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A Garage Licence is an agreement between the owner of a garage and someone who wants to rent their garage space. Garage Licences allow the person renting the space to use it to store a vehicle or other personal belongings, without the garage’s owner needing to give them full control of the space.
For use in England and Wales only.
Use this Garage Licence:
when you want to let out a garage on a short-term basis
to allow a private individual to store a private motor vehicle and/or any personal belongings (eg household items) in the garage
if the garage is located in England or Wales only
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This garage licence is made on the date of the last signature below between:
| Car | the private motor vehicle to be parked in the Garage with registration number and which belongs to the Licensee (or such other vehicle as may be agreed between the Owner and the Licensee); |
|---|---|
Garage | the Owner’s garage located at; |
| Licence | this garage licence and any amendments from time to time; |
| Licence Fee | the sum of £ payable in advance on; |
| Licence Period | a term starting on and continuing until the date the Licence is terminated in accordance with the section entitled ‘Termination’; |
Personal Belongings | any inflammable, non-hazardous domestic household items, other than a Car, to be stored by the Licensee in the Garage; |
| Plan | the plan attached to this Licence; |
| VAT | Value added tax payable under the Value Added Tax Act 1994 or any similar or equivalent tax payable instead of or in addition to VAT. |
| _________________________________ | _________________________________ |
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This Garage Licence template covers:
what can be stored in the garage
the licence fee
the owner's responsibilities
the licensee's responsibilities
how the Licence can be ended
an indemnity from the licensee for any claims arising from the use of the garage
You need a Garage Licence if you want to formally rent out your garage space but you don’t want the licensee (ie the person the garage is being licensed to, also known as the ‘occupier’) to gain tenancy rights.
A licence grants somebody personal permission to occupy premises (eg a garage). Unlike a tenancy, a licence does not give the licensee a legal interest in or control over (ie exclusive possession of) the premises. By contrast, a tenancy (ie a lease) grants the occupier exclusive possession of the relevant premises. A tenancy generally comes with enhanced legal protections for the occupier, for example, the requirement that the landlord follows certain strict procedures to end the tenancy (ie to evict the tenant).
This Garage Licence is a contractual licence, which means that, even though there is no tenancy relationship, the parties are legally bound by a contract and if one party doesn’t meet their obligations under the contract (eg if the landlord denies the occupier access to the garage without notice) the other party may take legal action against them for breach of contract.
Making a contractual Garage Licence is a good way of renting your garage out to raise extra cash, whilst ensuring the terms are in writing so that everyone is clear on what’s been agreed. Creating a Licence helps you formalise the arrangement and lets you get the garage back when you want to, simply by giving notice.
Once completed, this Licence is personal to the licensee and cannot be transferred to another person.
For more information, read Leases, licences and tenancies.
The garage can be used to store the licensee’s private motor vehicle (eg a car). The registration number of the vehicle can be set out in the Licence. If the licensee wants to park a different vehicle in the garage, they will need the owner’s consent to do this.
The garage can also be used to store any inflammable and non-hazardous domestic household items (eg toys, clothes, or spare furniture).
You can make a Garage Licence for a garage located at your address or in another location. If it is not at your address, you will need to provide the address of the garage in the Licence.
You should also attach a plan showing the garage that is subject to the Licence.
You will need to decide how much you want to charge the licensee for the use of the garage. You also need to specify how regularly they should make payments. This charge is known as the ‘licence fee’.
The licence fee should include the costs of insuring the land and of any services provided (eg cleaning the garage). The licence fee is exclusive of Value Added Tax (VAT). However, the garage user must pay any VAT that is due.
The length of the Licence is known as the ‘licence period’. This Licence is not for a fixed term (ie it does not have a specified end date). This means that it will run from the start date until it is brought to an end by one of the parties.
The Garage Licence can be brought to an end by either party giving notice to the other. Typically, the notice required is a short period of time linked to the payment period of the licence fee (eg one month if the licence fee is paid monthly or one week if the licence fee is paid weekly). You can set a notice period when you make your Garage Licence.
The garage’s owner can also immediately end the Licence if the licensee breaches any of their obligations under the Licence.
This Garage Licence includes an indemnity from the licensee. The licensee indemnifies the owner of the garage against:
costs and claims arising from their use of the garage, and
costs arising from any breach of their obligations under the Licence
The garage is used at the licensee’s risk during the licence period.
Making your Garage Licence online is simple. Just answer a few questions and Rocket Lawyer will build your document for you. When you have all the information about the garage and its intended use prepared in advance, creating your document is a quick and easy process.
You’ll need the following information:
The owner and the licensee
What is the garage owner’s name, address, and legal structure? If it’s a company, what’s its company number?
Who is the garage owner’s signatory, if it’s a company or a partnership? This is the person who will sign the Licence on the company’s or partnership’s behalf.
What is the licensee’s (ie the person renting the garage’s) name and address?
The garage
Is the garage located at the owner’s address? If not, where is it located?
The Licence
On what date will the Licence start?
How much is the licence fee? How regularly must it be paid (ie weekly or monthly)?
What’s the registration number of the vehicle that the Licence will allow to park in the garage?
How much notice must be given to end the Licence?
Garage Licences set out the terms of the relationship that will exist between a garage owner and a licensee, to avoid confusion and disputes. To do this, this Garage Licence template includes sections headed:
This Garage Licence is made on the date of the last signature below between…
The Licence starts by clearly identifying the owner of the garage and the licensee (ie the person renting the garage under this Licence).
Definitions and interpretation
This definition table assigns specific meanings to key terms used throughout the Licence. When these terms (eg ‘Garage’, ‘Licence fee’ or ‘Licence Period’) are used capitalised throughout the Garage Licence, they carry the meaning they’re given in this table.
Some of the key details of the Licence are set out in this manner, including which car may be parked in the garage and the fee that the licensee must pay.
Grant of Licence
This is the section in which the owner explicitly grants the licensee a licence to use the garage. It sets out the uses that may be made of the garage as well as restrictions (eg the licensee cannot transfer the Licence, ie their permission to use the garage, to another person).
This section also contains language intended to clarify the parties’ intentions that a licence and not a tenancy be created. For example, the licensee’s right to use the premises ‘in common with the owner’.
If the garage is located at the owner’s own property, the Licence also grants the licensee the licence to access (eg drive over) the property in order to access the garage.
Licensee’s obligations
This section sets out what the licensee is promising to do and not do by signing the Licence. For example, they promise to:
pay the licence fee and any VAT due
only use the garage for the specified uses
indemnify the owner against losses that may be caused by their use of the garage
not cause nuisance
not allow anybody else to use the garage
Termination
This section sets out when and how the Licence may be ended by either party. It sets out the required period of notice that either party must give. It also allows the owner to end the Licence immediately if the licensee breaches any terms of the Licence.
General
This final section sets out some points on the legal application and operation of the Licence. For example, it:
sets out the requirements for serving any notices required under the Licence
excludes the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999. This essentially means that third parties (ie not the owner or the licensee) that would otherwise have rights to enforce obligations under this contract cannot do so
states that the owner won’t be liable if another person’s use of the garage causes damage, injury, or similar
Signatures
The Licence ends with spaces for the owner and the licensee to each sign the contract.
If you want your Garage Licence to include further or more detailed provisions, you can edit your document. However, if you do this, you may want a lawyer to review the document for you (or to make the changes for you) to make sure that your modified Garage Licence complies with all relevant laws and meets your specific needs. Use Rocket Lawyer’s Ask a lawyer service for assistance.
Take care not to create a tenancy relationship when you make a Licence
Using the word ‘licence’ to describe an occupation of a premises does not conclusively mean that the person occupying the premises only has a licence and not a lease. Whether a licence or a lease exists depends on the actual nature of the situation. For example, whether or not the occupier has exclusive possession of the property and whether both parties genuinely intended to create a tenancy relationship or not. For more information, read Leases, licences and tenancies. You can also Ask a lawyer for help if you’re worried that you may be unintentionally creating a lease.
Understand when to seek advice from a lawyer
In some circumstances, it’s good practice to Ask a lawyer for advice to ensure that you’re complying with the law and that you are well protected from risks. You should consider asking for advice if:
you’re renting out a garage that is linked to business premises
you’re renting to a licensee that is a company
you want to make long-term arrangements
your garage is located outside of England and Wales
