Airbnb Rental Agreement and Guest ID Ban: New Airbnb Rules From 20 November 2026

What are the new Airbnb rules for hosts on 20 November 2026?

Airbnb has updated its community policy on host-imposed contracts and other requirements. The new Airbnb rules apply to reservations booked on or after 20 November 2026. A guest who books before that date is covered by the older, less strict policy, even if they check in after 20 November.

Under the new policy, home hosts generally may not:

• Require a separate contract or Airbnb rental agreement that the guest has to sign.
• Collect identification, such as a passport, driver licence or photo of the guest. This is the end of ID verification by the host.
• Collect biometric or health data, such as fingerprints or facial recognition. Airbnb's policy does not name selfies, but a selfie used for face matching would fall under this.
• Ask for contact details such as phone number, home address or email address.
• Collect card or bank details outside what Airbnb's pricing and payment rules allow.
• Request background-check or credit-history information.
• Force guests to register on another website or install an app to get in. Keyless-entry apps are still fine, but guests must be offered another way in if they ask.

Can Airbnb hosts still ask for ID or a rental agreement? The exceptions

Yes, but only in a few cases. A separate contract is still allowed where the law or community rules require it, for optional extras like a golf cart, for stays of 28 nights or more, and for Luxe listings. Personal data is allowed only where a law or documented building rule requires it, and the listing must say so.

A separate contract is still allowed when it is:

• Required by law or by community association rules (for example, an owners corporation or building security requirement).
• Needed for an optional extra, such as a golf cart hire.
• Part of a monthly stay of 28 nights or more.
• For an Airbnb Luxe listing.

Personal data or registration on another site or app is still allowed only where it is necessary to:

• Comply with applicable law or a documented community association rule, or
• Sign an allowed contract.

Even then, the host must say clearly in the listing's Requests section what is required and why, so the guest can read it before booking. A host cannot collect more than the law or rule calls for, and Airbnb may ask for evidence that an exception applies.

Can I still check a guest's ID in person?

Yes. A host may look at a guest's ID in person at check-in to confirm who they are, as long as the requirement is disclosed in the Requests section of the listing. What you cannot do is keep a digital or physical copy, except where one of the exceptions above applies.

Does Australian law require hosts to collect guest ID? (Airbnb rules in NSW, WA and other states)

This is the question most Australian hosts and managers are asking, and the honest answer is: no state or territory law we could find requires a host to take a photo of a short-stay guest's ID, collect biometric data or get a signed rental agreement. What the states do require is mostly about the property, not the guest.

Airbnb rules in NSW: the Exclusion Register

The NSW Code of Conduct for the short-term rental industry applies to booking platforms, letting agents, facilitators, hosts and guests. It sets up an Exclusion Register of guests and hosts banned after repeated breaches or serious offences.

• A host must not enter into a booking with a guest whose details match someone on the register as an excluded guest.
• A letting agent must not facilitate a booking, through its services, for an excluded guest.
• A booking platform must make sure an excluded guest cannot book through its service.

The register is searchable by name plus an email, phone number or address. Importantly, the Code does not say you must collect photo ID to do this, and nothing in it overrides Airbnb's policy. In practice, NSW hosts and agents should look at how to meet their register obligations using the booking details Airbnb already provides, and should confirm with their own adviser what they can lawfully collect.

Western Australia: state register plus council conditions

WA's Short-Term Rental Accommodation Act 2024 created a mandatory state register of properties, and platforms pass booking data to the register. We found no state rule requiring hosts to verify guests.

Some WA councils go further through planning policies or development approval conditions. For example, the Cities of Joondalup and Wanneroo have policies calling for a register of guests staying in short-term accommodation, and the City of Albany and Shire of Murray guidance expects managers to keep guest names and details. These support a name register, not a copy of a driver licence or a facial scan, and they bind a property only if its own approval says so. Check your approval conditions.

Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and the rest

• Queensland: rules are set mainly by councils. Noosa, for example, requires a use register with stay dates and guest numbers as an approval condition. There is no statewide guest ID rule.
• Victoria: the Short Stay Levy is a tax on bookings, with no guest ID requirement.
• Tasmania: the Short Stay Accommodation Act is about premises information shared with booking platforms.
• ACT, SA and NT: we did not find any state-level guest ID rule.

Strata and body corporate rules can also require guests to register with a concierge or building manager. If your building has a written by-law, that may be a documented community rule that qualifies under Airbnb's exception. Check the by-law itself.

What should hosts and property managers do instead?

You can still protect the property, but only in ways Airbnb allows. Rely on Airbnb's own verification, put clear House Rules in the listing, keep any ID check in person and disclosed, and collect guest details only where a law or building rule requires it. Eight practical steps follow.

This is a big change for the short-term rental industry. In our view, professional managers and large operators who have relied on signed agreements, ID checks and deposits will be affected most, and we expect Airbnb to hear a lot from them before and after 20 November. Until anything changes, the policy as written is what hosts have to follow.

1. Lean on Airbnb's own verification. Airbnb has its own process for verifying users, which it explains in its Help Centre, so identity checking now sits with the platform rather than with the host. If a booking looks wrong, contact Airbnb.
2. Put your house rules in the listing, not a separate contract. Clear Airbnb house rules on guest numbers, parties, noise and parking, shown before booking, do most of the work a separate rental agreement used to do.
3. If you want an ID check, do it in person and disclose it. Add it to the Requests section of your listing, look at the ID at check-in, and do not keep a copy.
4. Use keyless entry with a fallback. Smart locks are fine, but make sure guests can get in without installing an app.
5. Know your legal basis before you collect anything. If a council condition or building by-law requires a guest register, collect only what that rule asks for, say so in the listing, and keep the evidence on file in case Airbnb asks.
6. Make damage and incident handling part of your process. Use Airbnb's AirCover and Resolution Centre for claims, and keep thorough check-in and check-out photos of the property.
7. Review your direct-booking process. Bookings made through your own website are not covered by Airbnb's policy, so your own terms and checks continue to apply there (subject to privacy law).
8. Update templates before the deadline. Remove ID uploads, facial-recognition steps and agreement links from any automation that fires on Airbnb bookings made on or after 20 November 2026.

Want a hand? See how the WTP team manages short-stay homes, or browse our holiday homes.

How do hosts keep parties and underage guests out under the new rules?

Use Airbnb's own anti-party screening, strict house rules, a disclosed in-person ID check at check-in, and tight guest limits. For homes where that isn't enough, some managers are likely to push more guests to direct bookings, where your own ID checks and agreements still apply, and to other booking platforms.

What Airbnb's anti-party screening does

Airbnb says its anti-party system, piloted in Australia from October 2021, is being made permanent nationwide, and it reported a 35 percent drop in unauthorised party incidents in the pilot areas. It weighs things like a guest's review history, how long they have had an account, trip length, distance from the home and whether the stay is on a weekend. See Airbnb's announcement.

Our view: screening a booking is not knowing who arrives

This is WTP's view, not Airbnb's position. Anyone can book under a name that is not theirs, and a booking can be made by one adult account and used by someone else. Once hosts can no longer collect ID, we think Airbnb's checks leave a real gap for homes with a high party risk. Airbnb has not told hosts how it will treat house-rules agreements, so we recommend asking Airbnb in writing.

Why direct bookings and other platforms matter more

Airbnb's policy covers Airbnb bookings only. On your own booking website you can still ask for ID and an agreement, subject to privacy law, so we expect more owners and managers to weigh up direct booking and other platforms because of this change. We have not seen published figures on how many listings are leaving Airbnb.

Is Airbnb Luxe a way around the rules?

For most homes, no. A separate contract is allowed on Luxe listings, but Airbnb decides what counts as Luxe: a local consultant walks through the home first, and Airbnb reviews Luxe listings every quarter against requirements such as premium construction, an upscale private location and an en-suite with a standalone shower. See Airbnb's Luxe standards.

Extra steps for high-risk homes

• Disclose an in-person ID check in the Requests section and do it at check-in without keeping a copy. It is the only real identity check left.
• Set a lower maximum guest number and state the no-party rule clearly in the house rules.
• Check privacy rules before using any noise monitor, and disclose it in the listing.
• Take more bookings direct, where you can still check ID and use an agreement.

What if a host asks you for ID? A note for guests

If a host asks for a photo of your passport or licence, facial recognition or a signed agreement on a booking made on or after 20 November 2026, that is generally no longer allowed unless the listing discloses a legal or building-rule reason. A host may still look at your ID in person at check-in if disclosed, but cannot keep a copy.

Airbnb asks people who see behaviour that breaks its policies to report it through its Help Centre.

What happens if a host ignores the new policy?

Airbnb says it may educate the host, issue warnings, suspend or remove listings, or suspend or remove the account for repeat offences. For a manager running dozens of listings, that is a real risk, so it is worth fixing the process before the deadline rather than after the first warning.