Terms and conditions for a kayak and paddleboard hire business

Water hire has a risk profile no other leisure hire shares: the customer is on the water, unsupervised, in equipment they may never have used. The terms have to establish that the customer can swim, understands the conditions and will wear the buoyancy aid, give you the right to refuse and recall a hire, and deal with weather, damage and children. I draft those terms for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Kayak, canoe and paddleboard hire businesses in England and Wales operating on lakes, rivers, canals and the coast, from a beach, a boathouse or a trailer, hiring to consumers, families and groups, sometimes with guided sessions.

What matters in kayak and paddleboard hire terms

Ability, swimming and disclosure

The terms should require the customer to confirm they can swim, are physically able to paddle, and have disclosed any medical condition that could affect them on the water, and should say that a customer who cannot meet those conditions will not be hired to. For groups, one person cannot confirm for others; each adult confirms for themselves and a parent for each child. The safety briefing should be recorded as given and received.

Buoyancy aids, equipment and the area of use

The terms should require buoyancy aids to be worn at all times, the equipment supplied to be used as instructed, and the customer to stay within the area and time you specify. Leaving the area, landing elsewhere or paddling beyond the stated limits is a breach that ends your responsibility for the hire. The customer must return to the launch point by the stated time and must not allow anyone else to use the equipment.

Weather, tides and your right to refuse or recall

You know the water and the customer does not. The terms should give you the right to refuse a hire, to shorten it or to recall the customer for weather, wind, tide or river conditions, with a proportionate refund where you cut a hire short and none where the customer ignores a recall. Where the customer insists on going out against your advice, the terms should say that you will not hire to them.

Injury, drowning risk and what cannot be excluded

Water activities carry an inherent risk and the terms can say that the customer accepts it. Your own duty to hirers arises under section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and where you operate on inland waterways the navigation authority's rules and licensing also apply. What they cannot do is exclude your liability for injury caused by your own negligence, which the Consumer Rights Act 2015 does not permit against a consumer; the terms therefore describe your safety procedures, equipment checks and briefing, and record the customer's own responsibilities. Your insurance should be stated.

Damage, loss, deposits and cancellation

Equipment lost, damaged or abandoned during the hire is charged to the customer, and the terms should say how, with a deposit or card pre-authorisation taken at hand-over. Hires booked for a specific date are excluded from the fourteen-day cancellation right by regulation 28 of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, so your own cancellation policy applies and must be fair, including a refund or rebooking where you cancel for conditions.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted for your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want them checked and brought up to date. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Email me at geoffrey@caesar.co.uk with what you need and any documents, and I will confirm the scope and the fee in writing, usually the same working day. If you would rather pay straight away, buying online forms the engagement on payment: the scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I will be in touch promptly to get started.

What you get

• A full set of bespoke terms drafted for your business, reflecting the legal requirements that apply to your business and sector
• A note in plain English explaining the terms I have drafted for you
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions that protect your position and are drafted to withstand scrutiny from the other side
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly
• Your questions and comments answered by email or phone
• One round of amendments to finalise the terms ready for use

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers (I am happy to quote for this as an additional service if required)
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country
• Tax advice

Questions I am often asked

A customer took a paddleboard beyond the area and had to be rescued. What can I charge?

If the terms confined the hire to a stated area and made leaving it a breach, the customer is responsible for the cost of recovering the equipment and any damage to it. Costs of a rescue by the emergency services are a different matter and the terms should not pretend to allocate them.

Can children hire?

Children can use the equipment under a parent's responsibility, with the parent confirming the child can swim and accepting the terms for them. The terms should set minimum ages for unaccompanied use and require an adult on the water with younger children.

What if I cancel because of the weather?

The terms should say that a hire cancelled by you for conditions is refunded or rebooked, which is what a fair term looks like, and that a customer who chooses not to go out in conditions you consider safe is treated as a customer cancellation.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Terms and conditions for a boat hire business
• Terms and conditions for a bike hire business

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.