Platforms handle payments and reviews, but the legal relationship between a host and a guest is a contract, and hosts who rent directly, by referral, repeat guests, or their own website, have no platform terms to fall back on. A short-term rental agreement fills that role: it prices the stay, caps occupancy, sets the rules, and, critically, frames the arrangement as a license to occupy rather than a tenancy.
This template covers the terms that decide real disputes: the cancellation policy, the security deposit with an itemized return deadline, the occupancy cap, and the no-tenancy clause, plus house rules that are enforceable because they are signed.
A stay, not a tenancy: why the framing matters
Residential tenants enjoy powerful protections: notice periods, eviction procedures, habitability regimes. Vacation guests generally do not, because a short stay in furnished lodging is treated like hotel occupancy, a license rather than a lease. The line between the two is drawn by state law and varies: length of stay is the main factor (thresholds around 30 days are common), along with whether the property is the occupant's residence. The agreement supports the license framing by stating the fixed dates, the furnished vacation purpose, and the holdover consequences, but no contract wording overrides state law: a guest who stays long enough may acquire tenant status regardless, which is why hosts should be careful with extended bookings and back-to-back renewals by the same guest.
Long stays change the rules
Once a stay crosses your state's tenancy threshold, removing an occupant can require formal eviction rather than simply ending the booking. For monthly and longer furnished stays, consider a month-to-month rental agreement with proper landlord-tenant terms instead of a vacation contract.
Deposits, cleaning fees, and cancellation policies that hold up
The deposit clause should authorize specific applications, damage beyond normal wear, extraordinary cleaning, rule violations with cost consequences, and promise an itemized return by a fixed deadline; some states apply their security deposit statutes to short-term stays, so returning promptly with documentation is good practice everywhere. Cancellation policies work when they are chosen before booking and stated in one paragraph: this template offers the three standard tiers (flexible, moderate, strict) and adds the fairness valve that defuses most disputes, a refund for nights the host manages to re-book. The host's own cancellation is treated more strictly: full refund, because the guest's plans are the thing the contract exists to protect.
- Charge taxes correctly: most states and many cities impose lodging or occupancy taxes on short stays, collected by the host when no platform does it.
- Document condition: date-stamped photos before check-in and after check-out are what turn a deposit deduction from an accusation into an invoice.
- Keep payment records: direct bookings mean the host, not a platform, holds the evidence in any chargeback or dispute.
House rules, occupancy caps, and local STR law
House rules bind guests because they are part of the signed contract, so put the ones with consequences in writing: occupancy limits with registration of every overnight guest, no parties, quiet hours, parking, pets, and smoking. The occupancy cap deserves special respect, because it is often not just the host's preference but a condition of the local short-term rental permit. STR regulation is intensely local: many cities require registration or licenses, cap nights per year, restrict non-owner-occupied rentals, or ban STRs in some zones, and HOAs and leases add another layer. Operating within those rules is the host's responsibility and beyond any template's reach.
Check your city, county, and HOA before hosting
Short-term rental permits, registration, occupancy taxes, and zoning restrictions vary city by city and change frequently. This template governs the host-guest relationship; it does not authorize operation where local law or an HOA prohibits it, and it is not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Is a short-term rental agreement a lease?
No, and the difference matters: this agreement grants a license to occupy for fixed dates, like hotel occupancy, so ordinary landlord-tenant protections generally do not attach. State law draws the line, commonly around 30 days; stays beyond your state's threshold can create tenant rights regardless of what the contract says.
Do I need this if I rent through Airbnb or Vrbo?
Platform bookings run under the platform's terms, and some platforms restrict off-platform contracts, so check their rules. Where hosts need this agreement is direct business: repeat guests, referrals, and bookings from their own site, where no platform terms exist and the signed contract is the entire legal relationship.
How much security deposit can a host require?
For short stays there is usually no statutory cap, and amounts commonly run from a couple hundred dollars to a moderate share of the booking value. What the law and basic fairness require is the other half: itemized deductions limited to real damage and costs, and a prompt return deadline, which this template fixes in days.
Can the host end a stay early for rule violations?
Under this agreement, yes, for serious or repeated violations, illegal activity, or endangerment, with no refund of remaining nights. Use the power carefully: document the violation, give notice where practicable, and remember that a guest who has crossed into tenant status under state law may require formal process to remove.
Who pays lodging taxes on a direct booking?
The guest pays, but the host is responsible for collecting and remitting where a platform is not doing it. Most states and many localities tax short stays; registration with the tax authority is usually required. Build the tax into the price or itemize it, and keep the records.