What to put in an Airbnb management agreement: 12 clauses to discuss with your lawyer
The clauses that decide who pays, who is liable and what happens when it ends, with the detail that matters in Belgium and the Netherlands. A checklist to take to your lawyer, not a contract to copy.
Sources listed, last checked
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules differ by country and city and change often, so check the official source and ask a qualified adviser before you act.
A management agreement should settle 12 things: the parties and permits, your services, your commission and its base, costs, the listing account, the money flow, pricing and owner use, compliance, insurance and damage, guest data, reporting, and how it ends. Airbnb says it is not a party to any agreement between a host and a co-host, so your contract is the only place those answers live.1 Use the checklist below to prepare, then have a lawyer in the country where the property is turn it into a contract.
Key takeaways
- Airbnb is not a party to your deal with the owner, so money, liability and exit are yours to settle.1
- Write the commission base as a euro example: on one illustrative €350 booking, 20% ranges from €46.87 to €70.00 depending on the base.
- Reviews show on the listing owner’s profile and Airbnb cannot transfer an account, so decide whose account holds the listing before the first booking.23
- In Flanders the operator needs a registration, a fire safety certificate and insurance, so name the operator in writing.4
- Whether managing short stays for a commission needs BIV accreditation in Belgium is not settled; ask a Belgian lawyer.5
In this guide
What this contract is, and what it is not
As a co-host or manager, you run a property on the owner’s behalf. You do not rent it, which is the difference from rental arbitrage. A management agreement is a contract for services: you act for the owner’s account, and the owner stays the one letting the property.
Dutch law calls a contract in which one party performs legal acts, such as accepting bookings, for the account of the other lastgeving, a form of contract for services under article 7:414 of the civil code.17 The label decides which default rules apply when your contract is silent, including how it can be ended (clause 12). In Belgium, ask your lawyer which rules apply.
Watch out
In Belgium, the BIV describes the vastgoedmakelaar-rentmeester as the professional who takes over the management of real estate from a private owner, lists collecting rents among the rentmeester’s tasks, and says anyone who practises the profession as self-employed needs personal BIV accreditation.5 We found no official source that says whether managing short-stay listings for a commission falls under that. Treat the question as unsettled and ask a Belgian lawyer before you sign your first owner.
Outside Belgium and the Netherlands, check the licensing question in the country where the property is.
The 12 clauses on one page
Take this table to your first meeting with a lawyer, with your answer to each question filled in.
Management agreement checklist: the question each clause has to answer
| # | Clause | The question to settle |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parties, property and permits | Who is the registered operator, and which permits and numbers does the unit hold? |
| 2 | Services | Which tasks are included, which are excluded, and which cost extra? |
| 3 | Commission and base | What percentage, calculated on which amount, shown as a euro example? |
| 4 | Costs and repair limits | Who pays what, and up to what amount can you approve a repair alone? |
| 5 | Listing, account and reviews | Whose account holds the listing, photos and reviews? |
| 6 | Money flow | Who receives the payouts, and how does the other side get paid? |
| 7 | Pricing and owner use | Who sets prices and minimum stays, and how does the owner block dates? |
| 8 | Compliance | Who handles registration, tourist tax, VAT, DAC7 and business host details? |
| 9 | Insurance, liability and damage | Which policies are in place, and who files a damage claim by when? |
| 10 | Guest data | Who is the controller, who is the processor, and is there a data processing agreement? |
| 11 | Reporting and access | What does the monthly report contain, and when does it arrive? |
| 12 | Term, exit and disputes | How long does it run, how does it end, and what happens to future bookings? |
The 12 clauses
Each clause has two parts: what it covers, and why it matters. None of it is contract wording; your lawyer writes that.
1. Parties, property and permits
What it covers. The legal names, addresses and company numbers of both sides, the exact unit, and who is the registered operator towards the authorities. It also lists the permits and numbers the unit holds, such as a Flemish registration number or a fire safety certificate.
Why it matters. The Flemish accommodation decree applies whether the operator offers the unit directly or through an intermediary. Its nine basic conditions include registration with Toerisme Vlaanderen, a valid fire safety certificate, fire and liability insurance, and proof of ownership or a lease that allows the letting. Platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com ask for the registration number under the EU short-term rental regulation, and Toerisme Vlaanderen says a change to the decree focused on registration follows later in 2026.4 If the contract does not name the operator, nobody is clearly responsible for any of this. For Brussels, Wallonia and the Netherlands, see Airbnb rules in Belgium and the Netherlands.
2. Services included and excluded
What it covers. What you do (listing set-up, pricing, guest messages, check-in, cleaning and linen, maintenance call-outs, damage claims, reporting), what you don’t do (renovations, furnishing, the owner’s tax return, disputes with neighbours) and what extras cost. It also states your Airbnb permission level: full access lets a co-host manage the listing, pricing and reservations, and see their own earnings dashboard.6
Why it matters. A task nobody wrote down becomes a task each side assumes the other is doing. An exclusion list is also what lets you charge for extra work without an argument.
3. Commission rate and commission base
What it covers. The percentage, the amount it is calculated on (the commission base), whether VAT is added to your commission, how cancellations, refunds and direct bookings count, and any minimum monthly fee.
Why it matters. A percentage without a base is not a price. Most Airbnb hosts on the single fee pay 15.5% of the nightly price plus fees they charge, such as cleaning, and Airbnb charges VAT on that host fee, although in some countries a host registered for VAT who adds a VAT number is not charged it.78 Every euro that comes off before your percentage applies changes what you earn. Fee detail is in Airbnb vs Booking.com fees; what managers charge is in Airbnb co-host fees.
Worked example: The same 20% on four different bases
One Airbnb stay at a Belgian listing whose host lives in Belgium and is not registered for VAT: 3 nights at €100 plus a €50 cleaning fee, so €350. The host-only fee is 15.5% of €350, which is €54.25, plus VAT at Belgium’s 21% standard rate on that fee, which is €11.39.789 The payout is €284.36. The cleaner is paid €50.
A 20% commission on one €350 booking, by commission base
| Commission base | Base amount | Commission at 20% | Left for the owner after cleaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross booking value | €350.00 | €70.00 | €164.36 |
| Accommodation only, cleaning fee excluded | €300.00 | €60.00 | €174.36 |
| Payout after Airbnb’s fee | €284.36 | €56.87 | €177.49 |
| Payout after Airbnb’s fee and cleaning cost | €234.36 | €46.87 | €187.49 |
The gap between the first and last row is €23.13 on one stay. Airbnb calculates its own percentage payouts for co-hosts on the host’s earnings after the host service fee, so a 20% payout that includes the cleaning fee lands on the third row.10 The table leaves out tourist tax, any VAT on the accommodation and the owner’s running costs. Illustration built from the figures above, not a prediction.
To run the same maths over a year with your own numbers, use the revenue calculator.
4. Costs, pass-throughs and repair approval limits
What it covers. Who pays for cleaning, linen, consumables, utilities, internet, software and repairs; whether you pass costs on at cost or with a margin; a euro limit up to which you may approve a repair alone, with an exception for emergencies; and whether the owner keeps a float with you for small expenses.
Why it matters. When the boiler fails on a Friday night with guests in the unit, you need to know whether you can call a technician without first reaching the owner. Which recurring inspections this clause has to cover depends on the unit’s heating and region; the maintenance schedule lists the legal intervals in Flanders, Brussels and the Netherlands.
5. Listing, account, photos and reviews
What it covers. Whose Airbnb and Booking.com accounts hold the listing, who owns the photos and listing text, and what happens to the listing and its reviews when the agreement ends.
Why it matters. Guest reviews and ratings show on the listing page and the listing owner’s profile.2 Airbnb says there is no way to transfer ownership of an account or to move information or bookings between accounts.3 If the listing sits on your account, the owner cannot take the review history along; if it sits on the owner’s, neither can you, although on Airbnb’s Co-Host Network guest ratings and reviews also show on the profile of a co-host who supported the home.2 Both set-ups can work. Deciding after a dispute starts is what goes wrong.
6. Money flow and payouts
What it covers. Who receives the platform payouts and how the other side is paid: a co-host payout set up in Airbnb, a monthly invoice from you to the owner, or payouts to your account with a transfer to the owner. It also covers payment dates and refunds after a payout.
Why it matters. Only the listing owner can set up or edit a co-host’s payouts, and a co-host cannot see the owner’s payout method or tax details.6 Airbnb offers the cleaning fee, a percentage, a fixed amount or the cleaning fee plus a percentage, and the co-host has 14 days to confirm a proposal. Co-host payouts do not change the amount Airbnb reports for the listing owner for tax purposes.10 How managers split payouts in practice is in Airbnb co-host fees. Receiving the owner’s money on your own account is a bigger step: it is money you hold for someone else, and the BIV lists collecting rents among the rentmeester’s tasks.5 Ask your lawyer before you choose that route.
7. Pricing authority and owner use
What it covers. Who sets nightly rates, the lowest and highest rate you may use, minimum stays, discounts and pricing tools. It also covers how the owner blocks dates for personal use, how much notice they give, and who pays for cleaning after an owner stay.
Why it matters. A written floor rate means a pricing tool cannot sell the home below a price the owner agreed. A late owner block lands on a booking someone must cancel, or on dates you already priced to sell, so write down who carries the consequences. See dynamic pricing for Airbnb for how rate rules work.
8. Compliance: registration, taxes and platform details
What it covers. Who registers the unit and keeps the registration and fire safety certificate current, who collects and pays tourist tax, and who checks whether the letting is liable for VAT. It also names who gives Airbnb the tax details for DAC7 reporting and who completes the business host verification.
Why it matters. Missed, these tasks stop the income. Under DAC7, Airbnb reports hosts and co-hosts who live in the EU or earn from EU listings, including amounts paid and days rented, and freezes a host’s payouts after notice if required tax details are missing. It also tells managers who list homes on their own account that they may be responsible for reporting the owner’s DAC7 information.11 A business host in the EU must give Airbnb business details for verification, and the listings stay hidden from guests until that is complete.12 Flemish operators who do not meet the decree’s conditions risk an administrative fine, and a unit without a fire safety certificate can be ordered to close.4 For the EU rules behind registration numbers, see EU short-term rental regulation 2024/1028.
9. Insurance, liability and damage
What it covers. The owner’s building and contents insurance and whether it covers short-term letting, liability cover for the letting, your own professional liability cover, and any cap on what either side can claim from the other. It also says who files a damage claim, by when, and who keeps what is recovered.
Why it matters. Flanders requires the operator to hold fire and liability insurance.4 Airbnb’s host damage protection is not insurance, and a request must be made within 14 days of the guest’s checkout.13 A full-access co-host can manage those requests as the host’s agent, and the host is bound by how the co-host resolves them.1 Booking.com lets a property request a damage fee up to 14 days after the stay and acts only as an intermediary.14 With two weeks on both platforms, let whoever inspects the unit after checkout start the claim. More in guest damage and insurance.
10. Guest data and privacy roles
What it covers. Which guest data you handle (names, phone numbers, ID details if you collect them, door codes), where you store it, how long you keep it, and whether you act as a controller or a processor, with or without a data processing agreement.
Why it matters. According to the Dutch data protection authority, the GDPR requires a written agreement with set contents when a controller uses a processor, and both parties are in breach if it is missing. The same authority says the party that actually decides the purpose and means of the processing is the controller, whatever the contract says.15 So describe what you really do with guest data, and let your lawyer decide which role fits.
11. Reporting and access
What it covers. What the monthly owner report contains (bookings, revenue, platform fees, costs, commission, occupancy, reviews, incidents, compliance status), the day it arrives, access to the unit for inspections, and who holds keys and codes.
Why it matters. The owner should be able to check your commission against the platform payouts without asking you, and the report becomes the record both sides use if you ever disagree.
12. Term, termination, handover and disputes
What it covers. The start date, any trial period, the notice period, the reasons for ending at once, and who hosts and earns on bookings already made for dates after the end. It also covers the handover of keys, codes, supplier contacts and listing access, the governing law, disputes and where notices go.
Why it matters. A co-host removed on Airbnb gets no co-host payouts for bookings that start after the removal, and the host stays responsible for current and future requests, including ones the co-host accepted.16 The host also stays responsible for what the co-host did before the end.1 In Flanders, a change of operator must be reported to Toerisme Vlaanderen straight away.4 Local law can override your notice period. The Dutch civil code lets the client end a contract for services at any time. If the client is a private individual, not acting in a business or profession, the contract cannot take that right away, and ending it costs no damages, although expenses and a reasonable part of the fee can still be due.17 Whether your owner counts as that kind of client is a question for your lawyer.
Before you sign: the building and the owner’s own rights
A good agreement does not help if the owner is not allowed to let the home. Check two things before the first booking, and record in clause 1 that they were checked.
The first is the building. In Belgium, according to the BIV, the association of co-owners (VME) cannot impose a general ban on renting out apartments, but the statutes can contain a specific ban, such as on letting through any online platform or as a holiday home, and adding one needs a 4/5 majority of the votes at the general meeting.18 Read the current statutes and ask the syndic whether a change is on the next agenda. In the Netherlands, ask for the VvE’s rules and have your lawyer read them.
The second is the owner’s title. Under the Dutch civil code, a tenant of residential property may not give the home, in whole or in part, to someone else to use; the one exception is a tenant who lives in a self-contained home as their main residence, who may give part of it.17 In Flanders, one of the basic conditions is proof of ownership or a lease that allows the letting.4 If your “owner” is a tenant, you are closer to rental arbitrage than to management, and the landlord’s written consent comes first.
From checklist to contract
Airbnb’s co-host terms say some places require service providers to register, get a permit or hold a licence, and that property management may require a licensed real estate broker.1 That is why this guide stops at the checklist. Bring these to the first meeting with your lawyer:
- The checklist table above, with your intended answer to each question.
- The owner’s documents: title deed or lease, building statutes, registration number and fire safety certificate if the unit has them.
- Your Airbnb set-up: whose account, which co-host permissions and which payout option.
- A worked commission example in euros, like the one in clause 3.
- Your questions for this country: licensing, how the contract can be ended, and your role for guest data.
Once the contract is signed, the first owner report is where it proves itself. Before you start, set expectations with a revenue projection an owner can check.
Questions people ask
Do I need a written contract to co-host on Airbnb?
Airbnb says hosts and co-hosts agree the services between themselves and that it is not a party to that agreement.1 Without a written contract, nothing records the commission base, who pays for damage or how it ends. Put it in writing before the first booking, and have a lawyer draft it.
Who should own the Airbnb listing, the owner or the co-host?
There is no single right answer, but decide before the first booking. Guest reviews show on the listing owner’s profile, and Airbnb cannot transfer an account or move bookings between accounts.23 On the owner’s account, the owner keeps the listing and its reviews when you part ways; on yours, you keep them and the owner starts again.
Should commission be on gross or net revenue?
The contract has to say which, with a euro example. On one illustrative €350 Airbnb booking, 20% comes to €70.00 on gross booking value and €46.87 on what is left after Airbnb’s fee and the cleaning cost. A gross base is easier for the owner to check; a net base shares cost changes between you. See Airbnb co-host fees for what managers charge.
Do I need a licence to manage short-term rentals in Belgium?
It is not settled. The BIV says anyone who practises as a self-employed property manager (vastgoedmakelaar-rentmeester), full-time or on the side, needs personal BIV accreditation.5 We found no official source that says whether managing short-stay listings for a commission counts. Ask a Belgian lawyer before you sign your first owner.
Can I use a US co-hosting agreement template in Europe?
Use one as a list of topics at most. A template written for the US is not built around EU and local rules such as DAC7 tax reporting, Airbnb’s EU business host verification, GDPR processor terms or the Dutch civil code’s rules on ending a contract for services.11121517 Have a lawyer in the country where the property is draft the contract.
Sources
All sources checked .
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Co-Host Additional Terms of Service”, last updated 12 March 2024
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Ratings and reviews for co-hosts”
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Merging accounts or transferring ownership”
- Toerisme Vlaanderen (Vlaanderen Vakantieland), “Het Vlaamse Logiesdecreet”, in Dutch, last updated 19 August 2026
- BIV (Beroepsinstituut van Vastgoedmakelaars), “Over de vastgoedmakelaar”, in Dutch
- Airbnb Help Centre, “What co-hosts can do”
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Airbnb service fees”
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Value Added Tax (VAT) and how it applies to you”
- Your Europe (European Union), “VAT rules and rates”
- Airbnb Help Centre, “How co-host payouts work”
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Tax data sharing under DAC7”
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Verifying and displaying business information as an EU host”
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Host damage protection”
- Booking.com, “Damage policy notice”
- Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, “Verwerkersovereenkomst”, the Dutch data protection authority, in Dutch
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Remove a co-host from your listing”
- Overheid.nl, “Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 7”, Dutch civil code, articles 7:244, 7:406, 7:408, 7:411, 7:413 and 7:414, version in force from 1 July 2026
- BIV (Beroepsinstituut van Vastgoedmakelaars), “Vastgoedkwesties: concrete situaties, concrete antwoorden”, in Dutch
We check every figure against the sources above. Spotted something out of date? Email systemen@hostproacademy.com with the guide title.
About HostPro Academy
The team behind this guide
These guides are written by the team behind HostPro Academy, a training programme for building a short-term rental management business. The finding and signing owners part of that programme is covered in level 3 and lesson 4.3.