• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Vacation Rental deposit - no contract

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

sesser

Junior Member
I paid a deposit for a vacation rental in Oregon next month. The policy is that no refund will be made for cancellations within 60 days, but I did not sign a rental agreement and need to change my plans. Am I bound by the policy if I did not sign the agreement?
 


FarmerJ

Senior Member
vacation rentals agreements are more like hotel, motel not regular residential , if they made you aware of refund policy its gonna be a hard stretch to get the money back via the courts.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
so, you had an oral contract to rent this property and you agreed, when you paid the deposit, that it was a non-refundable deposit, right?

and now you want them to refund the deposit although it is less than 6o days before the time you chose and scheduled, right?

so, you figure they are just supposed to take the loss, right?


I would suggest, if you cannot use the time you either find somebody you know that might want to take your place or you ask the proprietors if they would refund the deposit if they are able to re-rent the place for the time you had reserved.
 

sesser

Junior Member
No, they're not supposed to take the loss. It's still more than a month out, and I have to say that 60 days is far more restrictive than any hotel or other rental I've ever stayed at. The deposit was the full rental price, which I didn't think they were going to charge it until after I signed the agreement.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
No, they're not supposed to take the loss. It's still more than a month out, and I have to say that 60 days is far more restrictive than any hotel or other rental I've ever stayed at. The deposit was the full rental price, which I didn't think they were going to charge it until after I signed the agreement.
have you ever tried to rent out a vacation home? Many are rented out a year, or in some cases, years ahead. They are now faced with trying to find somebody to rent it, in less than 60 days, for the period you were going to rent it.

If you think 30-60 days is excessive, try calling around and trying to find a similarly popular rental unit to rent in that same time frame. The problem is; people schedule this type of accommodation well ahead of the vacation. If they waited until 30-60 days before they went on vacation, I suspect many of them would end up with no place to stay.
 

sandyclaus

Senior Member
As it says in my siggy, "A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."

You obviously knew and acknowledged the policy requiring 60 days cancellation notice for you to get a refund. You reserved the vacation rental anyway by giving your deposit.

Your change of plans is NOT THEIR PROBLEM.
Your decision to change those plans with less than 60 days to go before your reserved dates is NOT THEIR PROBLEM.

If you go through with your decision to change your plans, those plans should also include finding the money to pay for your new vacation from your own funds and not from those being held to reserve the original vacation rental. You can kiss that money goodbye now.
 

sesser

Junior Member
vacation rental - no contract

Turns out the website that I found the rental through answers this question directly in the owner's section:

"To secure a booking, you should have both a legal and financial commitment from your renters. In other words, you need deposited money and a signed rental contract.... Just make sure to have the renter sign and fax back your rental agreement within 24 hours before charging the deposit. (You should never accept any payments without a signed copy of your rental agreement.) Be clear that the signed contract, in addition to the deposit, is what officially holds the reservation."

It may have been obvious to you Sandyclaus, but in fact I did NOT know or acknowledge the policy requiring 60 days cancellation notice when I initially contacted the owner. It wasn't until I received the rental contract, which I didn't sign, a few days later.
 
Last edited:

justalayman

Senior Member
and what does advice as to what they should do mean to you?


a verbal contract is enforceable.

how long ago did you pay them the deposit? how long ago did you get a copy of the contract?
 

justalayman

Senior Member
the point was that what you posted was suggestions of what the owners should do to make the contract more easily enforced. Hence the what they should do, not what they have to do.

IF there is nothing mentioned on that website you spoke of concerning a 60 day notice and you gave notice that you were not intending to rent the place upon receipt of the contract, you should be able to get your deposit back. If it was stated on the website or you did not cancel any tentative contract upon receipt of the contract, your chances of prevailing in court are reduced. The longer the time between receiving the contract and the time you cancelled any tentative reservation, the greater chance you will not get your money back.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top