- It is agreed that the agreement is cumbersome and that many of the clauses are unnecessary as they cover situations that would never arise in this hall and so a sub-committee is formed to reduce the size and complexity of the document
- It is agreed that the document is unwieldy and too much to give to every hirer so it is decided to display the full terms and conditions on the notice board for all to see and to ask hirers to sign a declaration on the booking form that they have read them
- It is decided that the agreement is not negotiable as they are there to protect the hall and, therefore, the trustees and the situation should remain unchanged
This is a situation where there is a text book answer, a practical answer and a lazy answer! Hiring a hall is a legal contract that someone enters in to with the hall they wish to hire. That contract carries with it responsibilities on the hirer and risks to the hall. To avoid protracted and possibly expensive arguments with hirers if something goes wrong you need the protection afforded by a comprehensive and clear hiring agreement.
The ACRE model hiring agreement is written and maintained by the legal team at ACRE and is based on experiences gained over many years and any committee of hall trustees would be well advised to use it for their own protection. So, does that mean giving every hirer a copy to ensure they know what it says and so they cannot deny having had a copy? Option 3 is the text book answer but not the practical answer.
Certainly, to edit the ACRE model or to use an agreement of ones own writing carries with it associated risks and option 1 would be an ill considered course of action.
Option 2 is the practical solution and is quite acceptable. The hall booking clerk cannot make a hirer read the conditions and even if every hirer has a copy there is still no guarantee they will bother to read them. By ensuring a copy is readily available for hirers to read and then asking them to sign a declaration that they accept those conditions is sufficient to form a binding agreement where the conditions will legally apply. It would be additional good practice to ensure that a copy is availble to give to a hirer should they request a copy and it could also be deemed prudent to provide all your regular groups with a copy but neither of these additional steps are totally necessary PROVIDED there is a copy displayed and available for all hirers to read.
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