Upvote:14
Common sense and decency suggest that if you break something in your host's home beyond what would be considered normal wear and tear, you should compensate them the cost of repairing the damage. As for whether this is legally enforceable, depending on the jurisdiction the host may be able to sue you in small claims court or similar. And they can certainly leave you a negative review on the AirBnB website.
When I accidentally caused minor damage in a host's apartment, I left some cash based on my estimate of the cost to repair it, which the host appreciated and did not escalate to AirBnB - a win for both sides.