House rules template for the new standard categories

Airbnb house rules are the conditions a guest accepts when they book your place. For reservations booked on or after November 20, 2026, they come in a fixed shape: seven standard rules a host chooses from, plus a separate list of requests. Every one of them has to be reasonable and visible before the guest books.

Below is what changed, a template you can copy for each standard category, and a fuller set of rules for bookings on your own site. The policy details come from Airbnb’s help pages, read on November 10, 2026.

What changed for house rules

Three things changed, according to Airbnb’s policy on reasonable house rules and requests.

First, location. All rules and requests must appear in the designated section of the listing before booking. Hosts may not add new ones elsewhere on the listing, after booking, by message, on signs in the home or in person.

Second, reasonableness. Hosts generally may not ask for tasks that take significant effort or time, or that a cleaner would typically do. They may not restrict access to a feature the listing advertises.

Third, penalties. Hosts may not impose fines or other penalties on guests.

The seven standard house rules

Airbnb’s help page on adding house rules lists the standard rules a host can set.

1. Pets
2. Events
3. Smoking, vaping and e-cigarettes
4. Quiet hours
5. Maximum overnight guests
6. Commercial photography and filming
7. Lock up at checkout

The same page lists one more setting: which of Airbnb’s bookable services are allowed in the home. Each rule is chosen from fixed options in the listing editor. You are not writing free text.

House rules and requests are not the same thing

The policy draws a hard line between the two. Guests must follow house rules. Guests are encouraged to follow requests.

A request covers an expectation outside the standard rules. Airbnb’s examples are removing shoes indoors and limiting daytime visitors. When you add one, you mark whether it applies during the stay or before checkout.

The difference matters when something goes wrong. A guest who breaks a house rule has broken a condition of the booking, and you can contact Airbnb for help. A guest who ignores a request has declined a favor.

A house rules template for the standard categories

This Airbnb house rules template gives you wording to think with for each category. The listing editor offers fixed options, so use these lines to decide your settings and to phrase any matching request.

Category	Sample setting	Why it holds up
Pets	No pets. Or: up to 2 dogs.	Clear and countable
Events	No parties or events.	A plain yes or no
Smoking and vaping	No smoking or vaping inside.	States where, not only whether
Quiet hours	Quiet from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.	Gives times
Maximum overnight guests	6 overnight guests.	Matches the listing’s capacity
Commercial photography and filming	Not allowed without my written consent.	Says how to ask
Lock up at checkout	Lock all doors when you leave.	One simple action

Treat that as an Airbnb house rules sample, not a script. The right setting depends on your home, your neighbors and your insurance.

Sample requests

Requests are where most hosts go wrong, so keep them light.

• During the stay: Please take your shoes off indoors.
• During the stay: Please keep the gate closed so the dog next door stays out.
• Before checkout: Please turn off the lights and the air conditioning.
• Before checkout: Please close the windows.

Airbnb’s test is whether a task takes significant effort or time, or is work a cleaner would normally do. Its own examples of what not to ask are stripping the bed, taking trash off-site, and washing and putting away dishes. The guide to Airbnb checkout instructions goes through checkout in detail.

What a house rule cannot do

A rule that breaks the policy is not enforceable, and it can count against the listing. Check yours against this list.

• It cannot appear after booking. If it was not in the designated section when the guest booked, it does not apply to that guest.
• It cannot contradict the rest of the listing. A listing that advertises a hot tub cannot have a rule that closes it.
• It cannot carry a fine. “A $200 fee applies for late checkout” is a penalty.
• It cannot assign cleaning work.
• It cannot require a separate contract or a copy of a guest’s ID, outside the limited exceptions Airbnb lists.

Airbnb says it considers the type of listing and local conditions, and may allow exceptions. Its examples are asking guests to use animal-proof trash containers in bear country and to limit shower time under drought restrictions.

Local rules and fines

One kind of fine is allowed to be mentioned, because it is not yours. If a homeowners association or a local government could fine a guest, you can add that to the local rules section of the listing.

Airbnb says an entry can cover the rule, what the guest must do to follow it, the fine amount or how it is calculated, and when it may be charged. Guests see it in the house rules and requests section, in the booking terms and in their reservation details.

Airbnb does not collect or enforce those fines for you. The section exists so the guest is told before booking.

The rules guests agree to

The other half of this is the Airbnb rules for guests. Airbnb calls them ground rules. They require guests to treat the home like their own and to follow the host’s standard house rules.

Airbnb says it may impose consequences on guests for repeated or severe violations. If a guest does not follow a house rule, the host can contact Airbnb for help with next steps.

That is the enforcement you have on the platform. It works best when the rule that was broken is one of the standard ones, set before the booking.

Rules about payment and contact are separate. The guide to the off-platform policy covers those.

Vacation rental house rules for your own site

On your own website, the format is yours. Vacation rental house rules for direct bookings can be as detailed as you need, as long as they are lawful where you operate and shown before the guest pays.

Here is a starting structure. It is general information, not legal advice, so have a local attorney look over anything you rely on.

1. Occupancy: the maximum number of overnight guests and whether visitors are allowed.
2. Check-in and checkout: the times, and how early or late arrival is handled.
3. Quiet hours: the times, and any local noise ordinance.
4. Pets: whether they are allowed, how many and any fee.
5. Smoking: where it is and is not allowed.
6. Events: whether gatherings are allowed and up to what size.
7. Damage and deposits: what the guest is responsible for and how a deposit is held and returned.
8. Checkout: what you ask guests to do before they leave.
9. Cancellation: your terms, stated in dates.

A direct booking can also come with a rental agreement, which Airbnb now generally does not allow hosts to require. That is one of the practical differences between the two channels. The guide to Airbnb rules for hosts explains the contract limits.

Being free to write more is not a reason to write a lot. Guests read rules as a signal of what the stay will be like. Short, fair and specific beats long and defensive.

Final Thought

Airbnb house rules used to be a place where hosts said whatever they needed to. Now they are seven settings and a short list of favors.

That suits most stays, and it leaves less room for the specifics of your home. Your own site is where those specifics can live, in your words and on your terms. If you want one built, see vacation rental website design for how I do it and what it costs.