Vacation Rental Software Support: Online User Manual: Section 5 - Online Rental Agreements
About Online Rental Agreements
If you're like most other people, you probably haven't taken the time to make sure that you the proper rental contract in place with your renters. Also, how do you know that you're charging enough for your security deposit? Odds are, things will go smooth with your rentals on the most part, however, from time to time, you will get a bad renter and that bad renter will spoil your outlook on renters to come for the future. So, don't wait to have a bad rental or have your house trashed by a party or any other unfortunate event that may occur when having renters in your home.
Tips for Creating your Online Rental Agreement
Please Note: It's important to find a good attorney to review whatever contract you may write since rules & regulations in each area differ regarding the short term vacation rental industry.
There are a few important points to stress in any good rental contract. If your current contract doesn't have some of these points, then it's important to review your contract:
Define Short Term Rental
It's important to define that the rental contract is a short term "transient" rental contract. By definition a "transient" rental falls under 30 days. There are certain rules and regulations that make a short term rental different than a long term rental. Check with your local municipality, state and federal regulations regarding these laws.
Define the Rental Period
Of course, it' important to define the rental period that the renter will be occupying the premises for. The rental period should also describe the check-in time and check-out time. Standard check-in time is usually between 3 and 4 pm and standard checkout time is usually between 10 and 11 am.
Late Fees
It's important to define your late fee for your property. While not a pleasant thing, you may sometimes get renters who stick around for a longer time than agreed upon. Sometimes this may be okay, but other times when you have rentals back to back, it's important to get your renters out in the morning, get the house cleaned, and then the next renters in the same afternoon. The amount you charge is up to you, but it should be proportionate to the rental amount per hour at an increased multiple. For example, if your house rents for $240 per night, then that equals out to $24 / hour, a fair charge may be $50 per hour or some other rate per hour that they stay beyond the agreed upon checkout time.
Rental Rates
One of the most important aspects of your rental agreement is the rental rate with full detail on daily charge, number of days the guest is staying, sub total, cleaning charge, applicable taxes, security deposit and any other fees (such as lockout fees if a renter locks him/herself out, etc.) related to the rental stay. The more detail you provide in this section, the better.
Refund and Cancellation Policy
A refund/cancellation policy is also critical to your rental agreement along with payment terms. It's important to detail what your policy is relating to refunds & cancellations. Industry standard dictates that a small deposit is normally due upon booking unless that booking is within 45 to 60 days. Other owners will refund the rental rate if they're able to book the house for another party during the same period of time. It's important for you to determine your own policies and clearly state them in your rental agreement.
Legal Stuff
Other things to consider are clauses such as arbitration, governing law (what state, county, municipality, etc.) that will govern the agreement in the case of a dispute.