Renting out a flat on Airbnb? From 20 November 2026, a new house rules policy applies to every reservation booked on or after that date. Airbnb says so on its own help page. It is not a pricing change. It changes what you may ask guests to do and where your rules must be written.
What Airbnb's help page says
Your rules must be on the listing when the guest books. A rule you add later by message, by a sign in the flat or in person does not count. Rules and requests have to be reasonable: you may not ask guests to strip the beds, take the trash away or wash and put away the dishes. You may not restrict an advertised feature, and you generally may not fine guests. You may not require a separate contract or ask for personal information such as a government ID, except where the law requires it or in a few other cases. If your text breaks the rules, Airbnb may warn you, ask you to update the listing or lower your visibility in search.
What the press adds
Press coverage reports seven standard house rules (maximum guests, quiet hours, events, pets, smoking, commercial filming and locking up when leaving), with everything else turned into non-binding requests. It also reports that asking guests to put dishes in the sink, gather used towels and sort the trash stays allowed, and that you may check an ID in person at check-in but not keep a copy. These details come from news reports, so check them in your own listing editor.
A checklist for this week
- Open the house rules in your listing editor and read what it flags.
- Move every rule from your guidebook, welcome message and signs into the house rules or requests section. If it is not on the listing at booking, it does not bind the guest.
- Rewrite checkout instructions as light requests. Dishes in the sink and used towels in one place are fine.
- Plan for the cleaning you used to hand to guests. Strip the beds and take the trash yourself or let your cleaner do it, and count the time and cost.
- Remove ID copies, contract forms and deposit demands unless the law or an allowed exception applies to you.
- If a channel manager or software syncs your texts to Airbnb, check that it does not overwrite what you fixed.
- Do not change anything for guests who already booked. Their booking keeps the rules from the day they booked.
Where luxury.host helps
The new rules push work back to you: more cleaning to plan and more guest questions about what is and is not expected. luxury.host answers guests in their own language, day and night, using the details of their reservation, sends door codes at the right time and plans the cleaning. You stay in control and can approve each reply before it goes out.
If you want to see it with your own listing, book a 30-minute demo.
This is not legal advice. Sources: Airbnb help center, "House rules and requests"; CNN and ABC News (22 and 23 October 2026); Travolution; Rental Scale-Up.