Oct 23, 2026
You’ve paid the nightly rate, the service fee and the cleaning fee. Then you spot a checklist affixed to the fridge that spells out your chores: strip the beds, run the laundry, clean and put away the dishes and even take out the garbage.
That double ask — pay for cleaning while doing some of it — has long been one of the most persistent complaints about short-term rentals. Airbnb says chore time is over starting next month.
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The change doesn’t make cleaning free, though. It shifts the work back to hosts, and how they cover that cost will determine the price of your next getaway.
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What exactly is Airbnb changing on Nov. 20?
San Francisco-based Airbnb officially announced the major changes on Oct. 20. Under its new reasonable house rules and requests policy, hosts can’t require guests to do tasks that take “significant effort or time, or would typically be performed by a cleaner.”
That rules out washing dishes, stripping beds, starting laundry and taking trash off-site, CBC News reports. Hosts also can’t charge guests for skipping a task on the checkout list. In a statement, Airbnb said its community had found house rules “confusing, onerous and hard to manage.”
The new rules are based on when you book, not when you check in: they apply to reservations made on or after Nov. 20, 2026.
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What can hosts still ask you to do?
There’s a big difference between house rules and simple requests: rules are mandatory, while requests are just nice-to-haves. Airbnb says hosts can ask you to put dirty dishes in the sink, pile up used towels, sort trash into indoor bins and shut off the AC on your way out. Hosts can also set house rules on the following:
- The maximum number of overnight guests
- Quiet hours
- Events
- Pets
- Smoking, including vaping in and around the property
- Commercial photography and filming
- Locking up at checkout, including optional details on where to return keys
Airbnb also allows for local rules where necessary, such as requiring secure, animal-proof bins in bear-prone areas. That’s a familiar scenario in parts of Canada’s cottage and mountain regions.
Any rule has to be on the listing when you book, and a host can’t add one later by text message or with a sign on the door.
None of this gives guests a free pass to leave the place a total disaster. Airbnb’s ground rules for guests still expect travellers to pay reasonable costs for damage, missing items or unexpected cleaning.
Will hosts just raise their cleaning fees instead?
Some most likely will. The policy has sparked pushback, with some hosts threatening to leave the platform, TechCrunch reports.
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According to industry voices at Rental Scale-Up, a publication dedicated to short-term rentals, hosts who factored guest-led turnover into their cleaning rates may have to adjust their strategy. They could raise the cleaning fee, the nightly rate or both.
That extra cost can add up quickly for Canadians, since taxes apply to the cleaning fee as well as the nightly rate. In Alberta, for example, the 4% provincial tourism levy applies to both, according to Airbnb.
Canadian regulations provide consumers with some upfront protection on all-in pricing. The Competition Bureau, the federal agency that enforces the Competition Act, says advertising prices that exclude mandatory fixed fees, other than government-imposed charges, is against the law. In 2024, the Competition Tribunal ruled against Cineplex over a mandatory $1.50 online booking fee.
What to do now
Before your next booking:
- Check your booking date — trips booked before Nov. 20 follow the old rules, even if you don’t travel until after then
- Read the house rules and requests section before paying, and watch for listing alerts that flag cleaning requests
- Compare the all-in total — including cleaning and service fees and taxes — rather than just looking at the nightly rate
- Disregard new “rules” sent by text or posted on signs after you book
- Leave the rental in reasonable condition, as you can still be charged for damages or excessive cleaning
- Contact Airbnb if a host tries to fine you or charge you for skipped chores
The new rules save you time at checkout, but they won’t automatically shrink your final bill. The best protection hasn’t changed: know the full price before you book and read the rules that come with it.
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Amy Tokic is an SEO content editor for Money.ca. She holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of Windsor. Amy is an award-winning author and has been writing professionally for 15 years, publishing articles in the lifestyle and health sectors.
