This form is used by a vacation rental operator when entering into a guest’s occupancy of a vacation property, hotel, motel, inn, boarding house, lodging house, tourist home or similar transient accommodations for a period of 30 days or less, to document the terms of a guest’s occupancy.
Transient occupancy
Transient occupancy is the occupancy of a vacation property, hotel, motel, inn, boarding house, lodging house, tourist home or similar sleeping accommodation for a period of 30 days or less. This type of occupant is classified as a guest or a transient occupant. A transient occupant/guest is not a tenant and has considerably different legal standing and obligations. Thus, a transient occupancy is not controlled by landlord/tenant law.
A guest occupies property known as lodging, an accommodation or a unit. In the context of transient occupancy, the property is never described as a space or premise(s). Further, the property is not called a rental property. The term “rental” implies a landlord/tenant relationship exists, which it does not, between a guest and owner of the property.
The guest’s occupancy is labeled a stay, not possession which is exclusive to a tenant. During a guest’s stay in the lodging, the owner or manager of the property is entitled to enter the unit at check-out time even though the guest may not yet have departed. In contrast, a landlord is not permitted to enter a tenant’s unit without proper written notice when the tenant has not yet vacated.
The reservation agreement
The contract entered into to document a guest’s stay in transitory lodging is called a reservation agreement, or a guest occupancy agreement. To avoid a muddling of terms and legal effect, it is never referred to as a rental or lease agreement. [See RPI Form 593]
The Guest Occupancy Agreement – For Transient Occupancy Properties published by RPI (Realty Publications, Inc.) is used by a vacation rental operator when entering into a guest’s occupancy of transient accommodations for a period of 30 days or less, to document the terms of a guest’s occupancy. [See RPI Form 593]
The Guest Occupancy Agreement documents pertinent information regarding the guest occupancy, including:
- the name of the guest;
- a description of the unit;
- the daily rate to be paid;
- check-in and check-out dates and times;
- the maximum number of individuals who may occupy the unit; and
- other rules and restrictions regarding the use of the accommodations. [See RPI Form 593]
Guests pay a daily rate, not a daily or weekly rent. Guests properly arrive at a pre-set date and time for check-in, not for commencement of possession as granted to a tenant. Likewise, guests depart at an hour on a date agreed to as the check-out time. Unlike a tenant, a guest does not vacate the accommodations, they check out.
When a guest fails to depart at the scheduled check-out hour on the date agreed, no holdover tenancy is created since no tenancy is involved. Thus, the remedy of an unlawful detainer (UD) for removing a guest does not exist, unlike a tenancy conveyed by a rental or lease agreement. A UD action or court involvement is not required to remove the guest. [Calif. Civil Code §1940(b)]
However, for the owner or manager to avoid the landlord-tenant UD eviction process, the guest, when checking in, needs to sign a notice stating:
- the unit is needed at check-out time for another guest who has been promised the unit; and
- if the guest has not departed at check-out time, the owner or manager may enter, take possession of the guest’s property, re-key the doors and clean up the unit for the next guest. [CC §1865; see RPI Form 593]
Form updated 10-2016 to include the Form Description at the top, white header/footer convention and RPI branding.
Form navigation page published 10-2016.
