Airbnb House Rules Template – Everything You Need to Include

Are you new to Airbnb? Looking for an Airbnb house rules template? We’ve got tips for everything you need to include.

When it comes to setting up house rules as an Airbnb host, you have a tough line to walk. On the one hand, you want your guests to think you’re cool and laidback (so that they don’t have to be on edge during their visit, and therefore leave a good review). But, on the other hand, you have to set boundaries. After all, this isn’t their house or apartment. If you don’t set up house rules, you’re bound to be taken advantage of eventually.

More importantly, if you ever have a dispute with your guests, you want to be able to point to a specific rule on your listing’s page that discourages that behavior.

For example, house parties: if you don’t have a rule forbidding house parties, and your guest has a raging party that trashes your rental, you have no one to blame but yourself. No one told them they couldn’t, and they probably figured that’s what they pay the cleaning fee for.

If you want to avoid something like that happening to you, and other common Airbnb hosting mistakes, follow our guide.

TLDR: In a hurry? Download our free sample house rules template here.

How do you write house rules on Airbnb?

Log into your Airbnb account, click on “Switch To Hosting”. Along the top of the screen you will find management links for your listing. Click on Menu, then Listing, and choose Policies and Rules in the left menu. There you can make selections based on common House Rules and add additional rules specific to your listing.

If you don’t know what you want your rules to be, ask yourself some simple questions:

1. Do I want pets in my house?
2. Should my guests clean up after themselves or will I do it for them?
3. Will I allow unregistered guests?
4. Do I want people to keep their shoes on?
5. Do I want to allow people to smoke? If so, when and where?
6. How strict am I going to be about the lights and AC?
7. Can people throw parties?
8. What time do I want people to check in and check out?
9. What penalties am I going to charge in case any rules are broken?
10. How much am I going to charge for lost or stolen keys?
11. Are people allowed to eat in their bedrooms?
12. What about a noise curfew? Are there local laws that apply?

Another way to start is to look at what rules have worked for other successful hosts. “Stand on the shoulders of giants,” as Isaac Newton would say. Here are some sample house rules that an Airbnb Superhost has written and revised over years of renting her place out on Airbnb.

An Example of Best Practices from a Superhostess

Here are some sample Airbnb house rules for guests from an Airbnb hostess in Vancouver.

Cammy from Vancouver – Polite but Firm

COZY HOME HOUSE RULES: 
As Superhosts, we aim to make your stay as comfortable as it can possibly be! Our mission is to help our guests create beautiful family memories in our cozy home. For us to do so, we would truly appreciate it if you can follow these house rules and confirm that it has been reviewed WITHIN 48 HOURS OF YOUR BOOKING. This is to ensure that if there is any reason the House Rules cannot be followed, you, our guest, will have the option of canceling the booking penalty free as we have a Strict Cancelation policy. Thank you in advance. We truly appreciate your cooperation!
 
– No shoes within the house.
– Keep noise to a minimum after 10 pm.
– There shall not be smoking inside the home. Extra cleaning fees to remove odor and stains may be applied.
– PLEASE WASH YOUR DISHES after use. If dishes are not washed, extra cleaning fees may be applied.
– PARKING: parking is provided on the driveway side-by-side. Our driveway is suitable for sedans or smaller SUVs. If larger/longer cars, or if more than one car, you can park parallel in front of the house where the bushes are.
– We have recently added a Foosball Table and Pool Table in the home for our guest’s entertainment. Please return all accessories to their rightful places at the end of your stay.
– Feel free to use the barbecue outside that is set up for our super guests’ leisure use only. The BBQ is to be used by the guests who stay at the home and is not to invite others to the home as it will be considered as hosting a party. Please clean up after yourselves and keep the grill clean. If found left dirty and requires extra cleaning, an extra cleaning fee may be required.
– Please acknowledge that on occasion, we may leave consumables such as condiments or snacks left behind by previous guests if they are not empty. We try our very best to ensure that it is not expired or stale. HOWEVER, ultimately, it is up to the guest’s discretion and inspection to consume these items if they wish.  The host does not take any responsibility for the consumables.
– Please do not rearrange our furniture.
– If you would like to host an event (i.e. wedding, graduation, not party), please speak with us about it first.
 – If guests are found to have had a party without host permission which results in extra cleaning, guests will be responsible for extra cleaning charges, and in the unfortunate event of disruptions alerting neighbors, GUESTS WILL BE ASKED TO VACATE THE PROPERTY IMMEDIATELY.
– If guests are suspected of carrying and/or using illegal drugs of any kind, the authorities will be engaged, and GUESTS WILL BE ASKED TO VACATE THE PROPERTY IMMEDIATELY.
– Lastly, because this is an Airbnb community, not a hotel, and is also my home when I stay in Vancouver, please be respectful of the property and keep it clean before you leave. (Respect our property and our things)
If you have read it this far, THANK YOU for being a SUPER GUEST! Please reply with my favorite quote: “EXPECT NOTHING, APPRECIATE EVERYTHING.” so that I know that the house rules have been reviewed 🙂

Original post by Cammy on the Airbnb forum

Takeaways:

• Be upfront about your overarching goals. You want the guest to have a great experience, but you also want them to understand that they have to respect your belongings. Tell them that.
• Be polite but firm. Notice that Cammy writes statements like, “Please do not rearrange our furniture.” It leaves almost no room for misunderstanding. If there’s something you don’t want your guests to do, please include it.
• Revise, revise, revise. Don’t worry, your house rules don’t need to be perfect the first time you write them. Rules change. Chances are you’re going to notice a guest doing something you don’t like – keeping his shoes on inside the house for instance – and you’re going to realize, “Oh! I should’ve put that in the house rules.” Just like Cammy, make sure your house rules are always a “work in progress.”

However, there’s one thing that a commenter mentioned that Cammy could improve, and that was being as specific as possible. Instead of saying that an “extra cleaning fee charge” will be added if you don’t clean up after a party, specify that it’s a “$35 extra cleaning fee charge.” The Airbnb guidelines clearly state that they want you to be specific. When in doubt, always listen to the official Airbnb site.

Sample House Rules for Guests to Get You Started

The list goes on and on, but if this is your first listing, here are some simple rules to get you started. These are typically things that most hosts want to avoid, but feel free to change the rules around if you want. This is your Airbnb, after all, not ours.

If you want a simple fix, you can copy and paste these rules:

• No pets allowed.
• You must clean your dishes, otherwise, a $15 cleaning fee will be added to your booking.
• Only the guests noted in the booking are allowed on the premises. A $30 charge will be added for every extra guest.
• Shoes are not allowed to be worn inside the home.
• You’re not allowed to smoke inside the home.
• Please turn off the AC when you’re away.
• No parties or events.
• Check-in is at 5 PM and check-out is at 11 AM.
• If you throw a party, an extra cleaning fee charge of $50 will be added to your booking.
• A $25 charge will be added for lost or stolen keys.
• You’re not allowed to eat in your bedroom.
• Please refrain from making noise past 11 PM

Airbnb House Rules Template – Free Download

Those house rules are just to get you started. They are not meant to cover all the bases. If you want something a little bit more in-depth, sign up for our email list and we’ll send you the official AirHost Academy “Airbnb House Rules Template” for free.

If you want to be the best host you can be, you’ll have to constantly review and revise your rules over time. The good news is you don’t have to get it right the first time.

But, if you want to come as close as possible, download our free doc below.