Airbnb's new house rules start November 20. Your insurance is a separate question.

What Airbnb changed

On October 20, 2026, Airbnb announced a new house rules policy. The short version, from Airbnb's own pages:

• Seven standard rules. Maximum overnight guests, quiet hours, events, pets, smoking (including vaping), commercial photography, and lock up at checkout. These are the rules guests are required to follow.
• Everything else is a request. Guests are encouraged to follow requests, not required. Checkout instructions now live here, and they have to be reasonable. Airbnb's examples: you can ask guests to put used dishes in the sink, but not to wash and put them away; you can ask them to gather used towels, but not to strip the beds; you can ask them to sort trash into indoor bins, but not to haul it off site.
• No fines or penalties for guests. Airbnb points hosts to AirCover for guest damage. Hosts can still warn guests about fines a condominium association or local government might impose.
• Limits on contracts and personal data. With a few exceptions (law, HOA or building rules, optional amenities, monthly stays, Luxe listings), hosts can't ask guests to sign separate contracts, and can't collect things like ID copies, phone numbers, or emails.
• Rules must be on the listing before booking. New rules can't be added later by message, sign, or in person.

Reservations booked before November 20 stay under the previous policies. Airbnb says violations can lead to a notice on the listing, lower search visibility, or further action under its Terms of Service. Policies change, so read the current version in Airbnb's Help Center (links at the bottom).

A rule on your listing is not a line in your policy

This is the part most hosts mix up. Whether Airbnb lets you enforce something has nothing to do with whether your insurance pays for it. Coverage comes from your policy's terms, exclusions, and endorsements, and from the facts of the loss.

That cuts both ways. Following every Airbnb rule does not make a loss covered. And a guest ignoring a request, like leaving dishes out, does not automatically void anything. The useful habit is to treat platform compliance and insurance as two separate checklists.

What the new rules mean for risk

• Don't count on a request to protect the property. A request is encouraged, never enforceable. If something truly matters, either it fits one of the seven rules or it needs to be handled physically: automatic shutoffs, leak sensors, a smart lock, clearly labeled bins. Lock up at checkout is now a standard rule, which helps.
• The small stuff moves to you. You can't fine a guest for a lost key or an extra visitor. Some costs, like normal wear and ordinary checkout cleaning, are not covered by AirCover either. Those belong in your pricing and your cleaning fee, not in a penalty.
• Document your turnovers. With chores moving to your cleaner, keep a simple record of cleaning and inspections. Property policies commonly limit losses tied to maintenance and gradual deterioration, so good records are worth having if you ever file a claim.
• Less guest data is less to protect. If you have been collecting ID photos or running an email-capture Wi-Fi page, the new policy mostly ends that. When an exception applies, Airbnb says you are responsible for storing and disposing of the data securely. If you handle guest information, see my page on cyber insurance.

What AirCover does and doesn't do

Airbnb includes AirCover for hosts on stays booked through Airbnb. It is useful, and it is not the same as your own policy. From Airbnb's Help Center, as of this writing:

• Host damage protection reimburses up to $3 million for damage to your home and belongings caused by guests, when the guest does not pay. It does not cover normal wear and tear, loss of currency, loss due to acts of nature (Airbnb names earthquakes and hurricanes), injury to guests or others, or cleaning tied to normal checkout tasks like laundry, dishes, or trash. Airbnb itself says it is not insurance or a financial service. Claims have to be filed within 14 days of the guest's checkout.
• Host liability insurance provides $1 million if you are found legally responsible for a guest's bodily injury, or for damage to or theft of a guest's property. It does not cover intentional acts or damage to your own property, and other exclusions apply.

AirCover applies to stays booked on Airbnb. If a guest books directly, or through another platform, it is outside that program, so find out what does respond to those stays.

The Puerto Rico part

• Hurricane and earthquake. Because host damage protection excludes acts of nature, windstorm and earthquake have to come from your own policies. Flood is its own question too, usually a separate policy. I wrote about earthquake coverage and flood insurance here if you want the details.
• How the property is classified. A home you live in, a vacation home you rent a few weeks a year, and a full-time rental are different risks to an insurer. Many homeowners and condominium policies limit or exclude coverage for short-term rental use, and carriers differ on whether they will write it at all. Tell your carrier or agent how the property is really used, and get the answer in writing.
• Condominiums. Look at where the association's master policy stops and your unit coverage starts, and read the building's rules on rentals. Those rules can be stricter than Airbnb's.
• Pools, terraces, and stairs. These are where guest injuries tend to happen. Check your liability limits and any conditions your policy places on them.
• Lost rental income. Standard business income coverage generally needs a covered physical loss, like fire or storm damage. A platform suspension or a flagged listing on its own would not ordinarily trigger it. Airbnb's host damage protection does include income lost if you must cancel confirmed Airbnb bookings because of guest damage, but that is Airbnb's program, not your policy.
• Local rules. Short-term rentals in Puerto Rico can involve Tourism Company registration, and a number of municipalities have their own ordinances. These are separate from Airbnb and from insurance, so confirm what applies to you.

Five questions to ask your agent

1. Does my policy allow short-term rental use, and is that in writing?
2. If a guest is hurt on my property, what are my liability limits, and what are the exclusions?
3. For hurricane, earthquake, and flood, what do I actually have, and what are the deductibles?
4. What happens to my rental income after a covered loss, and what is the waiting period?
5. Does anything cover guests who book outside Airbnb?

How I work

I review property and business coverage carrier-neutral, so the point of a conversation is to match your coverage to how the property is really used. That means reading what you have, telling you plainly where the gaps are, and saying so when you are fine as you are. I'm not going to tell you the new Airbnb rules make a property uninsurable, because they don't. They are a good reason to look at the layers together.

The November 20 date is real, but your insurance question does not run on Airbnb's calendar. Start with a coverage review below, or book a call if you would rather talk it through first.

Sources: Airbnb's announcement of the house rules changes, its reasonable house rules and requests policy, its contracts and data policy, host damage protection, and host liability insurance. This page is general information, not coverage or legal advice. Your own policy controls what your policy covers, Airbnb's terms can change, and this page is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Airbnb.