Airbnb limits house rules and requests for stays booked from November 20

Airbnb's new Reasonable house rules and requests policy limits what hosts can ask of guests for reservations booked on or after November 20, 2026. Guests "must follow" house rules and "are encouraged to comply with" requests. The listing editor already shows both sections, and a reservation keeps the rules and requests that were on the listing when it was booked, per Airbnb's house rules page. We read Airbnb's pages on October 21, 2026.

The house rules you can set

House rules come from a set list:

• Pets
• Events
• Smoking, vaping and e-cigarettes
• Quiet hours
• Maximum overnight guests
• Commercial photography and filming
• Lock up at checkout
• Airbnb Services allowed in your home

Other expectations, such as taking shoes off indoors or limiting daytime visitors, go in Requests, marked "During the stay" or "Before checkout." Airbnb's checkout guide, dated October 20, now points hosts to the lock-up rule, with optional key-return details, instead of checkout instructions.

What hosts can't ask for

Hosts generally can't:

• Ask guests to do tasks "that require significant effort or time, or would typically be performed by a cleaner." Examples: stripping the bed, taking trash offsite, and washing and putting away dishes.
• Restrict access to anything the listing advertises. Fees for it go in the price shown at booking.
• Fine or otherwise penalize guests. Disclose HOA or local-government fines under Requests; if a guest's violation brings one, request reimbursement from the guest through the Resolution Center. Airbnb doesn't collect or enforce them.

Airbnb may allow exceptions, such as shorter showers under drought restrictions.

Rules and requests must appear in the listing's designated section at booking. Hosts may not add new ones to a booked stay, "including by message, signs in the home, or in person." The editor flags request wording that may not comply, and persistent violations can bring a listing notice or lower search visibility.

Contracts, ID and guest data

An updated contracts policy covers the same bookings. The old version let hosts ask guests to sign a contract if the listing disclosed its terms. The new one generally allows a separate contract only when it's:

• Required by law or community association rules, such as an HOA
• Needed for an optional amenity, like a golf cart rental
• Tied to a stay of 28 nights or more
• For a Luxe listing

Contract terms must be public in the listing. You may check a guest's ID in person at check-in if your requests say so. You can't keep a copy unless the law or a documented HOA or building rule requires one, or it's needed to sign an allowed contract. The policy also bars asking for contact details or background checks, or requiring a sign-up on another site or app to get in, with the same exceptions. Exceptions require saying what you collect, and why, in your requests. Keyless-entry apps need a backup way in if the guest asks.

What to do before November 20

• Rewrite your requests now. Airbnb's guest ground rules already say hosts "may not charge guest fees for failing to perform specific cleaning or checkout tasks."
• Set quiet hours as a house rule, not a request, so guests must follow them. Our noise complaint protocol depends on it.
• Check your scheduled checkout message, any old checkout instructions and any printed list. For stays booked from November 20, by our reading they can repeat your "Before checkout" requests but can't add new ones. The quick-reply "house rules and requests" detail pulls them from your listing.
• If you use a rental agreement, ID upload or guest sign-up, confirm it fits an exception above.