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American families are kind, hospitable, and do not
need to be reminded of their responsibilities.
However, we have set the following guidelines for
all host families to adhere to, as we set guidelines
for the student or visitor, in order to make the
best homestay experience possible.
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The homestay family is required to avoid treating
the student or visitor as a tenant by making the
student or visitor feel welcome. The host family
must be tolerant of the student’s foreign customs
and habits. Remember to always be understanding, and
have patience with the student or visitor.
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During the student or visitor stay, the host family
is required to show the student or visitor how to
get to places of interest such as schools, community
centres and attractions and how to use public
transportation.
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The student must be provided with a nice clean
private room with basic furniture such as:
- Comfortable bed (including linen, duvet cover,
blanket and two pillows)
- Night table, lamp, and alarm clock/radio
- Work desk with chair and desk lamp with sufficient
lighting
- Closet and mirror
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Every day the host family must provide nutritious
meals, mostly home made.
The meals, especially dinner, should be served in a
family gathering and the student or visitor must
feel welcome to the table at all times. Healthy
snacks such as yogurt, fresh fruits, milk, juice,
tea/coffee etc. need to be accessible to the student
or visitor. No alcohol is to be offered to the
student or visitor.
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Only one student or visitor is allowed per room,
unless there is a special request by the homestay
applicant for shared accommodation.
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The host family must make sure that the student has
a quiet environment in order to study and succeed in
school, as well as quiet time to sleep and rest.
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The host family must speak English with, and while
in the presence of, the student or visitor.
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Under no circumstances is the host family to accept
or request any favours such as house cleaning,
shopping, moving or lifting heavy items, gardening,
baby sitting, etc…
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The host family is not allowed to lend any type of
vehicle to the student or visitor.
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As you should have insurance for passengers in your
car, you should also have sufficient home and
liability insurance in place. Host families must
have a minimum of one million dollar home liability
insurance. Please review your home insurance policy
or consult with your insurance provider for details.
NYH–New York Homestay Agency does not assume any
responsibilities for any injuries suffered by the
student or visitor while in the host family's care.
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If any physical or verbal abuse occurs, the student
or visitor will be removed from the home
immediately. The incident will be reported to the
police, and legal action taken. (Applies to both the
host family and
student/visitor)
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If the host family has any concerns that they cannot
discuss directly with the student or visitor, please
contact your NYH Representative as soon as possible.
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Homestay families must never keep the student or
visitor waiting outside the home. To avoid such a
situation a spare key can be helpful.
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Homestay minors must not be left at home without
homestay provider supervision.
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If a homestay student or visitor accompanies their
host family on holidays, outings, or trips, the host
family must pay for accommodation and food. The
student or visitor must pay for his or her own
travel arrangements, admission tickets, or personal
expenses. If the student or visitor will not join
the host family, he or she must not be left alone.
Alternate homestay arrangements must be made, paid
for by the host family, and approved by a NYH
representative.
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An increasing number of international students
visiting Canada have disabilities such as blindness
or being in a wheelchair, please let us know in your
application if you or your family is capable of
hosting a student with any type of disability.
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Homestay families should not allow students or
visitors to call long distance or dial through the
Internet via a modem with a long distance ISP
(Internet service provider). Students and visitors
are advised to purchase their own long distance
pre-paid card or to make collect calls. NYH will not
assume any responsibility regarding long distance
charges.
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The host family should do the laundry for students,
or familiarize them with the use of washer and
dryer, so they can do their own laundry.
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Upon a successful inspection by NYH representative
of the homestay house, the host family applicant
must provide a one-time criminal record check for
our files. You can obtain this from your nearest
police station.
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Host family must explain to the student or visitor
how to evacuate the home in case of an emergency.
The home must have functioning fire smoke detectors
on every floor.
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All members of the family must be willing to accept
and host a student or traveling youth. Please make
sure that all members of your family agree and are
not just going along with the idea of hosting a
student. It is such a wonderful experience, but the
student must be welcomed by everyone in your
household, including your pet!
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While the student can be invited to attend religious
services, the family should not apply any pressure
to do so. The family should learn about the
student's beliefs and culture, and respect them. The
family should always be willing to direct the
student to his or hers religion's place of worship
if required. A host family must always respect the
religious beliefs of the student.
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NYH-New York Homestay Agency reserves the right to
move the student for any reason. The host family
must immediately refund the balance of the unused
period of time. Please note, moving a student does
not mean the termination of the homestay provider
and NYH agreement.
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Should a host family like to terminate a homestay
occupancy, reservation or provider agreement, the
host family must give NYH two weeks to one month
notice to make alternate homestay arrangements. Some
exceptions may apply.
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Termination of the homestay provider agreement can
happen in case of a breach of the homestay agreement
or the host family's guidelines and
responsibilities.
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NYH neither guarantees nor promises occupancy to the
host family. NYH placement is based on a request and
booking basis.
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NYH does not allow any discrimination against
students.
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As a user of this website and our company services,
and as a potential host family, you must agree to
our privacy policy and if you receive any
information or material from us regarding homestay
placement, the information and materials provided to
you must stay confidential and only be used for the
purpose of making a decision regarding accepting or
rejecting a homestay offer. Here is our
privacy policy
