Examples of Rental Agreements
 

Wow, surprisingly when i searched "rental agreement" not very much came up. lately, i've been renting out my camera package to friends and friends of friends without any kind of agreement or even insurance. now, i've waited long enough and would like future renters to fill out an Agreement Form.

I was wondering if any of you had examples of Rental Agreements I could take a look at. also, i'd like to know what i definitely should have in the agreement. let's call it a "must have" list of terms. any info would be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance,
Mike

I'm no expert in legal verbiage or rental agreements, but I would recommend including: a detailed list of every piece of equipment, accessory, spare part, cable, etc. that's in the package; an explicit statement that the renter is responsible for all damages; the renter's credit card information, so you can better enforce their responsibility; and a specific time table for how long they will have the equipment. There are plenty of other things that should be included, but those are the ones that spring to mind first.

You might try renting something from your local rental house and using their agreement and rental process as a model.

yeah, thanks Reed. i've combined a little info from 2 rental houses i use to make my own contract.

i'm also wondering how credit card holds/deposits work. what's the procedure? i'll try a search for it, but since i'm already here i thought i'd ask.

thanks.

I don't rent my gear out but I have rented gear from rental houses and while I don't have a copy of their agreement handy here are a few things I remember from it.
INSURANCE!!!!! Extremely important. Either the customer provides with proof of insurance naming the rentee as the beneficary OR the rentee provides it with the rentee as beneficary. Time limit, how long the rental is for and how much it is if the time is exceeded. Condition of gear when going out and coming in and what the cost would be if the gear is damaged,lost or stolen. As mentioned credit card information, make sure the card would cover all the gear going out, list each and every piece of gear going out.
I agree it might be in your best interest to rent something for a day, copy the agreement and use it as your model but I would also have an attorney go thru the agreement so make it ironclad. The last thing you want is a loophole that could cost you your gear and thousands of dollars if it doesn't get returned or is returned damaged and then you find out your insurance won't cover it because you rented the gear out to someone.
Be careful, it's a slippery slope.