Airbnb’s New House Rules Policy: What Hosts Must Change by Nov 20

Airbnb rewrote what hosts can ask of guests. For any reservation booked on or after November 20, 2026, hosts can no longer require checkout chores a cleaner would normally do, fine guests, keep copies of IDs, or add rules after booking.

Reservations booked before that date keep the rules that were on the listing when the guest booked. The cutoff is the booking date, so a March stay booked on November 19 stays under the old rules.

Airbnb announced the change on October 20 in its Resource Center and published two policy pages with it: Reasonable house rules and Limiting host-imposed contracts and other requirements.

Airbnb revised the announcement on November 3 after hearing from hosts. It renamed “Requests” as “Additional rules,” explained how reviews and appeals will work, and added insurer requirements as a reason a contract can be allowed.

What is Airbnb’s new house rules policy?

Airbnb’s new house rules policy sets limits on what a host can ask of guests. Hosts choose from seven standard rules, such as quiet hours or no events, and can write additional rules for their home, such as gathering used towels. Every rule must be reasonable and must appear in the house rules section of the listing before booking.

Airbnb’s first version called additional rules “requests” and said guests were only “encouraged” to follow them. The current policy drops that language and says guests “are expected to comply with a listing’s house rules.” The new label is rolling out in the app over the coming weeks, so your Listing editor may still say Requests.

What are Airbnb’s standard house rules?

Airbnb now gives hosts seven standard rules to set in the Listing editor.

Checkout instructions no longer have their own section. Lock up at checkout is now a standard rule, and anything else you ask of guests as they leave goes under Additional rules, in the Before checkout field.

What can hosts still ask guests to do at checkout?

Hosts are “generally not allowed to” ask guests “to complete tasks that require significant effort or time, or would typically be performed by a cleaner.” Airbnb gives these examples.

Airbnb says it may grant exceptions based on the home and local conditions. Its examples are an animal-proof trash container in bear country and shorter showers during a drought restriction.

Rolling a bin to the curb on pickup day falls between those examples. It isn’t taking garbage off-site, and the policy has no general rule on it. One of Airbnb’s sample appeals reads “For stays of a month or more, bins need to go out on collection day or they won’t be emptied,” so expect to justify it. If you ask guests to do this, keep the rule short and have your reason ready.

If your cleaner has been relying on stripped beds and an empty sink, talk to them now, and check whether your Airbnb cleaning fee still covers the job.

Can Airbnb hosts still fine guests or charge fees?

Airbnb’s policy says hosts are generally not allowed to “impose fines or other penalties on guests,” and points hosts to AirCover for damage.

If an HOA, building, or local government might fine you for something a guest does, you can tell guests about that risk at the bottom of the house rules section of the listing.

Anything advertised as part of the listing has to be included in the price the guest sees at booking. You can’t list a hot tub and then charge to use it. Optional add-ons are different: Airbnb lets hosts describe fees for extras, such as breakfast service, in their house rules.

Airbnb uses pool heat as its own example. Its pricing and payment transparency policy says “Payment for optional fees (e.g. pool heating) may take place offline if the guest agrees.” That works when heat is an extra the guest chooses. If the title, description, or amenities list says “heated pool,” the heat is part of what the guest booked, and its cost belongs in the price at booking. Either drop “heated” from the listing and offer heat as an add-on, or build the cost into the price.

Hosts still have a remedy when a guest breaks a rule. Per Airbnb, a host can “cancel a reservation without fees or other consequences if a guest breaks one of your house rules during their stay, or indicates before check-in that they intend to do so.” Airbnb doesn’t say whether that covers additional rules. Use a standard rule wherever one fits, and contact Airbnb before you cancel over an additional rule.

Security deposits fall under a separate policy. Airbnb’s pricing and payment transparency page says “Most hosts are not allowed to charge a security deposit or credit card hold for incidentals,” with limited exceptions, including some software-connected hosts. If you use one, check that you qualify. Reimbursement requests for damage go through Airbnb’s Resolution Center.

Can hosts still ask for ID, contracts, or Wi-Fi sign-ins?

Airbnb limits all of these, with a few exceptions.

ID. You can check a guest’s ID in person at check-in if you disclose that in your additional rules. You can’t keep a digital or physical copy unless an exception applies.

Contracts. A separate rental agreement is allowed only when it is required by law, community association rules, or your insurance provider, needed for an optional amenity like a golf cart, tied to a monthly stay of 28 nights or more, or for an Airbnb Luxe listing. Allowed contracts get uploaded under Contracts in listing settings. Airbnb doesn’t require guests to sign them and doesn’t enforce them.

Personal data. Hosts may not collect phone numbers, email addresses, home addresses, ID documents, financial data, background checks, or biometric data, again unless an exception applies.

Wi-Fi and apps. Airbnb’s policy says “WiFi portals that ask for a guest’s email address or other personal information are not allowed unless the listing is a hotel or resort.” A guest can’t be required to use a third-party app or register on another site to get in. Keyless entry apps are fine if you offer another way in when a guest asks.

Reviews. You can’t ask guests to review their Airbnb stay or fill out a survey on another website.

Recommendations. You can still recommend restaurants and local businesses, as long as the suggestion is optional and you disclose any direct financial benefit, such as a referral fee or ownership interest.

If a law or a documented HOA or building rule requires something, you can ask for it. You have to say what you need and why in your additional rules, collect no more than the rule calls for, and store it securely.

Where do house rules have to appear on Airbnb now?

Only in the house rules section of the listing. Airbnb says hosts “may not communicate new house rules in other sections of their listing page or after booking, including by message, signs in the home, or in person.”

New rules printed in a digital guidebook, on a fridge sign, in a welcome binder, or in a scheduled check-in message all count. Those places can still carry information, like the Wi-Fi password, how the TV works, or where the beach chairs are. You can still remind guests of a rule already on the listing, and Airbnb added your house rules as a quick reply in messaging.

Two other things to know:

• If a property management system or channel manager writes your Airbnb listing, find out which field it controls before you edit. A sync can overwrite a change made by hand in Airbnb.
• Vrbo, Booking.com, and your direct booking site aren’t bound by this policy, though keeping one set of rules across channels is easier on guests and cleaners.

If you have co-hosts, tell them about the change, and check who has edit access to the listing.

What happens if a listing doesn’t comply?

Airbnb says it starts reviewing listings on November 20 and that initial reviews will run through March 2027, then continue on an ongoing basis. If a rule doesn’t meet the policy, you will hear by email and in the app, and you get at least 20 days to change it or appeal.

You can submit an appeal only once, so include your reason and any proof, such as a local ordinance or association rule, the first time. If Airbnb denies the appeal and you keep the rule, guests may see a notice on your listing. Persistent problems can lead to reduced visibility in search. For the contract and personal data rules, violations can lead to warnings, suspended or removed listings, and for repeat offenses a suspended or removed account.

What Florida owners should check in HOA and condo rules

HOA and condo rules are private covenants, and the state’s limits on local vacation rental rules don’t reach them (more on that in our post on Florida’s short term rental preemption law).

If your association requires guest names, vehicle plates, or an ID check at the gate, or requires guests to sign its own rental form, Airbnb allows it, as long as you:

1. Disclose what the association requires, and why, in your additional rules before booking.
2. Collect only what the rule calls for.
3. Keep the association’s document on hand, since Airbnb may ask for proof.

You can also warn guests in the listing that the association fines for things like street parking or pool rule violations. For local registration rules on the county side, see our guide to Palm Beach County short term rental rules.

Checklist: what to change before November 20

1. Open the house rules section of the Listing editor and set all seven standard rules, including the ones you never used before.
2. Rewrite your additional rules. Cut bed stripping, dishwashing, starting laundry, and trash runs off-site.
3. Remove every fine and penalty. Add an HOA or city fine notice if one applies.
4. Fold any fee for an advertised feature into the price guests see at booking. Describe optional add-ons, like pool heat, in your additional rules.
5. Strip rules out of your guidebook, door signs, welcome book, and scheduled messages. Keep the information.
6. If you check ID at check-in, say so in your additional rules, and stop keeping copies unless a law or association rule requires it.
7. Remove email capture from any Wi-Fi sign-in page, and offer a way in that doesn’t need an app.
8. Keep a contract only if it fits an exception, and upload it under Contracts.
9. Brief co-hosts and your cleaner, and check what your channel software will overwrite.

Will this hurt reviews or cost more?

Airbnb says “a long list of chores can negatively affect their stay.” A cleaner who now strips every bed and washes every dish may need more hours, and that cost usually lands in the cleaning fee.

If changes like this have you thinking about a manager, our guide to Airbnb management fees in Florida covers what full service costs and what you net after it.

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