West View Cottage - Luxury self catering accommodation based in Cambridgeshire, UK

The Contract of Hire shall be between the hirer/Tenant and the Property Owners, in these terms and conditions:

Tenant: The Tenant agrees that they are authorised to make this booking on behalf of all those who shall be renting the Property and agrees to take full responsibility for the Property and the payment of any rental/fees or damages.

Purpose of Hire: The Tenant shall be entitled to occupy the Property for holiday purposes only and this agreement shall not confer on the Tenant any security of tenure within the terms of the Housing Act 1988 pursuant to which the occupation shall be deemed to be by way of an excluded tenancy. The length of the tenancy is agreed on booking

Occupancy: The owner must be informed of the maximum number of persons occupying the house for the period of the tenancy upon payment of the balance. If additional persons are found to be staying at the Property the Owner reserves the right to refuse admittance or require that the Tenant vacate the Property. In this eventuality, no refund of monies will be due.

The Annex: This is available for an additional charge which should be agreed upon ideally at the time of booking or at the latest when the balance payment is made.

Day Guests: The Owner must be informed of the numbers of adults, children & pets joining your overnight group at the cottage for the day only. Depending on numbers and the over all payment made, we may charge a day rate, (usually £10 per person/per day & £35 per pet). This charge relates to the amount of wear and tear that numbers bring. We trust that you will let us know of any Day Guests attending the cottage.

Right of Entry: The Owner or designee reserves the right to enter the Property at any reasonable time, with or without notice, during the Tenant’s period of stay.

Force Majeure: We shall not be liable for any loss, damage, effect on you holiday suffered by you due to events beyond our reasonable control with regard to our obligations to you. No compensation, expenses or any sums of any description shall be payable in these circumstances by us.

Availability: The booking is made on the understanding that the Property will be placed at the Tenant’s disposal on the dates agreed. Should this not be possible through fire, theft or circumstances beyond the Owner’s control, the full amount paid by the Tenant will be refunded. However, note that:

2. The Tenant will not have any claim against the Owner for compensation or expenses.

Provisional Bookings: Dates can be saved for an agreed period of time. If the booking is not confirmed by this date the dates of the provisional booking will be made available again.

Deposit: A non-refundable deposit of 50% of the full rental is payable to confirm the booking, unless the booking is made within 6 weeks of the hire commencement date, when the full amount is payable. If the balance is not paid within one week of the booking being formally agreed, the dates will be made available and the booking may be lost.

Balance Payment: The balance payment is due 4 to 6 weeks before your stay. Your booking and any deposits paid may be lost if the balance payment is not made a calendar month before the start of the stay AT THE LASTEST.

Amenities: The use of the Property includes electricity, gas, water heating and heating. We also supply bed linen and towels for all permanent beds. Bedding for put-u-up beds and sofa-beds can be provided at extra cost (usually £20 per bed).

Damage: Generally we have very few problems with damage or theft and therefore have not found it necessary to charge a damage or loss deposit. We expect a certain amount of wear and tear and also breakages (mainly wine glasses!). However, should a large & expensive item be damaged or taken we will ask for full reimbursement from the Tenant. We also appreciate you letting us know if there have been breakages or damaged items (during your stay if possible), so we can replace or address the problem as soon as possible. Due to recent events we are now asking for a damage deposit for groups staying five nights or more and for all groups with children 14 years or under.

NB: We have recently seen stiletto heel marks on wood floors, especially in the dinning room, and therefore ask that true stiletto heel shoes are NOT worn whist walking on the wood floors.

Cleaning: All equipment, utensils, etc. must be left clean, and the Property must be left clean and tidy at the end of the hire period. Suitable cleaning materials will be found under the sinks in the kitchen and utility for this purpose. We will charge for additional cleaning. This will be charged retrospectively if no up front damage deposit is taken. It is the Tenants responsibility to pay this. Note: It is the Tenant’s responsibility to ensure the safe storage of cleaning materials, particularly in the presence of children.

Contact whilst at the cottage: Once the balance is paid we provide you with our personal home and mobile numbers for you to contact us should you need to. We do this to ensure you can get hold of us through the day, evening & night as necessary. We would rather you ring if there is something you need to know and or a problem with something. We lived in the Property for 6 years and know it well and can therefore usually talk through questions and problems. We would really appreciate it if you could be mindful that these are our home numbers and where it is a non-urgent question please ring at reasonable times. For emergency situations you should ring us at any time. We also ask that you also only use these numbers just before and during your stay at the cottage.

Check in/out times: Check in is 4pm and check out is 10am on your day of arrival and departure, respectively. If there is no one in the cottage immediately before you or after you we try to be flexible with these times and please feel free to request early check-in and late check-out. However, when there is a change over of groups on the same day, we do have to strictly adhere to these times to ensure we have enough time for the cottage to be prepared to our high standards.

Children: We are very happy to accept children of any age at the cottage; it is a lovely, private place for them to play happily. However, we have actually had the most damage during stays from families with children and kindly ask that children are supervised at all times whilst in the cottage and prevented from causing damage as much as possible. We do not provide child safety items or equipment (apart from one child stair gate). The Owners do not accept liability for the safety of children staying at the Property. Please call me to discuss this further if you have concerns. A damage deposit of £200 will now be charged for families staying with children under 13 years.

Behaviour: Any rude or aggressive behaviour, physically, verbally or in writing, towards to the proprietor or any staff working at West View Cottage at any stage of the booking process will immediately result in the booking and any monies paid being lost.

Noise and Disturbance: We want you to enjoy your stay, which is often a special occasion and full of fun and although most associated noise is absorbed by the distance (~15 metres) from other houses in the Hamlet and the surrounding fields. However, we ask that you do consider the neighbours and try not to cause noise or nuisance to the neighbours especially if you are out side or returning home late at night or early in the morning. Both adjacent neighbours have families with young children. If complaints are made from the neighbours or otherwise, you may be asked to leave the property. In this case the Owners will not be liable to make any payment to you and will retain rental monies

Smoking: The cottage and annex are strictly no-smoking (in fact it is a legal requirement now). Breach of this rule will result in the termination of the Tenant’s booking and a request to vacate immediately. All monies paid will be forfeited. We have a terracotta pot filled with sand for cigarette ends. We appreciate it if you could use this so the outside area remains cigarette end-free for future guests.

Confetti: Although we are still finding confetti from 2 years ago (!), we want our Hen Weekends to enjoy themselves and are happy to allow this. We just ask that you try not to drop it on the gravel outside and clear it up as much as possible before you leave, especially if it is X-rated as we do have children staying at the cottage. Thank you for your understanding.

Pets: We accept well behaved, none chewy dogs at the cottage for a charge of £35 per pet. However, agreement must be obtained before any pet enters the Property. The Owners do not accept liability for the safety of pets. Pets are not allowed into sleeping accommodation nor are they allowed on furniture or work surfaces. They should not be left unsupervised at any time. Any damage incurred by pets or unreasonable amount of cleaning shall be paid for by the Tenant. When out doors, pets should be controlled and not cause distress or harm to livestock.

Appliance Breakdown: In the event of a breakdown, please contact the Owner who will contact the appropriate person or tradesman. The Owner will do everything possible to ensure swift repair/replacement of any appliance provided at the Property. However, the Tenant must accept that it may be impossible to deal with every eventuality during the course of a booking period. If tradesmen are called out for problems caused by the tenant, the tenant will pay any costs incurred e.g. if a boiler engineer were called out because the heating is not working, when the tenant had actually just turned the heating to OFF (It has happened!). Please contact the Owners and gain agreement, BEFORE calling out any tradesman, otherwise the Tenant may be liable for some of the costs incurred.

Left Items: If you think you or one of your group have left something at the cottage, please contact the Owner as soon as possible. We levy a charge of £10.00 for handling costs per address for sending and £6 per item for postage. These costs must be paid by the Tenant prior to the item being returned. For items costing more than £6 in postage additional charges will apply. Please note: any item to be returned will be suitably packed but we accepts no responsibility for loss or damage in transit.

Security: The Tenant is responsible for the security of the Property for the duration of the booking period and also immediately after vacation, until such time as the Owner re-enters the Property. The Tenant is expected to take all reasonable care of it. This includes ensuring that the Property is fully secured when leaving it. No windows should be left open and all doors (i.e 4 doors; Front door, Back door, Dinning room patio door and Garden room patio door) MUST be secure. If theft or damage occurs whilst the cottage is left unlocked through any means of entrance (window or door), the Tenant is liable for the costs of damage and theft as our insurance would be largely void. If any doors are left unlocked on leaving the Tenant will retrospectively be charged £50 per door left unlocked.

Complaints Procedure: If the Tenant is not entirely satisfied with the accommodation offered, they must contact the Owner immediately, and every effort will be made to resolve the problem. If the situation cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of both parties, the Owner will attend as soon as possible to inspect the Property. The Owner will not consider claims for problems notified to them after the hire period has ended.

Variation to Descriptions: Every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of details on the Cottages literature, advertising, websites, etc. However, changes to the details may be necessary from time to time and the Owner reserves the right to make any changes without notice. Where changes are fundamental to a booking, notification will be made in writing by post or email.

Computer: The computer and broadband connection is for light usage for you to enjoy, keep in touch & search for tourist information etc. during your holiday. As can happen anywhere, the line or computer will occasionally go down, but this can usually be corrected by closing down the computer and/or router & re-booting. If there are longer term or continual problems please let the owner know & the problem will try to be corrected during your stay. However, as the computer & line are not formally supported a solution may not be possible during your stay. No programmes should be added to the computer and children should be supervised to ensure this does not happen and the computer is not damaged in anyway.

Breach of Terms & Conditions: If the Tenant breaches any areas outlined above the tenancy agreement shall be immediately rescinded. The Owner shall reserve the right to enter the Property in order to exercise this right. All persons will be required to leave the premises immediately. In this case the Owners will not be liable to make any payment to you and will retain rental monies.