A rental agreement your guest can actually sign

Fill in the parties, the dates, the money and the rules you enforce. Pick your state and the generator flags a security deposit above the statutory cap for stays of 30 nights or more. The PDF is built in your browser, with the disclaimer printed on every page.

The parties

Host or companyGuest (primary occupant)

The propertyProperty addressState

Dates

Check-in dateCheck-in timeCheck-out dateCheck-out time

Money

Total rent for the stay

Cleaning fee

Security deposit

Pet deposit (optional)

Rules and clauses

Maximum occupantsFull refund if canceled this many days before check-inQuiet hours startQuiet hours end

Occupancy limit and registered guests onlyQuiet hoursNo parties or eventsNo smoking or vaping indoorsPets only with written approvalExterior cameras and noise monitor disclosureHOA or building rules applyCancellation policyDamage, deposit deductions and 14-day itemizationEarly termination for a material breachGuest responsibility and liabilityGoverning law and venue

Additional terms (optional)

General information, not legal advice. State deposit caps checked September 10, 2026. Nothing you type is sent anywhere: the PDF is built in your browser.

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How it works

Three things the agreement has to get right

Say what kind of stay it is

The first paragraph calls the guest a transient licensee, not a tenant. In most states that keeps a two-week stay out of eviction court if it ever goes wrong.

Put the money in writing

Rent, cleaning fee, deposit, the date the deposit comes back and what it can be used for. A deposit with no return deadline is the clause guests fight over most.

Match the rules to the listing

Occupancy, quiet hours, pets, cameras. If the agreement says one thing and the listing says another, the guest's version usually wins.

When a short-term rental agreement matters, and when Airbnb makes it moot

On Airbnb, most hosts cannot collect a security deposit at all, on or off the platform, and damage claims go through the Resolution Center within 14 days of check-out. A separate agreement still helps there if you disclose it in the listing before booking, because it sets the rules you can point to in a claim. But the deposit clause is dead weight for a plain Airbnb booking, and Airbnb's Help Center says so.

The agreement earns its place on direct bookings, on Vrbo, and on stays long enough to blur into a tenancy. Direct bookings have no platform standing between you and the guest, so the contract is the only document that says who pays for the broken table. And once a stay crosses roughly 30 nights, several states start reading it under residential landlord-tenant law, deposit cap included.

That is why the generator asks for the state and the dates. For a stay under 30 nights it prints the deposit you set. For 30 nights or more it compares the deposit to the residential cap in your state and warns you before you send a guest a number a court would not enforce. Deposit caps were checked on September 10, 2026, and they move: California, Maryland and Georgia all changed theirs in 2024.

Questions

Rental agreements, answered

Do I need a rental agreement for Airbnb bookings?

Airbnb's terms already bind the guest, and most hosts cannot collect a deposit on Airbnb bookings. You may still require an additional agreement if you disclose it in the listing before booking. Where a written agreement changes the outcome is on direct and Vrbo bookings, which have no platform terms behind them.

Is a short-term rental agreement a lease?

It should not be. The template describes the guest as a transient licensee for a fixed number of nights. A document that reads like a residential lease can pull a two-week stay into landlord-tenant law, with notice periods and eviction procedure attached.

How much can I charge as a security deposit?

For stays under about 30 nights, no state caps a vacation rental deposit as far as we found; a common range is one to two nights of rent or a flat $250 to $1,000 depending on the property. For 30 nights or more, the residential cap in your state may apply. Pick your state in the form and the generator applies it.

When do I have to return the deposit?

The template says 14 days with an itemized statement, which is shorter than every state deadline we checked and matches what guests expect. Returning it fast with photos is also the best defense against a chargeback on a direct booking.

Can I ban parties and end the stay early?

Yes, if the agreement says so before the guest arrives. The template includes a no-party clause and an early termination clause for a material breach. Enforcing it on the night is a separate matter: document the breach, message the guest in writing, and involve local police rather than confronting a group yourself.

Is this agreement legal in my state?

It is a general template. Short-term rental law is set by states, counties and cities, and some require specific language, permit numbers or occupancy tax disclosures in guest agreements. Have an attorney licensed in the property's state review the final document before you use it.

Sources

Airbnb Help Center, Security deposits (article 140): most hosts cannot charge a security deposit through or outside Airbnb; damage claims go through the Resolution Center within 14 days of check-out. Read September 10, 2026.
State deposit caps: Rentec Direct, Security deposit laws by state (updated April 30, 2026), cross-checked against the statutes cited in the form. Residential caps generally exempt transient occupancy; the generator applies them from 30 nights.
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