Safety requirements for homes

From villas to treehouses, no matter the form, homes listed on Airbnb should be a safe place to stay. Hosts must provide a secure space and are required to disclose and address certain safety hazards.

Learn more about our safety guidelines for service and experiences.

Basic safety expectations

Hosts are responsible for maintaining a safe home, including any areas that a guest has access to during their stay (ex: on-site amenities, such as gyms or playgrounds, and common areas, such as stairwells and entryways). Specifically, hosts should: 

• Set expectations. Hosts should clearly communicate with guests about the specific attributes of each listing, including by completing the safety section of their listing description. Hosts should also provide instructions for any features of the home that could result in injury if improperly used (ex: hot tubs). 
  • For example, hosts must disclose and take safety measures to secure weapons and certain types of animals present at a listing. 

• Provide a secure space for guests. Keys or access codes should be provided for the main point of entry. Lockboxes and entry codes must remain secure, and hosts should change codes between each reservation.
• Maintain smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors. Hosts should clearly state whether these devices are present in a listing. If they are, detectors need to be in working order and hosts should regularly test the alarms. We strongly encourage installation of these devices and provide a smoke and CO detector to eligible hosts at no cost, upon request.
• Comply with applicable laws. Hosts must follow relevant laws and safety regulations, such as applicable fire code requirements and safe occupancy limits.

Addressing potential safety hazards

As part of providing a safe home, hosts must address known hazards that could cause injury before accepting reservations. Potential safety hazards include but are not limited to:

• Fire or electrical hazards (ex: listings with blocked exits, inoperable smoke detectors, or exposed wiring)
• Poorly maintained appliances (ex: hot tubs, gas-powered kitchen appliances, furnaces)
• Health hazards (ex: contaminated water, mold, or pests)
• Physical safety risks (ex: unsafe walls, ceilings, or windows)

Additionally, hosts must disclose any safety hazards inherent to the listing by including them in the listing description (ex: access to high heights, a pool, or a body of water).

Enforcing these policies

If we become aware that hosts fail to disclose or mitigate known hazards, or experience severe or repeated safety incidents at their listings, we take appropriate action. This may include requiring hosts to address issues, educating hosts and guests on our policies, issuing warnings, or suspending or removing listings or violating accounts. We may also cancel upcoming or active reservations, or require proof that hosts have addressed issues before they can accept reservations. Hosts are accountable for violations by their co-hosts, employees, and others who they allow to assist in their hosting.

We're here to help

In the unlikely event you experience a safety issue during your reservation, we’re here to help:

• If there’s an emergency in progress, please contact local emergency services or law enforcement authorities for assistance. If you're unfamiliar with local emergency services phone numbers, you can use Airbnb to dial emergency services now.
• Otherwise you can contact Airbnb through our dedicated 24-hour safety line.
• If you don’t have an Airbnb account, but want to report something happening at an Airbnb listing in your community, you can contact our Neighborhood Support team.

Additional resources

For more safety tips and best practices, hosts can review the resources below:

• Additional safety guidelines for hosts
• Homes safety checklist
• Emergency preparedness
• First aid tips
• Safety resources in the United States