Does a village hall need a written hire agreement?

Nothing in law requires one, but without it the hall has no record of what the hirer agreed to, and the conditions your insurer, licence and Martyn's Law procedures depend on are not passed on. Every hall should use one, for every booking.

Who is responsible for safety during a hire, the hall or the hirer?

The hall keeps its legal duties as the person in control of the premises, including under fire safety law and Martyn's Law. The agreement makes the hirer responsible for running their event within the hall's rules; it cannot transfer the hall's own duties.

Can a hirer sell alcohol?

Only under the hall's premises licence, if it has one and the licence allows it, or under a temporary event notice obtained from the council for that event. The agreement should say which, and who applies.

Should we take a deposit?

A refundable damage deposit, held separately from the hire fee and returned after the hall is checked, is normal and makes the end-of-hire check routine rather than confrontational.

What should the agreement say about Martyn's Law?

That the hirer has been given the hall's public protection procedures, will read them before the event, will make sure the people running the event know them, and will follow the hall's instructions in an emergency. Keep the signed agreement as the record.

Village hall hire agreement: what to put in it, with model clauses

A village hall's risk lives in its hires. The Saturday wedding brings 250 people into a building where nobody present has read a procedure and no trustee is on site. The hire agreement is where the hall's rules reach the people who will actually be in the room. This guide lists what it needs to contain and gives a model clause for each part you can adapt.

The agreement cannot hand your legal duties to the hirer. Under fire safety law and Martyn's Law the hall remains responsible as the person in control of the premises. What the agreement does is make the hirer responsible for running their event within your rules, and give you the record that they agreed to.

What a hire agreement needs to cover

Who is hiring, for what, when, and which rooms. The hirer must be an adult who is present throughout.
The maximum number of people, per room and in total.
Fees, deposit, cancellation and what happens if they overrun.
Insurance: who is covered by whose policy.
Alcohol, music and entertainment, and the licence or notice they come under.
Fire safety: exits, the alarm, the assembly point, no decorations over exits or signs, no naked flames.
The hall's public protection procedures under Martyn's Law, acknowledged.
Children and vulnerable people: the hirer's own safeguarding arrangements.
Food: the hirer's responsibility if they are catering.
Damage, cleaning, rubbish, noise and leaving time.
Equipment the hirer brings in: electrical items tested, bouncy castles with their operator's insurance.
The hall's right to end the hire if the conditions are broken.

Capacity

State the number, and make it the hirer's job to keep to it. The figure should be the one from your fire risk assessment or licence, which is also the figure that decides your Martyn's Law tier, so it pays to have one number used everywhere.

Model clause: numbers

The maximum number of people permitted in the main hall is [number] and in the whole building [number], including the hirer's own staff, performers and helpers. The hirer must not admit more than this and must have a way of knowing how many people are present.

Insurance

Two kinds of hirer, two clauses. A private hirer is usually covered for their own liability by the hall's hirers' extension; a commercial hirer needs their own policy. See village hall insurance for the detail.

Model clause: insurance

Commercial hirers must hold public liability insurance of at least [£5 million / £10 million] and provide a copy of the certificate before the first booking. Private hirers are covered for their own liability to their guests by the hall's policy, subject to its conditions. The hall's insurance does not cover the hirer's own property or equipment.

Alcohol, music and entertainment

If the hall has a premises licence, say what it permits and the hours. If it does not, the hirer needs a temporary event notice from the council for any sale of alcohol, and the agreement should say who applies for it and by when (the council needs at least ten working days; late notices have tighter rules).

Model clause: alcohol and licensing

Alcohol may only be sold or supplied under the hall's premises licence [or: under a temporary event notice obtained by the hirer from [council] at least [15] working days before the event, a copy of which must be given to the bookings secretary]. The hirer is responsible for complying with the conditions of the licence or notice, including the hours and the age checks.

Fire safety

The hirer needs to know the exits, the assembly point and what to do if the alarm sounds, before the event starts, not during it. A one-page sheet attached to the agreement does this. The agreement makes it a condition that they read it and keep exits clear.

Model clause: fire safety

The hirer has received the hall's fire safety sheet and will read it before the event. Fire exits, routes and extinguishers must be kept clear at all times. No decorations may be fixed over exits, exit signs or lights, and no candles, naked flames, smoke machines or fireworks are permitted without written permission. If the alarm sounds the hirer will direct everyone to leave by the nearest exit and gather at [assembly point].

Martyn's Law: the public protection procedures

For a hall in scope, the people running an event need to know the four procedures. The hirer is often the only person on site who could act. The agreement gives them the procedures, makes reading them a condition, and gives you the signed record that they did. Keep that record; it is the evidence that the duty to make people aware was met.

Model clause: public protection procedures

The hirer has received the hall's public protection procedures (evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication) and will read them before the event. The hirer will make sure that the people helping to run the event know what the procedures say and who is in charge if one is needed. In an emergency the hirer will follow the procedures and any instruction from the hall's representative or the emergency services.

If you do not yet have the four procedures, the templates are a starting point and the checklist covers the rest.

Children and vulnerable people

Model clause: safeguarding

Where the event is for or includes children or vulnerable adults, the hirer is responsible for their supervision and for having suitable safeguarding arrangements, including appropriate checks on the adults running the activity. The hall's own policy is available on request.

Damage, cleaning and leaving

Model clause: condition of the hall

The hirer will leave the hall clean, with furniture returned, rubbish removed and all doors and windows secured, by [time]. The deposit of [£] will be returned within [14] days after the hall has been checked, less the cost of any damage, extra cleaning or overrun. The hirer must report any damage or accident to [bookings secretary] before leaving.

Using it

Issue it with every booking, including regular users; review regular users' agreements once a year.
Attach the fire safety sheet and the four procedures, so "has received" is true.
Keep the signed copy. For Martyn's Law and for your insurer, the signed agreement is the record that the hirer was told.
Have one person responsible for checking certificates and notices before the booking is confirmed, not on the day.

Common questions

Does a village hall need a written hire agreement?: Nothing in law requires one, but without it the hall has no record of what the hirer agreed to, and the conditions your insurer, licence and Martyn's Law procedures depend on are not passed on. Every hall should use one, for every booking.
Who is responsible for safety during a hire, the hall or the hirer?: The hall keeps its legal duties as the person in control of the premises, including under fire safety law and Martyn's Law. The agreement makes the hirer responsible for running their event within the hall's rules; it cannot transfer the hall's own duties.
Can a hirer sell alcohol?: Only under the hall's premises licence, if it has one and the licence allows it, or under a temporary event notice obtained from the council for that event. The agreement should say which, and who applies.
Should we take a deposit?: A refundable damage deposit, held separately from the hire fee and returned after the hall is checked, is normal and makes the end-of-hire check routine rather than confrontational.
What should the agreement say about Martyn's Law?: That the hirer has been given the hall's public protection procedures, will read them before the event, will make sure the people running the event know them, and will follow the hall's instructions in an emergency. Keep the signed agreement as the record.

Send hirers the procedures, and keep the record that they read them

The Venue Record drafts your four procedures from questions about the hall, then sends them to hirers and volunteers by link. They read on their phones, answer a couple of questions, and the hall keeps a dated record of who has. No account needed on their side.

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Model clauses are a starting point for your own agreement, not legal advice. Your county's rural community council and the specialist village hall insurers publish fuller model agreements; use theirs if you are a member.