Short Term Rental Agreements
I feel sort of devil advocate here, but not everyone who rents uses a contract. Ron P. who seems like one of the bigger TUG renters says he never uses a contract. He just outlines the terms, I would imagine by email.
I call what I use an agreement but I guess it is a contract. It is chock full of terms that protect me. Really not much for the one renting. The only provision I put in (and I know most here do not), is that if their is an act of god type situation and the resort won't re-accommodate in equivalent units, I will take the hit in terms of refunding rental fee for the days affected and I will fight it out with the resort. Other than that most of the agreement outlines what they can't do, damages they would be responsible for and when I need to have my money and how they can pay. Depending on the lead time, I either have us both sign or send the terms with both names on the agreement and simply state that payment of the deposit means the one renting accepts the terms I have sent.
Only on very rare occasions do we ever rent out any of our weeks, but always use a rental agreement when we do so. I will enumerate the benefits of a formal short term rental agreement below. From the resort standpoint, damage responsibility beyond occupant cc deposit amount always falls right back on the owner,
regardless of any private contract content, essentially requiring the owner to "chase" any damaging renter themselves via the courts for any
excess damage cost beyond cc authorization.
1. Check-in / check out dates and times (and even day of the week) being very clearly specified in writing and acknowledged under mutual signature completely avoids any potential "misunderstandings", whether truly innocent or deliberately contrived, very specifically defining the time frame of access and occupancy available to the renter.
2. Minimum age 25 specified (with advance written notification that resort
will verify same upon check-in); avoids inadvertent rental to the "Spring Break" college crowd.
I could curl your hair with various horror stories observed first hand involving this bunch (although yes, I admit to having once been young, stupid and irresponsible too).
3. Cancellation, payment and refund policy being very specifically spelled out and agreed in advance under mutual signature obviously avoids any "misunderstandings" later, if issues arise. Renter cancellation consequences (and defined time frames for same) are particularly important to protect the owner, who still owes his / her maintenance fees for that week whether the place ultimately sits empty or not.
4. Ditto for specifying unit size identification. "I thought I was getting a 2BR unit, but now I find out that it's really only 1BR and I'm not happy" is not a conversation that I for one ever particularly need or want to have.
5. Ditto for specifying maximum occupancy, in writing and in advance. Renters showing up with a number of people exceeding resort (and / or local fire code) maximums is potentially a very big problem, but one easily avoided when occupancy limit is plainly specified in advance and in writing, agreed to under mutual signature.
6. I always specifically prohibit any "sublet". I don't need or want a late-cancelling renter contriving their own "I'm not just losing all my money" solution by finding someone on their own, whose identity is entirely unknown to me (the owner)
or to the resort if / when an unknown name suddenly appears at the desk attempting to check in.
7. No Pets, in writing, under mutual signature. "No one ever told me that I
couldn't bring little Fleabite Fluffy and Mitebitten Mr. Mittens" is yet another conversation that I personally don't
ever need or want to have. Pets are almost always prohibited by the resort itself, but I still make it a matter of advance written record anyhow.
Last but not least, having a formal rental agreement, with clear identification of both Owner and Renter, is not something upon which people of dubious intent generally want to affix their signature. Any "landlord" who won't provide and sign a formal rental agreement is not someone with whom I would ever choose to do business.
Any smart and careful renter should insist on one too. A renter who
won't execute one can just move on and rent from someone else --- perhaps from Ronnie.
YMMV. As always, to each his / her own.
P.S. From a legal standpoint, good luck with trying to ever actually enforce rental terms expressed and contained only within swapped email messages...