Airbnb House Rules Template: Clear Rules Guests Will Actually Read
Effective house rules are short, specific, and visible both before and during the stay. They cover the behaviours that protect the property and the neighbours — without reading like a warning notice. Below: a copy-ready template, category guidance and tone rewrites.
House rules · Guest view
- Quiet hours 22:00–08:00
- No parties · max 4 people
- No smoking indoors
- Parking: bay 4 only
- Check-out 11:00 · keys in lockbox
What makes house rules guests actually follow?
- Keep the list short — every rule you add makes the important ones less likely to be read.
- Be specific: a stated time, a stated number, a stated place. Never “be respectful”.
- Give a reason where one exists. Guests follow rules they understand.
- Show them before booking, again before arrival, and keep them reachable during the stay.
This guide is practical hosting advice, not legal advice. Make sure your rules meet the requirements of the platform you host on and any local regulations that apply to your property.
Copy-ready Airbnb house rules template
Fill in the brackets and delete every line that does not apply to your property. If you cannot think of a time it mattered, cut it.
HOUSE RULES — [Property name] Thanks for staying with us. A few things that keep this place good for you, for the neighbours, and for the guests after you. 1. Quiet hours are [22:00–08:00]. The walls here are thin and the neighbours are permanent residents. 2. No parties or events. The maximum number of people in the property at any time is [4], including visitors. 3. No smoking or vaping inside. [You're welcome to smoke on the balcony — there's an ashtray by the door.] 4. Pets: [not permitted / welcome, please keep them off the beds]. 5. Parking: [use bay 4 only — other bays are residents' and get ticketed]. 6. Please don't move furniture between rooms. 7. Shoes off inside, please — [the floors are original]. 8. Rubbish goes in [the bins behind the gate]; recycling is [the blue bin, collected Tuesday]. 9. Before you leave: [strip nothing, load the dishwasher, drop the keys in the lockbox and close the windows]. If anything's unclear or something isn't working, message us — we'd much rather hear about it during your stay.
Every category worth considering — and what to write for each
Quiet hours
State a specific window. “Please be considerate” is not a rule anyone can follow or enforce.
Parties & events
One line, unambiguous, with the maximum occupancy including visitors.
Smoking
Say where it is not allowed, and where it is if there is an outdoor option.
Visitors
Whether non-booked guests may visit at all, and the total headcount limit.
Pets
Only if you allow them, or if guests routinely ask. Add the practical conditions rather than a flat no if you can.
Parking
Include when spaces are allocated, permitted, or easy to get wrong.
Kitchen & appliances
Only where misuse causes damage — the induction hob, the waste disposal, the oven that trips the fuse.
Pool or hot tub
Include when relevant, with hours and any supervision requirement for children.
Rubbish & recycling
Worth stating where collections are strict or bins are shared with residents.
Heating & AC
Useful where a window left open with the heating on has a real cost or triggers a fault.
Keys & access
Lost-key procedure, whether keys leave the property, and how many sets there are.
Check-out expectations
The short list of what you actually want done — and explicitly what guests need not do.
Must-have rules versus “only if it applies to you”
Almost every property
- Quiet hours
- Parties & events
- Smoking
- Visitors
- Check-out expectations
Only if it applies
- Pets
- Parking
- Kitchen & appliances
- Pool or hot tub
- Rubbish & recycling
- Heating & AC
- Keys & access
Firm without being hostile: four rewrites
The rule usually is not the problem — the phrasing is. Guests arriving to a list of capitalised prohibitions start the stay defensive, and it shows up in reviews.
Harsh
ABSOLUTELY NO NOISE AFTER 10PM. Violations will result in immediate removal.
Clear
Quiet hours are 22:00–08:00 — the neighbours are permanent residents and sound carries.
Why: Same rule, with a reason. Capitals and threats set an adversarial tone before the guest has arrived.
Harsh
Guests must clean the property thoroughly before departure.
Clear
Before you leave: dishes in the dishwasher, rubbish in the bin outside, windows closed. Leave the beds — we handle those.
Why: Specific, short and finite. Vague cleaning demands read as an unpaid job of unknown size.
Harsh
Do not touch the thermostat.
Clear
The thermostat is set to 21° — feel free to adjust it, but please close the windows if the heating is on.
Why: Explains the actual concern instead of banning a normal thing guests will do anyway.
Harsh
No unregistered visitors under any circumstances.
Clear
Maximum 4 people in the property at any time, including day visitors.
Why: States the limit that matters rather than a rule that sounds like surveillance.
Where guests should see your house rules
On the listing
Before booking, so nobody arrives surprised. This is also the version guests formally agree to.
In pre-arrival information
A short reminder of the two or three rules that matter most for your property, alongside arrival details.
During the stay
Somewhere guests can reopen without messaging you — a stay page reached by tap, scan or link. This is where mid-stay questions get answered.
House rules are one section of a wider set of guest information. The welcome book checklist covers the rest, and the guest question map shows which rule questions can be answered without you. To see rules in a live guest view, open the TapStay demo.
Airbnb house rules: common questions
Rules cover the stay; departure needs its own short list. The Airbnb check-out instructions template covers what to ask guests to do before they leave — and what not to.
