Definitions
‘Us’, ‘We’, ‘Our’ means Rebecca Palmer or any agent acting at her request. ‘You’ or ‘Your’ means the person making the booking. ‘The Accommodation’ means Stoneleigh Knowle Cottages comprising the buildings, gardens, and equipment ancillary to these cottages. ‘The Premises’ means Stoneleigh Knowle Estate including all structures and outside spaces.
The Contract
These Terms and Conditions (Version 3.5 June 2022) shall form the basis of a contract for a short-term holiday rental between Us and You, the conditions must be complied with. You must be over the age of 18 at the time of booking and be authorised by all adult members of Your holiday party to make the booking on their behalf so that they too shall be subject to these Terms and Conditions. This contract shall be deemed to have been made subject to English Law and the jurisdiction of the English Courts. The Contract is made at The Premises and that any proceedings between the parties shall be conducted in the County Court nearest to The Premises.
1. Payments
- The contract is effective once We have confirmed Your booking and processed Your booking deposit of 20% of the total booking cost. The booking deposit must be paid within 3 days of making the booking. The balance payment must be paid not later than 60 days before your arrival date. Payment can be accepted prior to this date. For bookings made within the 60 days of the arrival date, full payment is due at time of booking. The Client confirms that they are over the age of 18, responsible , and are authorised by all adult members of their party to sign The Booking Form on their behalf so that they too shall be subject to these Terms and Conditions.
2. Booking Alterations
- Alterations to the number of pets or people (up to the maximum occupancy) or the names of those staying can be made to a booking up to 7 days before arrival. No refund will be given in respect of a reduction in occupancy. Alterations to rental dates can be requested up to 60 days before your arrival date. We will make every effort to facilitate these requests including requests to change cottages. Dates can only be changed to available dates within the same UK Tax Year. The total cost of Your booking can not be swapped to a booking less than 20% of the original booking cost. You will become immediately liable for any increase in booking cost resulting from alterations to a more expensive stay. No admin fee will be charged for the first alteration of booking. Subsequent alterations will be charged at a £25 admin fee per change event.
3. Cancellations
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a) Your booking is accepted in good faith but from time to time it might be necessary for Us to cancel your booking ( for example, due to The Accommodation becoming uninhabitable or because of a UK Government led lock-down ). If The Accommodation cannot be occupied during the period of your active booking You will be refunded in full. We shall not be liable for any loss or damage resulting from such cancellation including any non-refundable payments made to third parties
b) Cancellations made by You including due to Your (or that of some or all Your booking party’s) inability* or disinclination* to travel to or to stay at The Accommodation will be remain Your liability as defined below:
i. Prior to 60 days before your arrival date You are liable for 20% of the booking.
ii. Within the 60 days of your arrival date, You are liable for 100% of the booking cost.
We strongly recommend that You and Your party take out appropriate insurance including cancellation cover.
*‘Inability’ and ‘Disinclination’ include, but are not limited to: illness (including Covid), shielding, a requirement or recommendation to quarantine or self-isolate, a change in personal circumstances, a change in employment circumstances, family emergencies, travel delays or vehicle breakdown, poor weather, incarceration, military service, a call to jury duty.
c) Cancellations made by You have an effective date of Our receipt of written notice from You (either by post or email). We recommend that You request an acknowledgement from Us to ensure we have received the cancellation.
d) We will make reasonable efforts to re-let the booking and at the same price. If we are successful in re-letting, We will refund You less an admin fee of 5% of Your booking cost and less any difference in price of the booking cost if re-let at a lower price.
E.G. A fully paid booking with a booking cost of £1000 is cancelled by You 30 days before arrival. We re-let the booking for £950. This would result in a refund to you of £900. We retain £100 (£50 as 5% admin fee and £50 booking price difference). Refunds will be made within 14 days of them becoming due.
4. The Letting/ Your Responsibilities
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The Accommodation will be available to You and members of your party to be used solely for the purpose of a holiday within the meaning of Section 9 of The Rent Act, 1977 .The agreement is for the period of the booking and is not intended to create the relationship of landlord and tenant between You and Us. You shall not be entitled to a tenancy, or to any assured short hold or assured tenancy or any statutory protection under the Housing Act 1988 or other statutory security of tenure now or upon termination of the agreement. We reserve the right to alter The Accommodation, its contents, fixtures, fittings, furnishings and advertised facilities without notice to You and without liability. We reserve the right to enter The Accommodation at all reasonable times, with or without workmen, for the purpose of inspection or to carry out any cleaning, repair, or maintenance.
You and members of Your party are liable under these Terms and Conditions, always during the booking period and whenever You are at The Premises, whether this falls within or out of the defined booking period. You are responsible for everyone in Your party including minors and pets.
You will provide, upon request names and contact details of members of Your party.
Reasonable domestic use of water, electricity and WiFi are included in the booking cost. Separate charges may apply for use of any tumble dryer, any fire wood provided or excessive use of utilities.
You must comply with the instructions within the welcome folder, the fire safety assessment and fire action notice.
You must not do anything or permit anything to be done that may result in the insurance of The Accommodation or The Premises becoming void or voidable or the premium on it being increased.
You must take all reasonable care of furniture, fixtures, fittings and effects in or at The Accommodation and The Premises and to keep them in the same good state of repair as at the commencement of your stay.
You must leave The Accommodation in a clean and tidy condition at the end of your stay.
You shall not use the properties for any illegal, offensive, dangerous, or immoral activities, nor cause, or allow to be caused any nuisance or annoyance to any occupant of this or any neighbouring Premises
You are liable for and shall indemnify Us against any liabilities, loss, or damages, (whether direct or indirect and including loss of profits) arising from Your use (or that of any member of Your party, pet or connected person) of The Accommodation or The Premises,
We strongly recommend that you take out appropriate insurance to cover this.
The Hire Period
The hire period is as detailed on the booking which is usually from 4pm on your arrival date till 10am on your departure date, You should not be at The Premises outside of these timings. Failure to depart by the correct time for any reason including illness or isolation, may result in additional charges starting at £50 per hour and increasing to include all resulting extra costs incurred by Us. Costs might include but not be limited to the cost of affected bookings, requirement for extra labour (e.g. to get cleaning completed on time before the next guests) loss of potential income, loss resulting from damage to the reputation of the business because of Your actions. People and Pets Only those people and pets detailed on the booking may occupy The Accommodation .
Over occupancy of, or undeclared guests at The Accommodation is a serious offence which might invalidate our insurance and will result in immediate breach of contract by You. Stoneleigh Knowle Estate is private. If you wish to invite anyone not detailed on Your booking to The Premises, then You must agree this in writing with us beforehand. A day rate of £30 may be charged for any extra guests you bring to site. Well behaved dogs are welcomed at Stoneleigh Knowle Cottages by prior written agreement and at the appropriate charge. We generally allow a maximum of two dogs per property.
Dog Rules
You are wholly responsible for ensuring that the ‘dog rules’ are fully obeyed and will be liable for any damage caused. Dogs must be treated with an in-date flea and tick treatment, they must be kept off all furniture and must not be allowed to scratch chew materials within The Accommodation (e.g.doors, walls, furniture, paintwork). Dogs are not allowed upstairs or into any bedroom. They must not be left unattended within The Accommodation or at The Premises at any time, they must be under full control and must not cause a nuisance of any kind. If you have a dog who tends to bark, then unfortunately we cannot accept them to stay as they are likely to disturb other guests. Fouling must be cleared up immediately. If extra cleaning is required after your dog has stayed you will be billed for the costs incurred.
House Rules Smoking, Drone flying, Fireworks or Chinese lanterns are not permitted. Be courteous to other guests by considering noise and Your use of the space.
Notifiable Contagious Diseases and Covid-19
If any member of Your party develops symptoms of a notifiable contagious disease or Covid-19 whilst staying at The Premises, You undertake to inform Us at the earliest possible opportunity so that we can coordinate with you and so we can prepare for an appropriate clean. You must not allow anyone who is suffering with any notifiable disease symptoms to go to The Premises. You must vacate The Premises immediately if anyone in Your party is told to isolate by an official system like NHS ‘Track and Trace’ .
You must report to Us in a timely manner any damages or the sighting of any pests at The Accommodation so that we may act. Though We reserve the right to do so, We do not tend to charge for small breakages like the odd mug or glass but it helps us greatly to know well in advance of your departure day that there is a problem.
The Client and members of their party are liable under these Terms and Conditions at all times during The Holiday period and whenever they are at The Premises, whether or not this falls within the time and date parameters set out on The Booking Form. You must not allow anyone who is suffering with symptoms of a notifiable disease to enter The Premises.
5. Liability
- We shall not be liable for loss or damage to any belongings, or for illness or injury sustained by You , members of your party or Your pets during Your stay at The Accommodation or whilst on The Premises.
We take reasonable efforts to keep things in good repair but from time to time things can break without notice. We shall not be liable for any defect in or breakdown of any equipment, furnishing, fittings or goods at The Accommodation including The Accommodation itself but, shall upon receipt of notice of the same, use our best endeavours to effect repairs or replacement within a reasonable time.
6. Force Majeure
- We cannot accept responsibility or liability for any alterations, delay or cancellation or any other loss or damage caused by war, civil strife, terrorist action, industrial disputes, fire, sickness, bad weather, geological activity, epidemics, acts of any government or public authority, or any other event outside our control including the provision of utilities.
7. Complaints
- Despite the care and precautions taken, it is possible that You could have grounds for complaint. Any complaint should be taken up as soon as is reasonably possible with Us and, in any event, before departure, to allow remedial action to be taken. In no circumstances can refund be made for complaints raised after You or any of Your party have left The Accommodation including if this departure takes place before the booked departure date. Our liability shall be limited to the monies received in relation to The Booking.
8. Waiver
- Our failure to enforce or exercise, at any time or for any period, any term of, or any right pursuant to this agreement does not constitute and shall not be construed as a waiver of such term or right.
- We reserve the right to evict You and Your party and without compensation if this is deemed that you are in breach of these terms and conditions.
- We strongly recommend that The You take out appropriate insurance to cover their liabilities and obligations under these terms. This insurance should cover, but not be limited to, cancellation/ disruption cover, accidental/ medical cover, liability cover and insurance for their own possessions.