Airbnb house rules in 2026: what Airbnb allows, a template, and how a co-host enforces them

Airbnb house rules are the seven standard rules every listing can set (pets, events, smoking, quiet hours, maximum overnight guests, commercial photography and lock up at checkout), plus reasonable requests for during the stay and before checkout.¹² For reservations booked on or after 20 November 2026, a new Airbnb policy says every rule must sit in the house rules section, be reasonable, and never impose fines or cleaner’s tasks on guests.³ For a co-host that means a short, enforceable set of rules, written once in the right place, with the money side handled through fee fields and the Resolution Center rather than penalties.

In this guide

1. What Airbnb house rules can cover
2. Airbnb’s reasonable house rules policy from 20 November 2026
3. Parties, guest limits and quiet hours
4. House rules, fees and Airbnb’s off-platform rules
5. How house rules affect reviews
6. House rules on Booking.com
7. Template: house rules for a managed flat in Belgium or the Netherlands
8. How a co-host enforces the rules
9. Questions people ask
10. Sources

What Airbnb house rules can cover

Airbnb splits house rules into two layers. The standard rules are fixed fields you switch on or off in the listing editor. Requests are your own short lines on top, and you choose whether each applies “During the stay” or “Before checkout”.¹

House rules and requests appear on the listing before booking and are shared with confirmed guests in the booking terms, automated emails and the Trips tab.¹ Any change you make applies only to future reservations, so a guest who booked last month is held to the rules that were live when they booked.¹

Check-in and checkout times and instructions

Times are not a house rule field. You set them in the listing editor under Arrival guide, then Check-in & Checkout. Airbnb requires a check-in window of at least 2 hours or flexible check-in, guests must be able to check in by 4pm, and checkout must be a specific time of 10am or later.⁷

Check-in instructions sit in the same Arrival guide. Guests see the check-in method straight away, but not the detailed instructions until 48 hours before check-in.⁸ For lockboxes, keypads and smart locks, see the self check-in guide.

Checkout instructions have moved. Airbnb says they no longer appear in a separate tab: lock up and key return are a standard rule, and anything else goes under the “Before checkout” requests.²⁹ Airbnb automatically sends guests the checkout time and instructions, and guests who opt in get a push notification at 17:00 local time.⁹

Airbnb’s reasonable house rules policy from 20 November 2026

Airbnb’s Reasonable House Rules and requests policy applies to all reservations booked on or after 20 November 2026.³ Every rule and request must:

• be disclosed in the designated house rules section of the listing at the time of booking, not added later through other listing sections, messages, signs in the home or in person;
• be consistent with the rest of the listing page;
• comply with Airbnb’s policies and Terms of Service, which rules out separate contracts or asking for personal information such as a government ID, except where the law requires it or in other limited circumstances;
• be reasonable.³

The policy then lists what hosts generally cannot do: ask for tasks that take significant effort or would normally be done by a cleaner, restrict a feature the listing advertises, hide a fee for an advertised part of the listing, or “impose fines or other penalties on guests”.³

Airbnb’s announcement gives paired examples of what is and is not reasonable.²

Reasonableness depends on the listing, the stay and local conditions, and Airbnb gives drought-related shower limits as an example of a request that can be reasonable locally.³

Requests that do not follow the policy are highlighted in the listing editor; Airbnb emails the host with tips and a chance to appeal, and if the issue stays unresolved, guests may see an alert on the listing.² Persistent violations can lead to a listing notice or reduced search visibility.³

Parties, guest limits and quiet hours

Airbnb’s Community Disturbance Policy bans disruptive gatherings and other community disturbances regardless of size, publicly advertised parties and open-invite gatherings, and it prohibits advertising a listing as party friendly.⁵ Airbnb may block reservations it considers higher risk for disruptive gatherings.⁵

Your house rules support that policy rather than replace it. Airbnb’s party guidance tells hosts to use the house rules to set the maximum number of overnight guests and quiet hours, to add a short listing note such as “No parties or events”, and to consider a 2-night minimum stay.⁶ If you install a noise monitor or an exterior camera, you must disclose it in the guest safety section of the listing.⁶

For flats in apartment buildings, the building’s own rules matter too. Where a VME or VvE or the city could fine someone, Airbnb’s policy lets you give notice in the designated section of the listing, instead of passing a fine to the guest.³ The Belgium and Netherlands rules guide covers the local registration and letting rules per city.

House rules, fees and Airbnb’s off-platform rules

A smoking charge or a fee per extra guest found in the flat is no longer an option: for reservations booked on or after 20 November 2026, hosts may not impose fines or penalties on guests.³ What remains:

• Fees you disclose before booking. Airbnb’s Pricing and payment transparency policy names extra guest fees and pet fees among the mandatory fees that must go in the right fee field, or in the nightly price if no field exists.¹⁰
• No off-platform collection. Hosts may not ask guests to pay outside Airbnb or collect mandatory fees off-platform; optional fees, such as pool heating, may be paid offline if the guest agrees.¹⁰
• No deposit for most hosts. Most hosts may not charge a security deposit or a card hold for incidentals.¹⁰
• Damage through the Resolution Center. If you want reimbursement from a guest, you must request it through the Resolution Center.¹⁰ Smoke damage or a broken item is a damage claim, not a house rule fee; the damage and insurance guide explains the deadlines and evidence.

How house rules affect reviews

House rules work in both directions in reviews. Guests rating accuracy must give at least one reason, and one of the options is “unexpected or excessive rules or requests”. Airbnb warns that listings with repeated low ratings from unreasonable requests may be removed.⁹

Hosts review guests as well. Both sides have 14 days after checkout, reviews are published when both have submitted or when the 14 days end, and individual category ratings stay private to the host and Airbnb.¹⁶ A factual review that mentions a broken rule is the normal way to warn future hosts. For what you may and may not say to earn good reviews, see the 5-star reviews guide.

House rules on Booking.com

Booking.com uses fixed options too. You can set rules for pets, parties or events, smoking, quiet hours, curfew, check-in and check-out times, children and the maximum number of guests.¹⁴ The rules appear on the property page and during the reservation process, and guests must agree to them to complete the reservation.¹⁴

To set them, sign in to the extranet, open the Property tab, then Property policies, and click Edit under House rules.¹⁴

The difference that matters is money. Outside the United States, Booking.com hosts choose a damage deposit or the damage programme.¹⁵ Under the damage programme you cannot ask guests to pay for breaking house rules, such as bringing pets that are not allowed, late check-in or bringing extra guests, nor for non-physical damage such as smoking, nor for unpaid extra fees such as pet fees or tourist tax.¹⁵ Booking.com also offers a guest misconduct tool, so a guest cannot book your property again.¹⁵

Keep the guest limit and quiet hours identical on both platforms.

Template: house rules for a managed flat in Belgium or the Netherlands

The template below follows Airbnb’s standard fields and the reasonable-requests examples. Replace the bold placeholders and check every line against the building’s rules and the owner’s wishes. It contains no fees and no cleaning tasks, the two things the new policy flags.³

How a co-host enforces the rules

Enforcement starts with the permissions you hold. A co-host with full access can message guests, edit the listing and manage reservations, including cancellations; a co-host with calendar and messaging access can message guests and get Airbnb support for reservation or guest issues, but cannot cancel or edit the listing.¹³ Agree with the owner which level you need, and write it into the management agreement.

Before the stay:

1. Read the booking. If the messages suggest a party, more guests than booked or a pet, ask directly and keep the answers in the Airbnb thread. Airbnb’s party guidance suggests asking, for example, whether anyone not on the reservation will stop by.⁶
2. Cancel on evidence, not suspicion. Airbnb lists proof that a guest intends to break a house rule as a valid reason to cancel without adverse consequences, and it may ask for documentation.¹¹ If you have concerns, gather the evidence and contact Airbnb support first.⁶

During the stay:

1. Message through Airbnb. Don’t confront guests in person; message them in the Messages tab and contact Airbnb support if it continues. If anyone is at risk, call the local emergency services immediately.⁶
2. Collect evidence. Neighbour messages, noise monitor readings and exterior camera clips are the kinds of evidence Airbnb names.⁶
3. Respond fast. For time-sensitive issues near check-in or during a stay, Airbnb expects hosts to reply within 1 hour to messages received during local daytime hours.¹²
4. Cancel if needed. Airbnb’s announcement says you can cancel without fees or other consequences if a guest breaks a house rule during the stay.²

After the stay, report the violation: Airbnb tries to contact the guest, and repeated or severe violations can get a guest suspended or removed.⁴ Then write a factual review and, if something was damaged, file a Resolution Center request.

Questions people ask

Sources

All sources checked 2 November 2026.

1. Airbnb Help Centre, “Add House Rules and requests to your listing”
2. Airbnb Resource Center, “Important changes to house rules”, Published 20 October 2026
3. Airbnb Help Centre, “Reasonable House Rules and requests”, Applies to reservations booked on or after 20 November 2026
4. Airbnb Help Centre, “Ground rules for home guests”
5. Airbnb Help Centre, “Community Disturbance Policy”
6. Airbnb Resource Center, “Tips to help prevent disruptive parties at your home”, Dated 20 October 2026
7. Airbnb Help Centre, “Change the check-in and checkout times for your listing”
8. Airbnb Help Centre, “Add check-in instructions to your listing”
9. Airbnb Resource Center, “A clear and simple checkout”, Published 20 October 2026
10. Airbnb Help Centre, “Pricing and payment transparency”
11. Airbnb Help Centre, “Cancelling a reservation as a host without adverse consequences”
12. Airbnb Help Centre, “Ground rules for home hosts”
13. Airbnb Help Centre, “What co-hosts can do”
14. Booking.com for Partners, “Setting up house rules”
15. Booking.com for Partners, “Everything you need to know about damage policy options”
16. Airbnb Help Centre, “Reviews for homes”

We check every figure against the sources above. Spotted something out of date? Email systemen@hostproacademy.com with the guide title.