By booking a stay at Tucked Inn, you agree to the below rental agreement. Some of the items in the agreement are required by the North Carolina Vacation Rental Agreement Act. Your reservation will become an addendum to this agreement once booked.
If you have any questions, please let us know. We’re pretty easy to get along with.
Last modified February, 2023
THIS IS A VACATION RENTAL AGREEMENT UNDER THE NORTH CAROLINA VACATION RENTAL ACT. THE RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE PARTIES TO THIS AGREEMENT ARE DEFINED BY LAW AND INCLUDE UNIQUE PROVISIONS PERMITTING THE DISBURSEMENT OF RENT PRIOR TO TENANCY AND EXPEDITED EVICTION OF TENANTS. YOUR SIGNATURE ON THIS AGREEMENT OR PAYMENT OF MONEY, OR TAKING POSSESSION OF THE PROPERTY AFTER RECEIPT OF THE AGREEMENT, IS EVIDENCE OF YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE AGREEMENT AND YOUR INTENT TO USE THIS PROPERTY FOR A VACATION RENTAL. WE WILL CONDUCT ALL ACTIVITIES IN REGARD TO THIS AGREEMENT WITHOUT RESPECT TO THE RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, SEX, NATIONAL ORIGIN, HANDICAP, FAMILIAL STATUS, SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR GENDER IDENTITY OF ANY TENANT.
The term Owner and Landlord are used interchangeably throughout this rental agreement and refer to the owner or manager of the property. Tenant/Tenants are the person(s) renting the home.
1. RENT and FEES: If booking on our website, we provide the rental rate and a listing of all other fees and charges at the time of booking. If booking through a third party booking site such as Airbnb and VRBO, they will provide you with a listing of the rental rate and fees through their reservation system. Additional fees may include but are not limited to taxes, cleaning fees, linen fees and fees such as Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, and Vacation Rental Damage Protection. You may refer to your reservation once booked for the full accounting of rental rates and fees. When booking through the website, Vacation Rental Damage Protection insurance will be required in lieu of a security deposit. You will be sent a link after booking to purchase this insurance for either $79 or $99 depending on the option selected.
2. PAYMENT POLICIES: All fees are subject to change. If booking through our website, all payments made will be held in a trust account until disbursement. This account is through Bluevine.com at Coastal Community Bank, 5415 Evergreen Way, Everett WA 98203. Third party booking sites such as Airbnb and VRBO process all payments through their platform and they are solely responsible for collecting payment and disbursement of funds back to tenant if a refund is due to tenant and the disbursement of rental and fee payments to owner. When booking on our website, 50% for the rental rate, taxes and fees are due at the time of booking. The other 50% is due 30 days prior to check-in.
3. DISBURSEMENTS: Rent payments are collected by the platform in which you made your booking and will not be disbursed prior to occupancy of the property by the Tenant in an amount greater than 50% of the total rent except any fees owed to third parties to pay for goods, services, or benefits procured for the benefit of the Tenant. The funds remaining after any disbursement will remain in the trust account, if booking was through our direct website, or with the third party booking service such as Airbnb or VRBO and will not be disbursed until the occurrence of one of the following: I. The commencement of the tenancy, at which time the remaining funds may be disbursed. 2. The Tenant commits a material breach. 3. The money is refunded to the Tenant. 4. The funds are transferred upon the termination of the property Owner’s interest in the property. Funds collected for sales tax, occupancy tax, and security deposits will not be disbursed prior to the termination of the tenancy or material breach of the agreement by the Tenant, except as a refund to the Tenant. The Tenant’s execution of the vacation rental lease agreement will not constitute a waiver or loss of any of the Tenant’s rights to reimbursement of such payments if the Tenant is lawfully entitled to the reimbursement.
4. TAXES: North Carolina sales tax and local county and state occupancy tax are added to your total rent and will be due when the balance of your rent is paid. Tax rates are subject to change. Taxes are collected and distributed to the proper taxing authorities by owner or, if booked on a third party booking website such as Airbnb or VRBO, by those third parties. The tax rate will be listed on your rental booking when booked.
5. MANDATORY EVACUATIONS -NCGS § 42A-36. Mandatory Evacuations. If State or local authorities, acting pursuant to Article lA of Chapter 166A of the General Statutes, order a mandatory evacuation of an area that includes the residential property subject to a vacation rental, the tenant under the vacation rental agreement, whether in possession of the property or not, shall comply with the evacuation order. Upon compliance, the tenant shall be entitled to a refund from the landlord of the rent, taxes, and any other payments made by the tenant pursuant to the vacation rental agreement as a condition of the tenant’s right to occupy the property prorated for each night that the tenant is unable to occupy the property because of the mandatory evacuation order. The tenant shall not be entitled to a refund if: (i) prior to the tenant taking possession of the property, the tenant refused insurance offered by the landlord or landlords agent that would have compensated the tenant for losses or damages resulting from loss of use of the property due to a mandatory evacuation order; or (ii) the tenant purchased insurance offered by the landlord or landlords agent. The insurance, if offered, shall be provided by an insurance company duly authorized by the North Carolina Department of lnsurance.
6. STATES OF EMERGENCY, GOVERNMENTAL ACTIVITIES AND CLOSURES ETC.: Neither Agent or Owner shall be liable for events beyond their control or occurrences of nature (Acts of God, see paragraph 30.) which may interfere with Tenant occupancy, acts of governmental agencies (for example, states of emergency, evacuation orders, beach nourishment, road and other closures, etc.). NO REBATE OR REFUND will be offered in these circumstances.
7. NON-SMOKING PROPERTIES: Use of cigarettes, pipes, cigars, electronic cigarettes, or other smoking paraphernalia is prohibited inside the home. Please do not improperly discard or dispose of smoking debris in yards or around the property. Smoking in the property or improper disposal of smoking debris is considered damage and cause for eviction, forfeiture of rent and a $500 fine, and additional cleaning costs and fees.
8. GROUNDS FOR EVICTION: A material breach of this Agreement by the Tenant, which, in the sole determination of the Agent, results in damage to the property, personal injury to Tenant, a breach of the peace, a nuisance to others, or a violation of law or local code, shall be grounds for termination of your tenancy. NO REFUNDS will be issued in the event you breach this Agreement and are evicted from or unable to use the Rental Property. Any Tenant, who leases residential property subject to a vacation rental agreement for 30 days or less may be evicted and removed from the property in an expedited eviction proceeding brought by the property Owner their agent, if the Tenant does one of the following: a. Holds over possession after his or her tenancy has expired. b. Has committed a material breach of the terms of the Vacation Rental Lease Agreement that, according to the terms of the Agreement, results in the termination of his or her tenancy. c. Fails to pay rent as required by the Agreement. d. Has obtained possession of the property by fraud or misrepresentation.
9. ERRORS: Every effort has been made to ensure all property descriptions are accurate, however, Owner and their agent is not responsible for changes or errors in rates, furnishings, bed arrangements and equipment or for down time of inoperative equipment.
10. UNAVAILABILITY: On occasion, the home may become unavailable for any reason, Owner reserves the right to relocate or refund Tenant. Except as stated later in this paragraph, if at any time or the time you are to begin occupancy of the rental unit you selected, the unit you have rented becomes unavailable or cannot be provided to you in a fit and habitable condition and Owner cannot provide you with a reasonably comparable substitute property in fit and habitable condition, then Owner will refund to you all rents you already paid and that have been disbursed to Owner. For purposes of this paragraph, a “reasonably comparable substitute property” means a rental unit for which the rental rate for the agreed upon rental period is similar to that of the unavailable rental unit you had selected. The reasonably comparable substitute property is not guaranteed to have the same attributes and amenities as the rental unit you had selected, although Owner will endeavor to offer a substitute with attributes and amenities similar to the rental unit you selected if Owner has such a unit available at a rental rate similar to that of the unavailable rental unit you had selected for the same rental period or a different rental period. Tenant agrees to indemnify Owner and pay any additional moneys due for any substitute rental unit selected. No part of this paragraph applies to a situation where the rental unit you selected becomes unavailable as a result of a mandatory evacuation; evacuations will be treated as Cancellations as described in paragraph 5.
11. LANDLORD DUTIES: A Landlord of a residential property used for a vacation rental, shall: 1.Comply with all current applicable building and housing codes. 2. Make all repairs and do whatever is reasonably necessary to put and keep the property in a fit and habitable condition. 3. Keep all common areas of the property in safe condition. 4. Maintain in good and safe working order and reasonably and promptly repair all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, and other facilities and major appliances supplied by him or her upon written notification from the Tenant that the repairs are needed. 5. Provide operable smoke detectors. Landlord shall replace or repair the smoke detectors if the Landlord is notified by the Tenant in writing that replacement or repair is needed. The Landlord shall annually place new batteries in a battery-operated smoke detector, and the Tenant shall replace the batteries as needed during the tenancy. Failure of the Tenant to replace the batteries as needed shall not be considered negligence on the part of the Tenant or Landlord. 6. Provide a minimum of one operable carbon monoxide alarm per rental unit per level in accordance with the specifications in NCGS §42A-31(6).
12. TENANT DUTIES: The Tenant or Tenant’s guests or invitees of a residential property used for a vacation rental shall: 1. Keep that part of the property he or she occupies and uses as clean and safe as the conditions of the property permit and cause no unsafe or unsanitary conditions in the common areas and remainder of the property. 2. Return all furnishings to their original location. 3. Dispose of all ashes, rubbish, garbage, and other waste in a clean and safe manner. 4. Keep all plumbing fixtures in the property or used by the Tenant as clean as their condition permits. 6. Not deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, or remove any part of the property or render inoperable the smoke detector provided by the Landlord, or knowingly permit any person to do so. 7. Comply with all obligations imposed upon the Tenant by current applicable building and housing codes. 8. Be responsible for all damage, defacement, or removal of any of the property inside the rental property that is in Tenant’s exclusive control unless the damage, defacement, or removal was due to ordinary wear and tear, acts of the Landlord or his or her Agent, defective products supplied or repairs authorized by Owner, acts of third parties not invitees of, or natural forces. 9. Notify the Landlord of the need for replacement or repair to a smoke detector. 10. Use the property for residential purposes only, not in violation of any criminal law, governmental regulation or paragraph 25 of this agreement. These duties shall not be waived; however, the Landlord and Tenant may make additional covenants not inconsistent herewith.
13. BINDING EFFECT: This Agreement shall be valid and enforceable when the Tenant has accepted the Agreement as evidenced by any of the following: 1. The Tenant’s signature on the Agreement. 2. The Tenant’s payment of any monies after the Tenant’s receipt of the Agreement. 3. The Tenant’s taking possession of the property after the Tenant’s receipt of the Agreement.
14. CHOICE OF LAW AND VENUE: This Agreement shall be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of North Carolina. Parties agree that in the event of a dispute that the Agreement is to be considered as having been entered into in the county where the rental unit is located and that in the event of a dispute, parties agree that any legal action may only be instituted in the county (Jackson County) in North Carolina where the rental property is located.
15. NO PETS: This property is designated as a “No Pets” property. Bringing any animal to a non-pet property will result in immediate eviction, Tenant paying a $500.00 fine, all cleaning costs (including carpet and grounds), flea treatment, damages, and no refund of rental monies. Landlord cannot guarantee that the home has not had pets present on the property at some time.
16. INTERNET: Internet is provided and a Wi-Fi passcode will be provided at check-in.. Be advised that the unauthorized exchange/download/upload of copyrighted material (music, movies, software, etc.) may be prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Such unauthorized exchange/download/upload is strictly prohibited under this Agreement and Tenant agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the unit Owner and Southern Shores Realty from any civil or criminal prosecution that may result from such unauthorized and prohibited use. Note: Internet access speeds and connections cannot be guaranteed and may be slower than what you are used to in other areas as speeds in the mountains are sometimes slower.
17. CHECK-IN and CHECK-OUT TIME: Check-In time is no earlier than 4:00pm on your arrival date. On your departure date, PROPERTY MUST BE VACATED NO LATER THAN 10:00 A.M. On occasion, early check-in and late departure may be possible, but will need to be requested by asking the owner (Owner reserves the right to change required Tenant Departure Time, at any time and will communicate any change to Tenant.)
18. NO PARTIES: Use of the Property by Fraternities, Sororities, or groups of unrelated individuals under 24 years of age is prohibited. Occupancy is restricted to the number of occupants for the property set forth in the property description. Tenant shall not use the property for parties, weddings or other events. (Any Exception will require prior approval from the Landlord and Agent and Tenant shall pay an additional fee & security deposit.)
19. TRANSFER OF PROPERTY: If unit is actively listed for sale, listing agent may request an appointment to show the property. a. If the Owner voluntarily sells or transfers the property, Tenant has the right to enforce this Agreement against the grantee/Owner of the property if Tenant’s occupancy under this Agreement is to end 180 days or less after the grantee’s/Owner’s interest in the property is recorded. If Tenant’s occupancy is to end more than 180 after such recordation, Tenant has no right to enforce the terms of this Agreement unless the grantee agrees in writing to honor this Agreement. If the grantee does not honor this Agreement, Tenant is entitled to a refund of all advance rent paid by Tenant (and other fees owed to third parties not already lawfully disbursed). Within 20 days after transfer of the property, the grantee or the grantee’s agent is required to: (i) notify Tenant in writing of the transfer of the property, the grantee’s name and address, and the date the grantee’s interest was recorded; and (ii) advise Tenant whether Tenant has the right to occupy the property subject to the terms of this Agreement or receive a refund of any payments made by Tenant. However, if the grantee engages the Agent to continue managing the property after the transfer, the grantee shall have no obligation under (i) or (ii) above if this Agreement must be honored under the Vacation Rental Act or if the grantee agrees in writing to honor this Agreement. b. Upon termination of the Owner’s interest in the property, whether by sale, assignment, death, appointment of a receiver or otherwise, the Owner, Agent, or real estate agent is required to transfer all advance rent paid by Tenant (and other fees owed to third parties not already lawfully disbursed) to the Owner’s successor-in-interest within 30 days, and notify Tenant by mail of such transfer and of the transferee’s name and address. However, if Tenant’s occupancy under this Agreement is to end more than 180 days after recordation of the interest of the Owner’s successor-in-interest in the property, and the successor-in-interest has not agreed to honor this Agreement, all advance rent paid by Tenant (and other fees owed to third parties not already lawfully disbursed) must be transferred to Tenant within 30 days.
20. RIGHT OF ENTRY: You agree that Agent or Owner may enter the property during reasonable hours to inspect the property, to make such repairs, alterations or improvements thereto as Agent may deem appropriate, or to show property to prospective purchasers. Agent and/or subcontractors may enter premises during reasonable hours to perform maintenance (ex., change air filters).
21. ACTS OF GOD, CONSTRUCTION, BEACH NOURISHMENT, ETC.: Neither Agent or Owner shall be liable for events beyond their control or occurrences of nature which may interfere with Tenant occupancy, including acts of God, (for example, inclement weather, road and other closures, construction, cancellations, restrictions, strikes, fire, war, terrorism, health epidemic or pandemic, natural disasters, flooding, earth-quake, construction noise, flying insects or other insects or other creatures, etc.). NO REBATE OR REFUND will be offered in these circumstances. Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance may offered.
22. EQUIPMENT AND MAINTENANCE: All equipment in each unit should be in working order. Please report any inoperative equipment to our office promptly. We will make every reasonable effort to have repairs made as soon as possible; however, there are limited service contractors in our area. No reduction of rent, rebate or refund will be issued for any mechanical failure of air conditioning, dishwasher, washer, dryer, TV, luxury items (i.e. hot tubs, pools, Jacuzzi), or other appliances. If your unit does provide a TV, we cannot always guarantee satisfactory operation. Replacement, repair, or rebate of TV’s or similar equipment will NOT be given. No reduction of rent, rebate OR refund will be issued for interruptions in cable, internet, phone, satellite service, or other utilities. If beach equipment, recreation equipment and other amenities to this effect are offered at the rental, they are offered as an added benefit to the rental and are not guaranteed to be available or in proper working condition. If beach equipment, recreation equipment and other amenities to this effect are offered at the rental, they are offered as an added benefit to the rental and are not guaranteed to be available or in proper working condition.
23. HOLD HARMLESS: Tenant agrees to indemnify and save harmless Owner and Agent for any liabilities, theft, damage, cost or expense whatsoever (including but not limited to attorneys’ fees) arising from or related to any claim or litigation which may arise out of or in connection with Tenant’s use and occupancy of the Property, including but not limited to any claim or liability for personal injury, sickness, damage to or theft of property or infringement of intellectual property rights (e.g., illegally downloading video, audio, or test files via any internet service located at the Property), unless caused by the grossly negligent or willful act of Agent or the Owner, or the failure of Agent or the Owner to comply with the Vacation Rental Act. EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED HEREIN, NEITHER AGENT NOR OWNER ARE PROVIDING ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, WHETHER WRITTEN OR ORAL, STATUTORY OR CONTRACTUAL, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. AGENT AND OWNER DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE. The terms “Agent” and “Owner” as used in this Agreement shall include their heirs, successors in interest, assigns, employees, agents, and representatives where the context requires of permits. The terms “Tenant”, “You”, and “Your” as used in this Agreement shall include Tenant’s heirs, successors, assigns, guests, invitees, representatives and other persons on the Property during Tenant’s occupancy (without regard to whether such persons have authority under this Agreement to be upon the Property), where the context requires or permits.
24. CANCELLATIONS AND CHANGES BY TENANT: All changes and cancellations are governed by the terms at the time at which your reservation is made. Tenant may cancel their reservation 30 calendar days before the arrival date for a full refund. If Tenant is cancelling within 30 days of the arrival date, there will be no refund allowed. If booking is made less than 30 days before arrival, then Tenant may cancel the booking within 48 hours for a full refund. After 48 hours, no refund will be allowed.