Vehicle rental agreement template

Vehicle Rental Agreement

Parties: Owner · Renter

1. Purpose

This agreement sets out the terms on which the Owner rents the vehicle described below to the Renter for the rental period, and what each party must do. It is a rental only and does not transfer ownership or give the Renter an option to buy.

2. Vehicle and documents

Vehicle: [[Type, make, model, colour and registration number]]

Odometer at handover: [[Reading]] Fuel or charge level at handover: [[Level]]

Equipment included: [[Spare wheel, tools, child seats, navigation, accessories, or none]]

The Owner gives the Renter the documents of the vehicle that must be carried in it. The Owner confirms that the vehicle is registered and roadworthy, that it has passed any inspection that the law that applies requires and that it is insured as stated under Insurance and excess.

3. Rental period

The rental period runs from [[Start date and time]] to [[End date and time]]. The Renter may ask to extend it, and an extension takes effect only when the Owner has confirmed it in writing or in electronic form.

If the vehicle is not returned on time, the Renter pays for each extra [[hour / day]] the rate in the price schedule, increased by [[Percentage]]%, without this extending the rental period. If the return is more than [[24]] hours overdue and the Renter does not respond, the Owner may collect the vehicle at the Renter’s cost.

4. Drivers and licences

Only the Renter and the additional drivers named here may drive the vehicle: [[Names of additional drivers, or none]]

Each driver holds a driving licence that is valid for the class of vehicle and for the places where it is driven, and has held it for at least [[1]] year(s) and is at least [[21]] years old, as far as the law that applies allows such conditions. The Renter shows each driver’s licence at handover.

The Renter is responsible for the acts of all drivers as for its own.

5. Rent, mileage and fuel

The Renter pays the rent shown in the price schedule of this contract. The rent includes [[Included kilometres, e.g. 200 km per day, or unlimited]]; each additional kilometre costs [[Rate per extra kilometre]].

The Renter returns the vehicle with the same fuel or charge level as at handover. Otherwise the Owner may charge the fuel or electricity at cost, plus [[Refuelling fee, or none]]. The rent excludes tax unless the price schedule says otherwise.

6. Deposit

The Renter pays a deposit of [[Amount]] before or at handover. The Owner holds it as security for the rent, damage, the excess, fines and other amounts due under this agreement, and returns it within [[14]] days after the vehicle is returned and inspected, less the documented amounts it is entitled to deduct, with an itemised statement. No interest is paid on the deposit unless the law requires it.

7. Handover and condition

At handover the parties inspect the vehicle together and sign a handover report that records its condition, existing scratches and damage, the odometer reading, the fuel or charge level and the equipment, with photographs where possible. The Renter notes anything that is missing or damaged in the report.

The vehicle is delivered clean and in a safe, roadworthy condition. The report is the reference for the inspection on return.

8. Use of the vehicle

The Renter uses the vehicle lawfully and with care, in line with the traffic rules and the owner’s manual, and only within [[Permitted area, e.g. the country or region]] unless the Owner agrees to other places in writing or in electronic form.

The vehicle must not be used for races, rallies or driving lessons, for towing unless the Owner agrees, for carrying more passengers or load than is allowed, for dangerous goods, for carrying people or goods for payment, off public roads, under the influence of alcohol, drugs or medicine that impairs driving, or for any criminal purpose.

The Renter does not sublet or pass on the vehicle, does not modify it, locks it when it is left and keeps the keys safe. Smoking and pets in the vehicle: [[Rules on smoking and pets in the vehicle]]

9. Insurance and excess

The vehicle is insured as the law that applies requires, and the cover included in the rent is: [[Insurance cover included, e.g. liability and collision damage]] The Owner tells the Renter the main terms of the insurance before handover.

For damage to the vehicle that the insurance covers, the Renter pays an excess of [[Amount]] per incident.

Where the Renter or another driver causes damage by breaching the clause on the use of the vehicle, for example by driving without a valid licence or under the influence of alcohol, the insurance and this agreement do not protect the Renter, as far as the insurance terms and the law that applies allow, and the Renter bears the loss.

10. Accidents, theft and breakdown

After an accident, theft or breakdown the Renter makes sure that people are safe, calls the emergency services where needed and tells the Owner within [[24]] hours. For an accident with injury, damage to others or damage that is not minor, and for theft, the Renter reports it to the police and gives the Owner the report.

The Renter does not admit fault, does not agree to any payment and does not have the vehicle repaired without the Owner’s consent, and fills in the accident report form together with the Owner.

If the breakdown is not caused by the Renter, the Owner arranges assistance and, where it can, a replacement vehicle, and the rent for the days the vehicle cannot be used is refunded in proportion.

11. Fines, tolls and charges

The Renter pays traffic fines, parking charges, tolls, congestion and road charges and similar fees incurred during the rental. If the Owner has to deal with such a charge, the Renter also pays an administration fee of [[Amount, or none]].

The Owner may give the Renter’s name and address to the authority that asks for them where the law requires or allows it. The Owner passes on to the Renter without delay the notices it receives for the rental period.

12. Return and damage charges

At the end of the rental period the Renter returns the vehicle at [[Place of return]], clean, with the equipment, the keys, the documents and the fuel or charge level required.

The parties inspect the vehicle together against the handover report. If the Renter does not attend, the Owner inspects alone and sends the report with photographs within [[3]] business days, and the Renter may object within [[5]] business days.

The Owner charges, at cost and with an itemised statement within [[14]] days: repairs of damage beyond normal wear and tear (up to the excess where insurance covers the damage), cleaning if the vehicle is returned very dirty at [[Amount]], missing equipment at replacement cost, and fuel or charge as stated above.

13. Termination

Either party may terminate this agreement by notice in writing or in electronic form if the other party seriously breaches it and does not remedy the breach within [[3]] days of being asked to.

The Owner may terminate at once and take the vehicle back if the Renter uses it in breach of the clause on the use of the vehicle, lets an unauthorised person drive it, is more than [[3]] days late with a payment or gives false information about a driving licence.

The Renter may end the rental early by returning the vehicle; unused full days are refunded less [[Early return fee, or none]].

14. Liability

The Owner is not liable for belongings left in the vehicle, and is liable for the loss of use of the vehicle only as stated under Accidents, theft and breakdown. The Renter is liable for loss of or damage to the vehicle as stated in this agreement, and for harm that it or another driver causes to others as far as the insurance and the law that applies do not already cover it.

Except for intent, gross negligence, personal injury or where the law does not allow a limitation, each party’s total liability for other loss under this agreement is limited to [[Amount]].

15. Governing law and disputes

This agreement is governed by the law stated under Governing law. The parties will first try to settle any dispute in good faith. Otherwise the courts stated under Jurisdiction decide, unless mandatory law provides otherwise.

Payment terms

The rent is payable in advance at or before handover. Additional charges, fines and damage charges are payable within [[14]] days of receiving the itemised invoice, by bank transfer to the account stated on the invoice or by [[card / other payment method]].

Governing law

[[Country or state whose law applies]]

Jurisdiction

[[Courts that decide disputes, e.g. the courts of your city]]