Last minute cancellation

[tow1709==Trevor]

Not a cancellation by a holiday maker, but by the property owner himself.  I fear the situation where because of a flood, fire, collapse of drains etc, etc, the house is uninhabitable and I am unable, at the last minute, to honour an agreement to let my house for a short term holiday.  I want to put something in my rental agreement that covers me for this, that is fair to me and my prospective clients. For example, the client agrees that my liability is limited to refund of money they have paid me, if they have not yet departed from their own home. If they have actually arrived on the doorstep, maybe offer one night hotel accommodation for their party as well?

Has anyone got any experience of this or some good words for a rental agreement that cover this sort of thing?

Do Chez Nous or any of the other similar organisations offer a service for finding an emergency replacement holiday accommodation in such an event?

Grateful for any thoughts on the subject.

 

[vrooje<BR>Cheers,<br>-Brooke<BR><br><B><A TARGET=blank HREF="http:www.experienceburgundy.com">http:www.experienceburgundy.com<A><B>]

Our rental contract states that we reserve the right to make emergency repairs, and that we will do everything possible to find a suitable replacement for the client if it becomes necessary.

We have actually had to use this once, but we knew about it slightly in advance and were able to find another gite nearby that had a vacancy.

I do think that if a client pays you and shows up at your door and only finds out then that the place isn't suitable (for whatever reason), you're responsible for their accomodation for the entirety of their stay -- you don't have to put them up at the Ritz-Carlton, but you should put a roof over their heads until they find a suitable alternative. Thankfully this hasn't yet happened to us!

[CatherineS2]

We have the following clauses in our rental contract:

The Lessor reserves the right to cancel any holiday at any time, with a full refund of all monies paid, if necessary due to circumstances beyond their control.

and

The Lessor will not be liable for any temporary defect or stoppage in the supply of public services to the Property, nor in respect of any equipment, plant, machinery or appliance in the Property or garden, for any loss, damage or injury which is the result of adverse weather conditions, riot, civil war, strikes or other matters beyond their control.
The Lessor will not be liable for any loss, damage or inconvenience caused or suffered by the Lessee if the Property shall be destroyed or substantially damaged before the start of the rental period. In such an event the Lessor will, within seven days of the notification to the Lessee, refund to the Lessee all sums previously paid in respect of the rental period.
Under no circumstances shall the Lessor’s liability to the Lessee exceed the amount paid by the Lessee for the rental period.

I realise it sounds very formal, but I think it is necessary to be covered for this type of eventuality. So far, thankfully, we have not had to use it. We did have a problem in December when there was a hurricane in Normandy and our chimney collapsed. Luckily we were able to get roofers in to repair the initial damage immediately, but the family who were arriving a few days later for their logfire Christmas holiday had to do without the logfire in the living room (although the insert fireplace in the kitchen was still working). We were under no obligation to offer any comensation, but I did refund them £50 for the inconvenience and they were very happy with that. 

Hope this helps.

[Missy]

[quote]Not a cancellation by a holiday maker, but by the property owner himself. I fear the situation where because of a flood, fire, collapse of drains etc, etc, the house is uninhabitable and I am unable,...[/quote]

I always phone around my area if they have similar accommodation to offer. If so I would ring the holiday makers and say/grovel/grovel sorry but we have had this/that problem etc.. but they will be more than welcomed at that address on my recommendation, I have inspected the place and it is of the same standard etc... and at NO extra charge to them as the deposit paid to me I have transfered to the new place. Any balance owed to be paid at the new place. If any difference over I will pay (goodwill gesture), difference under they keep the change.

Most people will realise that you have done your utmost to accommodate them.

It has happened to me 4 years ago after having trouble to get a long winter let out of the cottage. After X amount of letters to solicitors and court time we finally had the pested lot out quite late in the summer. On entering the property it was an absolute mayhem of trash/filth/vandalism. We basically had to gut the place out and start again!! So this particular year my accountant was not too pleased and my lot was a write off.

In the mean time I had all these bookings arriving. Some bookings I receive are for a year in advance!! So for the whole of that summer I had no end of relocating people. In 75% of the case they accepted my offers for which I was very pleased.

It is worth having a clause in your contract to guard against that kind of problem. Possibly get legal advice as to how you word it.

That is where working with an agency you get more protection than working on your own.

The agency's shoulders and insurance liabilities are somewhat bigger than yours...

[Eslier]

As I understand it, where a guest has made advance payment (either a deposit or full payment) it needs to be made clear whether this is deemed to be "un accompte" or an "arrhes". There are clear legal distinctions between the two.

With an "arrhes" the gite owner's liability is limmited to twice the rental amount already reaceived. With "un accompte" liability can be unlimited if the guest can prove, in court, that the gite owner is in breach of contract.

On the other foot, however, with an arrhes the guest can only be held responsible to lose the deposit paid if he or she cancels the booking. With "un accompte" the guest is liable for the full rental amount if cancelling.

In most cases the "arrhes" option is favourable to gite owners. Two things need to be made clear in your booking contract. Firstly, you need to make it clear that the contract is made in france and French law applies. Secondly you need to state that all payments made in advance of the commencement of the rental period will be deemed to be an "arrhes". That should cover you if the worst happens !