Holiday rental house rules template: a complete example to copy and fill in

House rules work when the guest reads them before booking, while another house is still an option. A guest who reads them before arriving can at least plan the stay around them. Below is a holiday rental house rules template with eight subjects, from arrival to emergencies, to copy in one go and fill in. The rules and platform terms quoted were checked on 4 October 2026, at the linked sources.

Why house rules only work when the guest reads them before booking

Say a family books your house for a week and brings their dog. If the rule against pets is in a folder on the kitchen table, they read it after the drive. Had they read it before booking, they could have picked another house or left the dog at home.

Airbnb shows your house rules in the listing description, in the booking terms, in its automated emails to guests and in the Arrival Guide (Airbnb help (opens in a new tab)). Every guest must agree to them before booking (Airbnb help (opens in a new tab)). On Booking.com the rules appear on the property page and during the reservation process, and guests "must agree to them to complete the reservation" (Booking.com partner help (opens in a new tab)).

For a direct booking, you decide when the guest sees the rules. House rules don't automatically count as terms. If breaking a rule is to cost the guest something, such as a deduction from the security deposit, put that in your terms. Show the rules and your terms before the guest books. Local consumer law decides how terms must reach the guest, so have yours checked.

Eight subjects to decide before you write the rules

These subjects cover what guests ask about and what goes wrong:

1. Arrival and departure: the times, the keys, a late arrival.
2. Guests and visitors: the number of guests, day visitors, parties and events.
3. Quiet hours and neighbours.
4. Smoking, fire and barbecue, including candles, a wood stove and fireworks.
5. Pets.
6. The house and its facilities: hot tub, pool, sauna, heating, appliances.
7. Waste, bed linen and cleaning: the bins, the beds, the tasks on departure.
8. Damage, breakdowns and emergencies: reporting, phone numbers, the address.

Part of the decision is made elsewhere, in local noise rules, the rules of an apartment building or a holiday park's regulations. Check them, and copy whatever applies to guests into your rules.

Airbnb's (opens in a new tab) fields are pets, events, smoking, quiet hours, check-in and check-out times and the maximum number of guests, plus free-text "additional rules". Booking.com (opens in a new tab) has the same fields plus a curfew and children, and other information goes in "the fine print". Give those fields the same times and limits as your own text, so the rules read the same everywhere.

Airbnb's ground rules for guests (opens in a new tab) say hosts may not charge a fee for specific cleaning or check-out tasks a guest didn't do. Keep the departure tasks short, put no cost on them, and use the same list for guests who book direct.

The holiday rental house rules template

Copy everything from the title to the last line, replace the text in square brackets and delete what doesn't apply. For pets, keep the version that fits.

House rules for [name of the house]

Arrival and departure

• Check-in is from [3 pm] to [8 pm].
• For a later arrival, please message us first on [phone number].
• The key is in the lockbox at [place]. The code follows [the day before].
• Put the key back in the lockbox when you leave.
• Check-out is by [10 am], so the house can be cleaned for the next guests.

Guests and visitors

• Only the [number] guests on the booking stay overnight.
• Day visitors are welcome until [9 pm].
• Please let us know how many visitors are coming.
• No parties or events.

Quiet hours and neighbours

• Quiet hours are from [10 pm] to [8 am]. During those hours, keep music and conversation indoors and the terrace doors closed, because sound carries to the neighbours.
• [Rules of the building, the park or the municipality that apply to guests.]

Smoking, fire and barbecue

• Smoke outside only, at [the table on the terrace].
• No candles indoors, because of the fire risk.
• Burn only the wood from [the shed] in the [wood stove], and keep its door closed.
• Use the barbecue at [place] only, and never during a local fire ban.
• No fireworks at the house or in the garden.

Pets

• [One dog] is welcome if you tell us when you book.
• Keep the dog off the beds and sofas, and clean up after it in the garden.
• [Or: Pets are not allowed, because the next guests may have an allergy.]
• Assistance dogs are always welcome.

The house and its facilities

• Shower before using the hot tub, and put the cover back on afterwards to keep the water clean.
• Children use the hot tub and the pool only with an adult.
• Use plastic glasses at the hot tub and the pool, because broken glass is hard to see in water.
• Instructions for the heating, the [sauna] and the appliances are [in the house guide].

Waste, bed linen and cleaning

• Sort the rubbish into the bins at [place]. Collection is on [day].
• Bed linen and towels are [included].
• On the day you leave, [strip the beds].
• We do the final cleaning.
• Before you leave, do the dishes, empty the fridge and take out the rubbish.

Damage, breakdowns and emergencies

• If something breaks or stops working, please tell us straight away on [phone number].
• In an emergency, call [local emergency number] first, then us.
• The address of the house, for an emergency call, is [street and number, postcode, town].

How to word a rule so it does not read as a threat

A list of bans with penalties reads as distrust and invites the guest to test it. Where there is an alternative, name it: the template sends a smoker to the table on the terrace.

Give the reason where it isn't obvious, such as the fire risk of a candle or the next guest's allergy. Write one rule per line, without capitals, exclamation marks or "strictly".

A quiet-hours rule written as a threat looks like this:

NO NOISE AFTER 10 PM. Any complaint from the neighbours means a deduction from your security deposit.

In the template, the same rule reads:

Quiet hours are from [10 pm] to [8 am]. During those hours, keep music and conversation indoors and the terrace doors closed, because sound carries to the neighbours.

A cost belongs in a rule only when it is in the terms the guest agreed to at booking.

Where to show your house rules

On Airbnb, fill in the house-rule fields and put the rest of your text under additional rules, without the key code, address and phone number. On Booking.com, fill in the same fields and tick the fine-print phrases that fit, or request one (Booking.com partner help (opens in a new tab)). For a direct booking, send the rules and your terms again with the confirmation.

In Drimbu, every guest also gets a guest page with nothing to install, and the house guide is on it. Your house rules go in that guide, next to the wifi and the parking, instead of in a printed binder. The link goes out by itself before arrival, and you update the guide whenever you like.

In the house, put a short version where the rule applies: at the hot tub, by the front door, at the bins.

When a guest breaks a rule

Suppose you find out midweek that six people are staying in a house booked for four. Talk to the guests first, and note what you saw, what was said and when.

Airbnb's ground rules page (opens in a new tab) gives hosts the same order: "Communicate with the guest—this is often the quickest path to resolution." Then you document the problem, contact Airbnb or request payment for damage in the Resolution Center, and leave an honest review.

On Airbnb, you file a reimbursement request for damage within fourteen days of the guest's check-out. If the guest won't pay within 24 hours, you escalate to Airbnb, no later than fourteen days after the damage. Normal wear and tear and "normal check-out tasks" are not covered (Airbnb help (opens in a new tab)).

Most hosts may not charge a security deposit on Airbnb, either through the Resolution Center or outside the platform (Airbnb help (opens in a new tab)). Airbnb's Off-Platform and Fee Transparency Policy (opens in a new tab) prohibits payments outside Airbnb, so collect no fine from an Airbnb guest yourself, and a security deposit only where Airbnb allows one.

On Booking.com, outside the US, you choose a damage deposit or the damage programme. With a damage deposit, the guest pays you directly before the stay. You decide how and when, and you manage the money. You return it as agreed at booking, minus proven damage. Under the programme you send a request within fourteen days of check-out, and Booking.com "can't guarantee payment" (Booking.com partner help (opens in a new tab)).

The same page lists what you can't claim for: "Breaking any kind of house rules like bringing pets if not allowed, late check-in, bringing extra guests". Damage that isn't physical, such as smoking, is excluded too. For misconduct, the extranet has "Report guest misconduct" on the reservation, from arrival until seven days after check-out. If you tick the follow-up option, Booking.com contacts the guest (Booking.com partner help (opens in a new tab)).

For a direct booking, you have your own security deposit and the terms the guest received at booking. In Drimbu, security deposits go through your own Mollie or Stripe account and are released after check-out (bookings and payments).

This week, enter the template's times and limits in each listing's house-rule fields. The rest, without the key code, address and phone number, goes under additional rules on Airbnb. Direct guests see the full text and your terms before they book, and again in the confirmation. Start for free with Drimbu, for one house or for all your holiday homes, and put the same text in the house guide.