Reviewing a venue hire contract for an event

A venue hire contract is signed months before the event, for a date that cannot move, with a deposit paid on signature and a cancellation scale that rises to the full fee. The venue's contract deals with the hirer cancelling and with the venue cancelling on different terms, and it passes down the venue's licence conditions, its approved suppliers and its liability exclusions. I review the contract from the hirer's side and return it marked up with a written explanation of the changes and which ones a venue will accept, for a fixed fee of £495 in three working days.

Who this is for

Businesses, agencies, charities and organisers in England and Wales hiring a hotel function room, a conference centre, a hall, a warehouse, a country house or a restaurant for a conference, a product launch, a staff party, an awards dinner or a client event, and private individuals hiring a venue for a wedding or a celebration. The venue and a business hirer contract as businesses; a private hirer is a consumer, and the venue's terms must then be fair.

What to look for in a venue hire contract

The hire period, access and what is included

The contract should state the date, the hire period including set-up and clear-down time, the rooms and areas hired, the capacity, the furniture, audio-visual equipment, staffing and cleaning included, and the charges for extra hours. The review checks that set-up and clear-down are within the hire period rather than charged as extra hours, that the venue cannot hire adjacent spaces to a conflicting event, and that access for the hirer's suppliers is provided for.

The deposit, the payment schedule and the cancellation scale

The hirer pays a deposit on signature and instalments before the event, and the cancellation scale forfeits an increasing proportion of the fee as the date approaches. A cancellation charge is enforceable if it is not out of all proportion to the venue's legitimate interest, applying Cavendish Square Holding BV v Makdessi [2015] UKSC 67, and the review asks for a reduction where the venue re-lets the date and for the deposit to be the limit of exposure until a stated point. Where the hirer is a consumer, a term that keeps the whole prepayment on cancellation without a matching obligation on the venue is on the grey list in Schedule 2 to the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and a booking for a specific date is excluded from the cancellation right by regulation 28 of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, so the contract's own terms do the work.

The venue's own cancellation, force majeure and change of ownership

Venue contracts let the venue cancel for refurbishment, a change of ownership, a double booking or events outside its control, offering a refund of the deposit and nothing more. The review asks for the venue's cancellation to be limited to genuine force majeure, for the venue to pay the hirer's wasted costs where it cancels for its own reasons, for a right for the hirer to withdraw with a refund where the venue changes the room, the capacity or the date, and for a clause dealing with the venue closing before the event.

Capacity, licensing, noise and the premises licence

The venue's premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003 sets the hours, the capacity and the conditions for the sale of alcohol and regulated entertainment, and the hirer is bound by them through the contract. The review checks the licensed hours against the event, whether alcohol may be brought in or must be bought from the venue, the corkage charge, the music and entertainment permitted and the venue's own licences with the collecting societies, the noise limits and curfew, and the fire safety capacity under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which the venue must comply with as the responsible person.

Catering, suppliers and the venue's approved list

Venues require the hirer to use the venue's own catering or a supplier from its approved list, and charge for outside suppliers. The review checks the minimum catering spend, the menu and pricing commitment, the final numbers deadline and what happens if numbers fall below it, the position on dietary requirements and allergens, the approved supplier list and the charge for using others, and the venue's right to change the catering offer before the event.

Damage, security deposits, liability and insurance

The hirer is responsible for damage caused by its guests and suppliers, and the venue holds a security deposit or reserves the right to charge. The review asks for a schedule of condition, for damage charges at cost, for the deposit to be returned within a stated period, and for the hirer's liability to exclude damage caused by the venue's own staff or by fair wear and tear. The venue as occupier owes the common duty of care to guests under the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957, and its terms will require the hirer to carry public liability insurance and to indemnify the venue; the review limits the indemnity to the hirer's own acts and checks that the venue's exclusions are subject to the reasonableness test in section 3 of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 where the hirer is a business. The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 applies to sums due between businesses.

What it costs

Standard review, £495. Marked-up document and a written explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the contract review page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• Your own contract returned with my amendments as tracked changes, plus a clean version with every change accepted, ready to send to the other side
• Comments in the document where a point needs explaining
• A written explanation of what I have changed and why, by email or as an attachment if it is lengthy, marking the points I would hold firm on and the ones that are negotiable
• A view on what is normal market practice and what is the other side pushing their luck
• One round of follow-up questions by email, included

What is not included

• Negotiating directly with the other side, which I quote separately once I know who is on the other side. Where the other side is willing to share a live document, I can work in that document directly
• Drafting a replacement contract from scratch
• Advice on the law of any jurisdiction other than England and Wales
• Tax, accounting or regulatory advice
• Disputes about a contract that is already signed

Questions I am often asked

We have to cancel the event. Will we lose the whole fee?

That depends on the cancellation scale and the date, and late cancellation can forfeit the whole fee. The review checks whether the charge is proportionate to the venue's real loss, asks for a reduction where the venue re-lets the date, and identifies the point at which the full fee becomes payable.

The venue has changed hands and the new owner will not honour our booking. What can we do?

A change of ownership does not release the venue from the contract unless the contract says so, which some venue terms do. The review checks the contract's treatment of a sale of the venue and asks for the booking to bind a successor or for the hirer's wasted costs to be paid if it does not.

Can we bring our own caterer?

Only if the contract allows it, and venues tie hirers to their own catering or an approved list. The review checks the tie, the outside supplier charge and the minimum spend, and asks for the venue's catering commitments to be stated so that the tie is worth what it costs.

Related guidance and services

• Contract review, £495, the service this page describes
• Terms and conditions drafting, £995
• Reviewing a hotel group booking or conference contract
• Reviewing an event sponsorship contract

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.