By Rowan Clifford
Author of Airbn’b’Smart and Hospitable user
An Airbnb rental agreement is a legal contract between you and your guests, which sits outside of the Airbnb platform, giving you additional legal protection in any guest malpractice event.
But what should you put in the rental agreement? How do you send it to your guests? And what are the downsides?
Let’s find out, shall we!
What to put in your rental agreement?
The information you put in your rental agreement is going to vary from host to host, but there are some basic points that you’ll more than likely want to cover:
- Names: For any contract to be legally binding and effective, you must make sure that both parties’ full names engaging in the contract are present.
- Location: Address must be included.
- Booking details: The contract should outline the booking details; booking duration, dates, number of guests, check-in & check-out times, etc.
- Fees: Outline the booking cost and any fees associated, e.g., cleaning fees, maintenance.
- Parking: Add parking rules and instructions.
- House rules: This is where you want to get specific about the conduct you expect from your guests during their stay, e.g., no parties, no pets, no loud noise after 10 pm, etc.
- Landlord responsibilities: Outline the responsibilities and conduct you as a host will adhere to and uphold, e.g., what amenities you’ll provide, your commitment to responding to any problems, etc.
This list is by no means exhaustive, but it’s a good place to start – and obviously, to make your rental agreement legally binding, you’ll want to get it checked off by an expert to make sure it stands up to scrutiny in your jurisdiction.
How to send a rental agreement to your guests
Airbnb stipulates that you must make your guests aware of your rental agreement BEFORE they make their booking. Failure to do this will render them null and void.
This means that you’ll have to provide access to the rental agreement within your listing description.
Once you’ve covered that, and your guests are aware of the agreement they are entering into, you’ll need to send this to them once they’ve booked. This can be done as part of your message flow after a guest confirms their booking.
Hospitable allows you to schedule a message after a new reservation. This is just perfect for sharing your rental agreement with your guests.
