We Read Airbnb's New Cleaning Rules So You Don't Have To

Airbnb has rewritten the rules on what hosts can ask guests to do, and the headline change is simple: from 20 November 2026, you can no longer turn checkout into a cleaning shift. No more "strip the beds, run the dishwasher and take the bins to the end of the lane." Guests are delighted. Hosts, judging by every forum and Facebook group we have read this week, are not.

We read Airbnb's announcement in full so you don't have to. Here is what is changing, what you can still ask for, what you can't, and what to do before the deadline.

The short version

• Updated house rule tools went live on 20 October 2026. The new policy takes effect on 20 November 2026.

• House rules are now split into seven standard rules plus a separate list of requests.

• Requests must be "reasonable". Light tidying is fine. Real cleaning is not.

• Airbnb will flag non-compliant requests, and if you don't fix them, guests may see an alert on your listing saying it "includes cleaning requests".

• Every rule and request must live in the House rules and requests section. Not in messages, not in your welcome book, not on signs around the property.

The seven standard rules

In the Listing editor you can now set seven standard house rules:

• Maximum number of overnight guests

• Quiet hours

• Events

• Pets, including whether they are allowed and how many

• Smoking, including vaping and e-cigarettes

• Commercial photography and filming

• Locking up at checkout, with optional details on where to leave the keys

Checkout instructions no longer have their own separate tab. Anything else you want guests to do now goes under Requests, and that is where the new limits apply.

What you can still ask guests to do

Airbnb's examples of requests that are generally allowed:

• Put used dishes in the sink

• Gather up used towels

• Separate rubbish and recycling into the indoor bins you provide

• Turn off the air conditioning when they leave

In other words, small things that take a couple of minutes and help your cleaner, without making the guest do the cleaner's job.

What you can no longer ask

Airbnb's examples of requests that are generally not allowed:

• Washing and putting away dishes

• Stripping the beds or starting a load of washing

• Taking rubbish off-site

• Avoiding a listed amenity, such as being told not to use the air conditioning you advertise

Airbnb's reasoning is that guests don't want unexpected chores, and that tasks a cleaner should handle lead to worse stays and worse reviews. If you charge a cleaning fee, you can expect guests to point that out too.

The exceptions

Airbnb says it will consider the type of listing or stay and local factors, and may grant exceptions. The two examples it gives:

• Asking guests to use animal-proof bins in bear country

• Asking guests to limit shower time during local drought-related water restrictions

So if your request is about safety, the law or genuine local conditions rather than saving on cleaning time, you have a case. Just don't expect "the nearest tip is 20 minutes away" to count.

Contracts are now limited too

Some hosts have got around house rules by asking guests to sign a separate rental agreement. That is now only allowed for limited reasons, including:

• Legal requirements

• Homeowners' association rules

• Rental agreements for monthly stays

• Airbnb Luxe listings

• Cover for optional extras, such as golf buggies

Contracts are uploaded under Contracts in your listing settings. Airbnb won't help enforce them and won't require guests to sign them.

How Airbnb will enforce it

If one of your requests breaks the policy, it will be highlighted in the Listing editor and you will get an email with tips on fixing it, plus the chance to appeal. Leave it unresolved and guests may see an alert on your listing such as "includes cleaning requests", which is not a label anyone wants next to their photos.

The rules cut both ways. Guests are still required to follow your house rules. If a guest breaks one during their stay, or tells you before check-in that they intend to, you can cancel the reservation without fees or penalties, and guests who break the rules can be suspended or removed from Airbnb.

One detail that will catch a lot of hosts out: all rules and requests must appear in the House rules and requests section. Airbnb says hosts should not add extra rules anywhere else, including in messages or on signs in the home. That laminated "before you leave" checklist on the fridge needs a rethink.

Why guests love it and hosts hate it

For guests, this answers one of the most common complaints about Airbnb: paying a cleaning fee and then being handed a chore list. For hosts, it can feel like being told how to run your own property, especially if your turnaround times are tight or your cleaner's rates are built around guests doing the basics.

Both sides have a point. But the bigger lesson for hosts is not really about dishes. It is that the platform can change what you are allowed to ask of your own guests, in your own home, with a month's notice.

What to do before 20 November

• Open the Listing editor and move your rules into the new standard rules and requests.

• Cut any request that involves real cleaning, such as stripping beds, washing up or taking rubbish away.

• Keep the light-touch requests Airbnb allows, and keep them short and friendly.

• Remove extra rules from your welcome messages, house manual and signs, or make sure they match what is in your listing.

• Talk to your cleaner about the extra time on turnovers, and adjust your cleaning fee or nightly rate if you need to.

• If you have a genuine local or safety reason for a request, keep it and be ready to explain it if Airbnb asks.

Another reason to have your own direct booking site

Every few months a platform changes the rules: fees go up, policies shift, and hosts are told what they can and can't do with their own property. You can't control that on Airbnb. On your own direct booking website, you can. You set your own house rules and checkout requests, explain them clearly before guests book, choose your own cleaning fee, and keep the relationship with your guests rather than renting it from a platform. We still wouldn't recommend handing guests a cleaning list, but on your own site that decision is yours.

That is what we build at GetBookingsDirect: a direct booking website for your property, built for you from your existing Airbnb or Vrbo listing, with no commission on any booking and plans from £7 ($9) a month. Paste your listing link at getbookingsdirect.com and we will build you a free preview of your own site by hand within 24 hours.