What is a Church Rental Contract?
A church rental contract template is a formal, legal write-up used by churches when leasing their property or venue to an individual or group. When properly put together, this document serves as a safeguard for the catering hall, and the person renting the space. Both of these groups have important things to consider at this stage of the contract. For a church, it is important to keep in mind how often they rent their facility, the type of group they allow to rent it, and how much they plan on charging. For an individual or group that is renting, what they want, and how much money is involved , is the most important thing to consider when entering into a contract with a church or catering facility.
In most cases, rental agreements containing detailed formal components will eliminate any questions as to who is responsible for providing any necessary services, such as security staff or custodial service, and will also outline exactly how damages will be assessed and decided. The contract is the key driver of the event, outlining exactly what the venue can expect the individual that is renting to do, while laying out exactly what the person renting the space can expect from the venue as well.
Pivotal Clauses of a Church Rental Contract
When drafting a church rental contract template, even on a low-traffic website, there are several key clauses that must be included in order to avoid future conflicts. This section will address the most important clauses to include.
It is important to include the duration of the lease. Will the rental be for a set term, such as one year? Or will it be month-to-month with the terms subject to change with proper notice? Make sure to be clear if this is a verbal or written agreement. If it is a verbal agreement, provide an acceptable timeframe for either party to provide proper notice to the other party of any changes to the terms of the rental (e.g. 30 days notice).
Address payment terms in the contract. When is rent due each month and how can it be paid? Specificity is key to avoid disagreements later. For example, does the rent need to be received in the mail by the 5th of each month, or postmarked on the 5th? Where is the rent due? Options include in-person, in the mail, to a P.O. Box, or via PayPal, etc. The more specific the rental contract is, the better.
What about deposits? How much is required and when? The general rule of thumb is the higher the deposit, the lower your risk is. Make sure to be realistic about the amount of the deposit so that neither party goes without when a dispute arises.
Other important terms include: where is the rental property located? What is the maximum number of people that can occupy the space? Are there any restrictions on renting the property (e.g. no retail companies allowed)? Are there additional fees for maintenance, utilities, taxes, or anything else?
Be sure to include penalties for late payments or other breaches of contract. Some might view this as punishable only through legal action; however, it is a clouded area of ethics for many. In general, if the party that breached a contract was acting in good faith (without malicious intent), one would not penalize them for failing to pay the full amount or pay on time.
What remains to be decided is what happens if a breach of contract occurs in bad faith. Could allowing a maximum of 30 days to cure the breach be considered long enough for the breach to be considered not in good faith? Or will bad faith violations be considered breaches of contract that cannot be cured? Can they be given a second chance?
To ensure that a breach of contract is cured instead of finding another tenant, it may be worthwhile to cater to their needs somewhat in order to keep them in the unit. However, if they did not perform the tasks at hand in good faith and are now causing problems in the unit, you have every right to start the eviction process.
Generally speaking, it is reasonable to expect decency from those renting a church. However, as with anything in life, there are already those who violate contracts and decency. Finding the right contract and terms to keep your tenant in check is vital to achieving the best outcome possible.
Church Rental Contract Negotiations
A rental contract should be the result of negotiation between the church and the prospective renter, and not an imposition by one party upon the other. It is common for churches to include their boilerplate rental contract as a part of their wedding planning brochure. It may be easier for the church to have couples sign off on a contract at the time it is providing all of the other information about wedding services. However, it is better, fairer and clearer for both sides not to foist a pre-printed agreement on a couple right at the beginning of their relationship with the church. Instead, emphasize to the couple that the purpose of the rental contract is to prevent misunderstandings and to ensure that you will work together on all issues.
Best practices for contract negotiations include:
The above list may not be exhaustive. There may well be specific issues that you need or want to address in the negotiations—for example, whether or not candles are permitted, or the types of decorations that may be used in the church building. But you should strive to treat the rental contract as a tool to facilitate a collaborative process between the church and the renter, rather than as a way to unilaterally impose unreasonable or unrealistic requirements on the latter.
Church Rental Legal Concerns
When it’s time to set up a church rental contract template, you cannot overlook the law. It is always better to plan for success than to seek forgiveness after the fact — isn’t that part of what you preach? Without fail, a rental agreement template should include full compliance with the law. There are two major areas of the law to consider when setting up a church rental contract template: compliance with federal, state and local laws, and insurance.
Compliance
Renter compliance is important to your church. You want renters to obey speed limits, keep noise to a minimum and not drink alcohol on your property. You can accomplish this goal by including compliance measures in your contract. These could be items like compliance with speed limits, noise restrictions and a prohibition on the use of illegal substances on-site.
Getting ahead of compliance can take it a step further by including the following:
Insurance Coverage
Insurance is sorely needed during church rentals. The church wants to protect itself in case of injury on its property , even if it’s after hours. Additionally, liability is also a concern when it comes to temple facilities. Someone may break something inside the building and then be in a position to sue the church afterward. Insurance coverage is a major legal consideration for church rentals, and it should be included in any contract template.
Your insurance requirements will be specific to your church and its needs. It may benefit you to partner with a professional to set up a good policy. You cannot hire an attorney for your church without Board approval. Still, you should have someone help you set up your insurance needs. Otherwise, you may find yourself exposed to a lawsuit — and have little recourse.
In addition to general liability insurance, you may also need to purchase the following types of insurance:
In most cases, you do not need to worry about renters having to show proof of insurance. You simply need to cover your own assets with a good insurance policy. However, you cannot overlook this major legal consideration when you make your church rental contract template.
Adapting a Church Rental Contract Template
Whether a church has a blank slate when it comes to church rental contracts, or is working with an existing template, it may be necessary to change some of the language in a generic church rental contract template. For example, if the church has any special amenities that are not included in our free church rental contract template, and your church would like to rent these out to an event holder, then you’ll need to customize the language. While some wedding venues provide different amenities that are strictly for use during the wedding, others leave the decision on whether or not to provide items such as a TV for the rehearsal dinner or extra dining tables to the event holder. A good church rental contract template does not prohibit the addition of reasonable amenities, just be sure that there’s language explaining any additional fees or costs involved. For example, if you use the fellowship hall for a wedding reception, but do not allow non-church members to use it without rental fees, be sure that proper language is added to the rental agreement.
It’s also important that any additions make sense given the type of event being held. A youth group fundraiser may rough up carpeting and event lighting vendors may bring in their own equipment for a concert. It’s not advisable that any rental agreements assume that the church will not charge reasonable fees for damage to amenities and other areas of the building, though such fees can be waved if it’s deemed to be an item that the renter will repair and/or replace. For example, if it makes sense to wave the cleaning fee for a fundraiser, then such a decision can be left up to the church under the leasing terms.
Gratis Church Rental Contract Template
It may seem like an obvious place to point you, but the best source for a free church rental contract template is the Internet! Google searches yield dozens of results for free contract templates, so in doing this research, I was surprised to see how many church rental contract templates are available online with a search terms like: free church rental contract template. However, not all templates are created equal, and you really get what you pay (or what you don’t pay!) for with templates. The best resources you will find online will be those that actually produce a product or service that does charge money, and they rely upon providing these free templates to entice users to use their products.
For example , many church management software companies may provide free templates as a way to entice churches to investigate their paid products. Church management software companies have church member management, calendar, and ongoing record-keeping software that many churches do need and are willing to pay for. Churches are extremely useful and attractive customers, so these companies seek to provide this sort of free advice and material as a way to draw in churches to these products. There also are many non-profits (for example, the Nolo Press) that are focused on providing guidance for such groups, and therefore regularly provide useful free information. When a search results has a URL that includes the word "nolo," it is probably going to be a good source of information.
So, do your Google search and look for those templates from for-profit companies or well-known non-profits.