California requires short-term rental hosts to be transparent about guest cleaning chores, penalties

A new California law requires short-term rental (STR) operators to disclose all additional fees or charges guests must pay if they don’t perform obligatory cleaning chores at the end of their stay. The measure also requires operators to offer a detailed description of the chores up front. This information must be included in all advertisements or listings for the STR property.

According to the law, hosts must also disclose all nonfinancial penalties for failing to complete chores, including “designating or threatening to designate the consumer as a less favorable guest, decreasing or threatening to decrease the consumer’s status with or on the short-term lodging, internet website, application, or other similar centralized platform, or hindering or barring the consumer from reserving a stay at a place of short-term lodging that would otherwise be advertised or available to the consumer to view and reserve.”

The bill goes into effect July 1, 2025. It follows on the heels of another California law — which went into effect in July 2024 — requiring STR and hotel listings to reveal all mandatory costs at first glance. That means all fees that must be paid as part of the booking — including cleaning fees, host fees, service fees, and more — must be disclosed in advertisements and listings. Disclosure of taxes is not required in advertisements and listings; these can be added to the total when the guest is ready to book.

California is not alone in addressing fee transparency for STRs and other businesses. The Biden administration has been advocating against hidden fees, with legislation introduced in the House in 2023. The Junk Fee Prevention Act would prohibit businesses, including STRs, from adding excessive, hidden, and unnecessary fees to customer bills. The Federal Trade Commission has also proposed new rules to promote price transparency. 

On the state level, a new Minnesota law, which goes into effect in 2025, bars businesses from adding service fees, health and wellness surcharges, or other mandatory charges to customers’ bills at the end of a transaction. And a bill introduced in Connecticut would necessitate all fees for lodging to be disclosed at first glance.

The California fee transparency measure that went into effect this year requires fees to be disclosed before taxes. But STR operators should keep in mind that lodging taxes are often levied on these fees. In most cases, any charge a guest must pay for lodging is taxed as part of the overall price for accommodation. However, these rules vary widely among jurisdictions, so fees that are taxable in one city, county, or state are not necessarily taxable in another. You need to be familiar with the lodging tax rules that apply specifically to your property.

Regulations regarding taxability — including which fees are subject to lodging taxes — can be complex. We can help. Avalara MyLodgeTax automates and simplifies short-term rental tax compliance, including registration and filing with state and local tax authorities. If you have tax questions related to your STR, drop us a line and we’ll get back to you with answers.