Housing

In ArcheAge houses and farms can be privately owned and in this case are build into the open world (while in other MMO they are often instanced).

Currently in the Western version only people with Patron status can place or own a house. But people without being Patron can still through guild members or friends use other peoples houses and farms if permissions are set accordingly. Houses must be placed on flat land and can not be put on steep slopes or such. There are housing zones which have restrictions on how large a house can be place there.

Obtaining a House
Any player can obtain a house or structure like a scarecrow through quests (1 scarecrow) or buying the plan from the Mirage Island shops (usually Gilda Stars) or the auction house for ingame money. The plan is then placed in a housing zone (scarecrows can be placed more freely it seems), but that can be done only if the player and thus owner has the Patron status. Furthermore one has to have two weeks worth of Tax Certificates as security deposit to be able to place the structure. The structure plan upon mouse over tell the amount needed.

A construction site appears which needs certain materials applied to it to turn it into the actual building.

Taxation
To place and maintain a house taxes have to be paid weekly to the land owner (the faction of the continent in the south or on the Northern continent the player who owns the land) by the ingame mail system. Different structures have different tax prices. Taxes are paid through Tax Certificates and only Patrons can pay taxes. That means if your Patron status lapses, you looses the ability to pay the needed tax for your house.

If you have defaulted for two weeks on your tax payment, the house is demolished and the plan send back to you by mail. That means you can rebuild the house again but your land might have been gone. Everything else you owned is either send to you by mail or actually deleted from the game, so make sure you are aware what item or such has what default in case that might become an option.

Player with Patron status receive every day upon the first login five Loyalty Token. In the Loyalty shop ingame the token can be used to buy items including (at the time of closed beta) 20 Tax Certificates for 15 Loyalty Token. Otherwise Tax Certificates can be crafted at the Scarecrow using up Labor Points.

The price one has to pay in taxes depends on the structures on places and the number of structures one places. Starting with 3 structures the tax prices go up.