H.R. 9708: Safety Enforcement for Children and Users through Rental Evaluation and Disclosure Act of 2026

This bill would require short-term rental platforms to ask property owners, before a listing is published, whether the owner is a registered child sex offender. If the owner says yes, the platform would have to show a clear public disclosure on the listing before a customer books it, along with a link to a public sex offender registry so the information can be checked independently.

The bill applies to covered platforms, meaning websites, apps, or similar services that facilitate short-term rentals. A short-term rental is defined as any dwelling or property rented for less than 9 consecutive months. A property owner includes someone who legally owns the property or otherwise has the right to rent it out, including through an agent.

Property owners who are registered child sex offenders would be required to answer the platform’s disclosure request and could not provide false information in response. The bill defines a registered child sex offender as someone required to register on a public sex offender registry because of a sexual offense committed against a person under 18.

Enforcement would be handled by the Federal Trade Commission. Violations would be treated as unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the FTC Act, which means the FTC could use its normal enforcement powers. State attorneys general and other state officials could also bring civil actions in federal court if they believe residents are harmed, and they could seek injunctions, compliance orders, damages, restitution, or other relief. The FTC would be notified of such state actions and could intervene.

The bill would take effect one year after it is enacted.

Relevant Companies

• ABNB — Airbnb, a major short-term rental platform, would likely need to change its listing and disclosure processes to comply with the new requirements.
• EXPE — Expedia Group, including its Vrbo short-term rental marketplace, could face compliance changes for host disclosures and public listing notices.
• BKNG — Booking Holdings, through brands that offer short-term rental listings in some markets, could be affected if its platforms are covered by the bill’s definition.