Holiday rental agreement, Wren Cottage

Holiday rental agreement template with house rules and a damage bond

A short stay booking is a contract that lasts a week and is argued about for a month afterwards. This agreement prices the seven nights line by line, sets the damage bond as a pre authorisation with a seven day claim window, and puts the house rules where the guest signs rather than on a laminated card in the kitchen.

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Wren Cottage
18 Salt Marsh Lane, Pelican Bay · stay@wrencottage.example · Booking WC-2027-118
Holiday rental agreement · Wren Cottage · Booking WC-2027-118Page 1 of 4
Holiday rental agreement · Wren Cottage · Booking WC-2027-118Page 2 of 4
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Holiday rental agreement · Wren Cottage · Booking WC-2027-118Page 4 of 4
Holiday rental agreement

This agreement is made on 6 August 2027 between Alina Brecht, owner of Wren Cottage at 18 Salt Marsh Lane, Pelican Bay, called the owner, and Daniel Kovac, called the guest, for seven nights from Saturday 18 December 2027 to Saturday 25 December 2027 for four adults and two children. The guest books, pays, stays, and is responsible for everyone in the party.

7
Nights
$3,190
Total stay
$500
Damage bond
6
Guests
1. The booking and what it costs
Nights
Count
A night
Amount
Sat 18 to Fri 24 December, peak
6
$420.00
$2,520.00
Fri 24 December, Christmas Eve
1
$490.00
$490.00
Cleaning, charged once
1
$180.00
$180.00
Total for the stay
$3,190.00
1.1
Deposit and balance
A deposit of $800 is paid within 48 hours of booking and holds the dates. The balance of $2,390 is due 30 days before arrival, on 18 November 2027. A balance unpaid seven days after its due date lets the owner cancel the booking and keep the deposit.
1.2
The damage bond
A damage bond of $500 is held as a pre authorisation on the card of the guest from three days before arrival until seven days after departure. It is not a cleaning fee and is not taken unless there is a cost to cover. A claim against it is itemised in writing with photographs within seven days of departure, and anything not claimed by then is released.
2. Arriving and leaving
What
When
How
Check in
From 3.00 pm
Key safe by the side gate, code sent the day before
Check out
By 10.00 am
Key back in the safe, door locked, code scrambled
Late departure
To 1.00 pm
$60, agreed in writing, not available on a turnover day
2.1
What the guest does before leaving
The guest starts the dishwasher, puts the bins out at the front, strips the beds, turns off the heating and closes the windows. The cleaning fee covers the rest. Where the cottage needs more than the usual clean, the extra time is charged at $55 an hour against the bond.
3. House rules
1.
Six guests stay overnight, the number on this agreement, and a visitor does not stay the night without the owner agreeing in writing.
2.
No parties, no functions and no commercial photography, and no smoking or vaping inside.
3.
No pets, because a member of the household next door is allergic and the cottage is cleaned for that.
4.
Quiet between 10.00 pm and 7.00 am, and music outside is off by 9.00 pm.
5.
Cars park in the driveway and on the gravel apron, never on the verge or the marsh side of the lane.
6.
The fire pit is used only when there is no fire ban and is never left unattended.
7.
Children are supervised at the water at all times, and the gate to the jetty stays closed.
8.
The kayaks and the two bicycles are used at the risk of the guest, with the helmets and vests provided, and nothing is moved between rooms.
9.
The guest tells the owner the same day about any breakage, which is usually not charged when it is reported.
4. Cancelling and changing the booking
Guest cancels
Deposit
Balance
More than 60 days before arrival
Refunded in full
Not yet due
30 to 60 days before arrival
Kept by the owner
Not yet due
14 to 29 days before arrival
Kept by the owner
Half refunded
Under 14 days, or no arrival
Kept by the owner
Not refunded
Guest cancels
Deposit
Balance
More than 60 days before arrival
Refunded in full
Not yet due
30 to 60 days before arrival
Kept by the owner
Not yet due
14 to 29 days before arrival
Kept by the owner
Half refunded
Under 14 days, or no arrival
Kept by the owner
Not refunded
Guest cancels
Deposit
Balance
More than 60 days before arrival
Refunded in full
Not yet due
30 to 60 days before arrival
Kept by the owner
Not yet due
14 to 29 days before arrival
Kept by the owner
Half refunded
Under 14 days, or no arrival
Kept by the owner
Not refunded
4.1
Where the dates are rebooked
If the owner rebooks the cancelled dates, the guest is refunded whatever the owner receives for them, less $120 for the cost of rebooking. The guest may change the dates once, more than 60 days before arrival, to any dates in the next 12 months, subject to availability and the new rate.
4.2
If the owner cannot provide the cottage
Where the cottage cannot be used because of damage, a failure of water or power, or an order from an authority, the owner tells the guest as soon as it knows, offers other dates, and refunds everything paid for any night not stayed. The owner is not liable beyond that refund, so the guest is encouraged to hold travel insurance.
5. Liability and general
5.1
Use of the cottage and the things in it
The guest and the party use the cottage, the jetty, the kayaks and the bicycles at their own risk, and the owner is not liable for injury or loss except where the owner caused it. The guest is responsible for damage caused by anyone in the party, beyond fair wear, and belongings left behind are held for 30 days. Notices are given by email to the addresses used for the booking, a change to the dates, party size or rate takes effect only in writing, and this agreement replaces anything said in the booking messages.
6. Signing
6.1
Both parties sign, and the stay is then confirmed
The owner sends this agreement with the booking confirmation. The guest signs and returns it within five days, and the owner returns a copy signed by both. The dates are held once the signed copy and the deposit are both received, and the door code is sent the day before arrival.
Alina Brecht, owner
Name
:
Date
:
Daniel Kovac, guest
Name
:
Date
:

Section by section

What each section is for, so you can keep the ones you need and drop the rest.

Parties and key facts
The owner, the cottage, the guest and the dates, with nights, total, bond and guest count.
1. The booking and what it costs
The nightly rate table reaching $3,190, the deposit and balance dates, and the damage bond.
2. Arriving and leaving
Check in, check out and late departure in a table, and the short list of jobs before leaving.
3. House rules
Nine numbered rules with the reason behind each one.
4. Cancelling and changing the booking
The cancellation table by days out, rebooking credit, date changes and owner cancellation.
5. Liability and general
Use at own risk, responsibility for damage, belongings left behind, notices and variations.
6. Signing
Signed and returned within five days, and when the dates are actually held.
Signatures
A block for the owner and one for the guest.

Clauses in this document

How to adapt this agreement

For a property managed through a booking platform, delete the deposit and balance clause and point to the platform payment terms instead, because two payment schedules in two places is how double charges happen, and keep the house rules and the damage clause since platforms rarely cover either well. For a pet friendly property, replace rule four with a pet clause naming the number and size, a pet fee, where the animal may sleep and a requirement to clean up the yard, and raise the bond. For a longer stay of a month or more, check whether residential tenancy law applies in the state where the property sits, because at some point a holiday let becomes a tenancy and this document stops being the right one.

What the bond really covers

Most bond disputes are not about a smashed window. They are about an extra three hours of cleaning, a missing set of linen, or a barbecue nobody scrubbed. That is why clause 2.1 lists five specific jobs and prices the overrun at $55 an hour rather than leaving cleanliness to judgement, and why the last house rule invites guests to report a breakage on the day with the promise that reported breakages are usually not charged. A guest who tells you the glass broke is a guest who did not hide it under the sink, and that trade is worth more than the glass.

What makes this document work

The rate table prices Christmas Eve separately

Six peak nights at $420, one Christmas Eve night at $490 and a single $180 clean, adding to $3,190. A guest who can see which night carries the premium does not feel ambushed by an average, and the deposit and balance in clause 1.1 reconcile to the same total.

The bond is a pre authorisation with an expiry

Five hundred dollars held from three days before arrival to seven days after departure, released automatically if nothing is claimed in that window. Clause 1.2 says it is not a cleaning fee and requires any claim to be itemised in writing with photographs, which is the part most short stay terms leave out.

The house rules explain themselves

No pets because a neighbour is allergic and the cottage is cleaned for that. The fire pit only when there is no fire ban. Breakages reported the same day are usually not charged. Rules with a reason behind them get followed, and clause 2.1 keeps the departure list short enough that guests actually do it.

Questions people ask

What should a holiday rental agreement include?

The dates and the party size, the nightly rate and what is included, the deposit and when the balance is due, the damage bond and how it is claimed, check in and check out times, the house rules, a cancellation ladder, and what happens if the property becomes unavailable.

How much should a damage bond be?

Enough to cover a broken appliance or an extra clean, not enough to cover a rebuild. Five hundred dollars on a $3,190 booking is a common ratio. Holding it as a card pre authorisation rather than a payment means most guests never have money leave their account at all.

Can the owner keep the bond for a breakage?

Only against an itemised claim. Clause 1.2 requires the claim in writing with photographs within seven days of departure and releases anything not claimed by then. Clause 5.1 makes the guest responsible for damage caused by anyone in the party, beyond fair wear.

What is a fair cancellation policy for a holiday rental?

One that steps down by date rather than refusing everything. This one refunds the deposit in full beyond 60 days, keeps it between 30 and 60, keeps it and half the balance between 14 and 29, and keeps everything inside 14 days, with clause 4.1 refunding whatever the owner earns from a rebooking less $120.

What happens if the cottage cannot be used?

Clause 4.2 covers damage, a failure of water or power, or an order from an authority. The owner tells the guest as soon as it knows, offers other dates, and refunds everything paid for any night not stayed. Liability stops at that refund, which is why the clause encourages travel insurance.

Can a guest bring extra people?

Not overnight. House rule one fixes the overnight party at the six named on the agreement and requires written agreement before a visitor stays the night. That number is not arbitrary: it drives the linen, the cleaning time, the septic load and often the insurance.

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Sources

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