This Agreement and Contract (the “Agreement”) is a legally binding agreement made and entered into as of the date of the Booking by and between the undersigned person(s) or company (the “Lead Guest”) and the undersigned owner, manager or agent (“Rental Agent”), pursuant to which the Lead Guest has agreed to rent the residence described below (the “Property”), for the duration of the Rental Term for the Total Rental Fee and other good and valuable consideration as described herein.
OCCUPANCY
The Lead Guest agrees that no more than the persons specified at the time of booking, including any pets where permitted (or as later agreed between the Rental Agent and the Lead Guest) - collectively the “Lead Guest’s Invitees” and together with the Lead Guest, the “Guests” - shall be permitted on the Property at any time during the Rental Term, all of whom shall comply with the conditions and restrictions imposed upon the Lead Guest under this Agreement.
The Rental Agent reserves the right to monitor the Property’s occupancy during the Guests’ stay and to charge accordingly if more than the agreed number of people stay for more than one night for part or all of the Rental Term.
CONDITION AND USE OF THE PROPERTY
The Property is provided in “as is” condition. The Rental Agent shall use reasonable efforts to ensure the operation of all amenities in the Property, such as internet access, TV, hot tubs or fireplaces as applicable.
The Rental Agent shall not be held responsible for such items failure to work, but will make every effort to correct any issues as reported as quickly as possible.
The Lead Guest acknowledges that use of amenities such as hot tubs, pools, spas, fireplaces, decks, and the like may be potentially dangerous and involve potential risks if improperly used, particularly with regard to children and such use is at the Guest’s own risk.
The Guests shall use the Property for temporary residential purposes or for occasional clerical or administrative work only and in a careful manner to prevent any damage or loss to the Property and keep the Property in clean and sanitary condition at all times.
The Guests shall refrain from loud noise and shall not disturb, annoy, endanger, or inconvenience neighbours, nor shall any Guest use the Property for any immoral, offensive or unlawful purposes, nor violate any law, association rules or ordinance, nor commit waste or nuisance on or about the Property. T
The Rental Agent will be the sole arbiter and any decision as to what constitutes any of the aforementioned behaviours will be final including whether the level or extent to which they have been exhibited constitutes a Default under this Agreement.
The Rental Agent reserves the right to monitor noise levels within the Property whilst respecting the privacy rights of the Guests.
DEFAULT
If the Lead Guest or any of their Invitees should fail to comply with the conditions and obligations of this Agreement, all Guests shall surrender the Property, remove all of their respective property and belongings and leave the Property in good order and free of damage.
No refund of any portion of the Total Rental Fee shall be made and if any legal action is necessary, the prevailing party shall be entitled to reimbursement from the other party for all costs incurred.
ASSIGNMENT OR SUBLEASE
The Lead Guest or any of their Invitees shall not assign or sublease the Property or permit the use of any portion of the Property by other persons who are not family members or invited visitors of the Guests and included within the number of and as permitted occupants under this Agreement.
RISK OF LOSS AND INDEMNIFICATION
The Lead Guest agrees that all personal property, furnishings, personal effects and other items brought into the Property by themselves or their invitees and visitors shall be at their sole risk with regard to any theft, damage, destruction or other loss and the Rental Agent shall not be responsible or liable for any reason whatsoever.
The Lead Guest hereby covenants and agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Rental Agent and their agents, owners, successors, employees and contractors from and against any costs, damages, liabilities, claims, legal fees and other actions for any damages, costs, attorneys fees incurred by the Lead Guest, their Invitees, visitors or agents, representatives or successors of any Guest due to any claims relating to destruction of property or injury to persons or loss of life sustained by the Guests and visitors of the Guests in or about the Property and the Lead Guest expressly agrees to save and hold Rental Agent harmless in all such cases.
RELEASE
The Lead Guest hereby waives and releases any claims against the Rental Agent, the Property owner and their successors, assigns, employees or representatives, officially or otherwise, for any injuries or death that may be sustained by any Guest on, near or adjacent to the Property, including any common facilities, activities or amenities.
The Lead Guest agrees to use any such facilities or amenities entirely at the Guests’ own initiative, risk and responsibility.
ENTRY AND INSPECTION
The Rental Agent reserves the right to enter the Property at reasonable times and with reasonable advance notice for the purposes of inspecting the Property or showing the Property to prospective purchasers, renters or other authorised persons.
If the Rental Agent has a reasonable belief that there is imminent danger to any person or property, the Rental Agent may enter the Property without advance notice.
The Rental Agent or their appointed agents or contractors may enter the Property with prior agreement of the Lead Guest to resolve any reported issue relating to the Property.
GENERAL TERMS
The Lead Guest must be 18 years or over when the Property is booked.
The Rental Agent reserves the right to refuse to accept any booking for whatever reason.
Guests may arrive at the Property after 4pm (except if separately agreed) on the start day of the booking and, unless otherwise agreed, they must leave by 10am on the last day of the booking.
If no Guests arrive by midnight on the day of the Rental Period Start Date and do not advise the Rental Agent of a late arrival the Rental Agent will treat the booking as being cancelled.
Should any Rental payments not be sent to the Rental Agent, paid or cleared within the stated times at the time of booking or as reasonably required by the Rental Agent, then the Rental Agent reserves the right to cancel the Booking and any prior payments paid will be forfeit.
A Security Deposit will be held on the Lead Guest’s Debit or Credit Card to cover any breakages and damages incurred by any Guest during the Rental Period. The deposit will be taken 2 days before the start of the Rental Period and released 3 days after the end of the Rental Period. Debit or Credit Card details will be required even if the Rental Fee is paid by other means.
The Rental Agent reserves the right to deduct reasonable fees from the Security Deposit to cover the below events (including but not limited to) and to request further payment from the Lead Guest should the total amount of the fees exceed the security deposit amount:
The Rental Agent will use reasonable endeavours to look for and return any of the Guests’ items to the Lead Guest that have been left in the Property after the Rental Period upon notification from the Lead Guest.
The Lead Guest will be responsible for selecting and paying for an appropriate postage/courier service (including insurance where appropriate) for the return of such items, as well as paying a reasonable administration fee to the Rental Agent.
Unclaimed items will be passed to charity one month after the end of the Rental Period.
CANCELLATION
In the event the Property is not available for use during the Rental Term due to reasons, events or circumstances beyond the control of the Rental Agent, the Rental Agent will apply reasonable efforts to locate a replacement property that equals or exceeds the Property with respect to occupancy capacity, location and value that meets the reasonable satisfaction of the Lead Guest.
If such replacement property cannot be found and made available, the Rental Agent shall immediately return all payments made by the Lead Guest, whereupon this Agreement shall be terminated and the Lead Guest and Rental Agent shall have no further obligations or liabilities in any manner pertaining to this Agreement.
Unless stated differently at the time of booking, the Lead Guest may cancel the entire booking or modify the Rental Period up to 14 calendar days before the start of the Rental Period and, in the case of cancellation, receive a full refund of any Rental Fee paid. In the case of a booking modification, the Rental Agent reserves the right to charge any difference in the publicly available price relating to the new Rental Period.
If the Lead Guest cancels or modifies a booking less than 14 calendar days of the Rental Period Start Date, or does not check-in before midnight on the Rental Period Start Date (unless previously agreed), then the Rental Agent will advertise the property and if the Property is re-booked by a third party (or parties) for the whole of the original Rental Period, then the Rental Fee will be refunded (or charged extra for a modification) as if the booking had been modified or cancelled more than 14 days prior the the Rental Period start date.
If the Property cannot be re-booked for all or part of the original Rental Period, then any monies paid so far will be retained by the Rental Agent and any remaining part of the Rental Fee will become immediately due.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
This Agreement contains the entire agreement between the parties with regard to the rental of the Property, and any changes, amendments or modifications hereof shall be void unless the same are in writing and signed by both the Guest and the Rental Agent.
This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the United Kingdom.
Unless specified at the time of booking, the booking is made on a consumer basis and subject to the prevailing Consumer Laws and Statutes of England and Wales at the time of the booking and throughout to the end of the Rental Period.
Nothing in this Agreement is intended to confer or afford any tenancy rights under the Housing Act 1988 (as amended by the Housing Act 1996) (England and Wales), the equivalent Statutes in the other devolved UK nations or any other related legislation to any Guest.
The Lead Guest warrants that they shall not use or purport to use the Property as their main or principal place of residence.
The words “Rental Agent” and “Lead Guest” shall include their respective heirs, successors, representatives or agents.
The Agreement headings are provided for convenience and are not intended to affect the interpretation of this Agreement.
The waiver or failure to enforce any breach or provision of this Agreement shall not be considered a waiver of that or any other provision in any subsequent breach thereof.
If any provision herein is held invalid, the remainder of the Agreement shall not be affected.
Any notice required to be given under this Agreement shall be in writing and sent to the Lead Guests contact information provided at the time of booking.
This Agreement may be signed in one or more counterparts, each of which is an original, but taken together constitute one in the same instrument. Execution of a digital signature shall be deemed a valid signature.
In lieu of a signature, the Lead Guest shall be deemed to have accepted this Agreement and any other terms specified at the time of booking by paying part if not all of the Rental Fee.
LOWER MILL ESTATE ADDITIONAL RULES
The following additional terms apply to properties located on the Lower Mill Estate area (LME) within the Cotswold Water Park. These terms are set by the Lower Mill Estate Management Company (LME Management Company) as part of the respective Property’s Lease and apply to the Rental Agent’s Guests as well as to the Rental Agent. Non-compliance with these terms may result in the Rental Agent being charged a fine and administration fee, which will be passed on to the Lead Guest. The levels of the fines are set by the LME Management Company and subject to change. The affected Properties are:
Noise Restrictions
The Guests should not play any amplified music outdoors. This includes all communal areas such as playgrounds and swimming pools.
The Guests should keep Internal amplified noise to a level that does not disturb residents in nearby properties at all times.
There should be no excessive noise (amplified or vocal) between 11pm and 6am the next day. Guests should be aware that noise travels very effectively across lake water so please be considerate when on decking / balconies.
Complaints about the Guests’ level of noise will result in an series of escalations starting from a polite request from the on-duty Site Warden to the Guests being asked to leave the Property (for which no refund on the unused part of the Rental Period will be given).
Penalties for Excessive Noise Noise complaints continuing after warning from the on-duty Warden - £100.00. Anti-social behaviour/aggressiveness towards staff or other residents - £250.00. Asked to leave the property - £500.00. All penalty fees are subject to change, the LME Management Company administration fee and VAT.
The use of fireworks and/or lanterns is strictly forbidden on the Lower Mill Estate area to prevent scaring the wildlife.
The use of drones is prohibited within the Lower Mill Estate area without prior permission from the LME Management Company to preserve the privacy of the other residents and guests.
Pets
Dangerous, or aggressive, dogs are not allowed on the Lower Mill Estate.
Dogs must be kept on a lead at all times in the Lower Mill Estate residential areas including the ‘Village greens’.
Dogs on the wider estate must be kept under close control and not allowed to ‘work’ vegetation as this will disturb the wildlife.
All dog/cat fouling must be removed by the dog owner and disposed of in an appropriate manner - in bin stores in the developed areas or the dog litter bins for the wider Estate. A fine of £25 will be levied if this is not observed
All cats allowed to wander outside the Property must wear an audible bell to reduce predation of garden birds.
Dogs should not be left unattended and distressed in vehicles whilst staying on the Estate.
Use of Vehicles on the Lower Mill Estate
Guests and their visitors should park in the spaces allocated to their respective Property, or in the communal Visitor or Overflow parking areas located in the Mill Village, Mill Stone Park and Water Gardens at all times.
Vehicles parked in the wrong parking bay, causing an obstruction or otherwise incorrectly parked may result in a parking fine being issued to the owner of the car.
A parking permit should be displayed within the Guests’ or their visitors’ cars when parked on the Lower Mill Estate. Permits are available from the Rental Agent or available from the security office and will indicate the Property being rented and a contact telephone number.
A speed limit of 10mph applies throughout all of the Lower Mill Estate roadways and 5mph in certain areas
Replacement spa entry cards are charged at £25 each. It is the responsibility of the Lead Guest to ensure that all issued spa entry cards are left in the Property at the end of the Rental Period
Guests should abide by the Lower Mill Estate Code of Conduct available from the Rental Agent or LME Management Company.
Use of the Lakes
Guests enter and use the lakes within the Lower Mill Estate entirely at their own risk.
The Rental Agent nor the LME Management Company do not provide lifeguard or rescue boat cover.
British Standard buoyancy aids are to be worn at all times when using lakes and waterways of LME. Any person not using British Standard buoyancy aids is not permitted to use floating craft on any LME lake. It is the individual person’s responsibility to ensure safety equipment, appropriate clothing, and life preservers are used.
Motorised craft are not permitted on the LME lakes at any time apart from LME staff, or designated contractors, who are permitted to use motorised craft for the purpose of lakeshore vegetation management.
Electronic/remote control boats are not permitted on the lakes at any time apart from LME staff, or designated contractors, who are permitted to use electronic/remote control craft for the purpose of surveying and lake management.
