
- Offer a credit
- Reassign the booking
- Take action on the Scout’s account
- Decline the refund request if the service was completed as described
Quality reviews are handled case by case.
11. Refunds
Refund timing depends on the payment method, payment provider, bank, and type of refund.
When Habita approves a refund, we typically begin processing it within 3 to 5 business days. After a refund is submitted, it may take an additional 5 to 10 business days for the funds to appear on your original payment method, depending on your bank, card issuer, or payment provider.
Habita may issue refunds to the original payment method where possible. In some cases, Habita may provide credits, rebooking options, or other support resolutions.
Certain fees may be non-refundable once work has started, including coordination fees, scheduling fees, late cancellation fees, attempt fees, approved travel costs, and completed add-ons.
Habita may issue refunds to the original payment method where possible. In some cases, Habita may provide credits, rebooking options, or other remedies.
Certain fees may be non-refundable once work has started, including late cancellation fees, attempt fees, approved travel costs, and completed add-ons.
Payment processing fees, bank fees, and third-party charges may not always be returned to Habita when a refund is issued. Habita may choose to absorb those costs or reflect them in its policies depending on the situation.
If a refund has been approved but you do not see it after 10 business days from the date it was submitted, contact Habita Support so we can help review the status.
12. Chargebacks and Payment Disputes
If a renter disputes a charge with their bank or payment provider, Habita may pause the account, booking, report access, future bookings, or related support activity while the dispute is reviewed.
Habita may provide evidence to the payment provider, including booking details, checkout confirmation, cancellation terms, Scout activity, report delivery, messages, timestamps, uploaded materials, and support history.
Renters should contact Habita Support before filing a chargeback so we can review and attempt to resolve the issue directly.
13. Tips and Bonuses
Habita may allow renters to tip Scouts or provide bonuses in the future.
Unless otherwise stated, tips are voluntary and go to the Scout, minus any payment processing or legally required deductions.
Scouts may not pressure renters for tips, request off-platform payment, or suggest that service quality depends on receiving a tip.
14. Off-Platform Payments
Renters and Scouts may not use Habita to connect and then move payment, booking, cancellation, or report delivery off the platform.
Off-platform payments create safety, fraud, or quality, support, and accountability risks.
Habita may suspend or remove users who request, offer, accept, or encourage off-platform payments related to a Habita booking.
15. Fraud, Abuse, and Misuse
Habita may decline, cancel, pause, refund, withhold, or investigate a payment, booking, payout, report, or account if we believe there may be fraud, abuse, misuse, safety risk, policy violation, or unauthorized activity.
Examples may include:
- False property information
- Fake bookings
- Misleading Scout activity
- Duplicate refund abuse
- Chargeback abuse
- Unauthorized payment methods
- Attempts to bypass Habita
- Harassment, threats, or unsafe conduct
- Misuse of photos, videos, reports, or personal information
Habita may take action necessary to protect renters, Scouts, property occupants, landlords, partners, and the platform.
16. Taxes
Renters, Scouts, and Habita may be responsible for taxes or similar charges depending on the booking location, user location, type of service, applicable law, and payment structure.
Where required, Habita may collect and remit taxes or similar charges. Where not required, users remain responsible for their own tax obligations.
Scouts are responsible for understanding and meeting their own tax obligations related to earnings through Habita.
Habita may issue tax forms or request tax information where required by law or payment providers.
17. Third-Party Payment Services
Habita uses Stripe for payment processing and Stripe Connect for Scout payouts. By using Habita to book a visit or receive a payout, you acknowledge and agree that your payments and payouts are processed by Stripe.
As required by applicable laws, including California state law, we disclose that payment processing services for renters and payout services for Scouts on Habita are provided by Stripe and are subject to the Stripe Connected Account Agreement, which includes the Stripe Terms of Service. Habita does not directly hold or transmit user funds.
18. Changes to Fees and Policies
Habita may update pricing, fees, payout structures, refund rules, cancellation rules, add-ons, credits, or payment policies over time.
When possible, Habita will show the applicable pricing and fees before a renter confirms a booking or takes an action that creates a fee.
Continued use of Habita after changes are posted means you accept the updated terms.
19. Contact Us
Questions about a payment, refund, cancellation, Scout payout, or report issue?
Contact support: [email protected]
Please include your booking date, confirmation code, listing address, and a short description of the issue so we can review it faster.