Holiday House Sharing Agreement (with Declaration of Trust)
This Holiday House Sharing Agreement (with Declaration of Trust) can be used by the owners of a holiday house or cottage that is in shared ownership. It sets out how the co-owners will use the property and how the upkeep will be arranged and paid for. Having a detailed written agreement will make day to day management easier and will reduce the scope for disputes.
This version of the Sharing Agreement includes a “declaration of trust”. This confirms each owner’s percentage share in the property and sets out a procedure to be followed when an owner wishes to sell their share. If a declaration of trust has already been made, e.g. when the property was purchased, our Holiday House Sharing Agreement (without Declaration of Trust) may be more suitable.
The Sharing Agreement sets out the main details at the beginning, being the owners’ names, their percentage shares in the property and the address of the property.
Clause 1 is the declaration of trust. This sets out that the owners hold the property on trust for themselves as tenants in common in the percentage shares mentioned above. A tenancy in common means that the co-owners each have a distinct share in the property which can be disposed of by sale or by will. The alternative – a joint tenancy – gives each owner an indivisible share in the property and on death their share passes to the surviving co-owners.
Clause 2 deals with the contents of the property. There is a statement that the contents are owned in the same proportions as the property itself. Any items that are not jointly owned can be listed.
Clause 3 covers management of the property. The Agreement provides for one of the owners to act as the manager and to be responsible for arranging repairs and maintenance, paying bills, etc. Clause 4 deals with decision making by the co-owners. It provides for regular and ad hoc meetings to be held.
Clause 5 relates to expenditure on the property. Certain expenses are paid for by the owners in proportion to their shares in the property. Other expenses can have different payment arrangements.
Clause 6 contains the procedure for booking a stay at the property. There is the option to number the weeks of the year 1 – 52 and allocate particular weeks to particular owners. If this option is taken, you will need to attach a chart identifying the dates of each week in each year. Alternatively, reference can be made to a timeshare website which has such a weeks chart.
Clause 7 sets out the owners’ covenants with each other. These cover payment of expenses, careful use of the property and other practical matters. There are three versions of the “pets” clause: no pets; one well behaved dog; and pets allowed only with the express consent of the owner.
Clause 8 and Schedules 1 and 2 relate to sales of the property and sales of an individual owner’s share. The owners have rights of pre-emption over each other’s shares, i.e. a right of first refusal if an owner wants to sell their share.
Clause 9 deals with service of notices by the owners on each other and incorporates section 196 of the Law of Property Act 1925. This means that notices should be delivered by hand or sent by recorded or special delivery post. If the notice is sent by recorded or special delivery post, service is deemed to occur at the time at which the letter would “in the ordinary course” be delivered.
Clause 10 contains standard legal interpretation clauses and clause 11 is a jurisdiction clause.
The Agreement should be executed as a deed by each owner signing in the presence of a witness.
Optional phrases / clauses are enclosed in square brackets. These should be read carefully and selected so as to be compatible with one another. Unused options should be removed from the document.
This Holiday House Sharing Agreement (with Declaration of Trust) is in open format. Either enter the requisite details in the highlighted fields or adjust the wording to suit your purposes.
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Holiday House Sharing Agreement (with Declaration of Trust) is part of Property Documents. Just £35.00 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Property Documents for 1 year.