A booth rental contract is drafted and signed by the owner of a business that provides services, such as a hair salon, and an individual who will be renting space in which to perform those services. It may be a monthly or weekly agreement or may be for a longer period such as a fixed-term lease.

Before such an agreement is signed, both parties should discuss all terms in detail. The rental amount should be decided upon before filling in the details of the contract. At that point, templates for this contract can be downloaded from an online source and filled in as needed. 

What Goes Into a Booth Rental Contract?

There are several things that typically go into a rental contract for booth rental in a salon, such as:

  • Owner's name and address.
  • Renter's name and address.
  • Address of the shop where the rental will be.
  • Size of the space for rental.
  • How long the rental term will be.
  • Cost of the rental.
  • What activities will be permitted.
  • Any equipment and other items to be provided by the property owner.

Typical Uses of a Booth Rental Agreement

Besides a beauty salon, a booth rental contract can be used for other types of businesses as well. These include tattoo parlors, nail salons, and other providers of personal services. Contracts such as these are flexible and can be tailored to fit the unique needs of your business. 

In professions such as these, many individual providers do not have the capital to operate their separate shop. Renting a booth in a shop that is owned by another person is a great way to begin your career. A well-written contract gives each party an understanding of what to expect on a day-to-day basis. However, if it is done improperly, many unfortunate issues may crop up.

If you are renting out booth space on your property, the contract lays out exactly what payment you will receive, what equipment you must provide, and the term of the booth rental. If the contract is not thorough, the renter may be able to ask for more equipment or materials, more space, or more time than is allotted.

If you are the renter, the agreement secures your monthly rental rate and prevents the lessor from raising it whenever they choose. You also need to ensure that everything you want to be included is settled in the contract, such as utilities, equipment, and other resources you may need to use while you are there.

Detailed Contract Provisions

In addition to the basic information outlined above, there are many items that are optional to include in a contract, but helpful. These include:

  • What access the renter has to the rest of the building, if any.
  • The property owner's responsibilities for keeping the building and equipment in good condition.
  • Any reception services that will be included.
  • A clause that states the renter is an independent contractor, not an employee.
  • The renter's responsibility for keeping their own insurance policy.
  • A provision that prohibits or allows sub-leasing their booth.
  • The renter's obligations for upkeep and cleaning.
  • The renter's responsibility regarding any damages caused by clients or guests.
  • Any other relevant information you wish to include.

Tax Issues For Booth Rental

Although booth rentals, especially in hair salons, are a long-standing tradition, a good contract is necessary to avoid legal issues, including problems with the IRS. Although it is legal in most states, there are compliance requirements that must be met in order to effectively separate your salon from the booth renter.

In order to be legally separate as a contractor instead of being considered an employee by the IRS, several requirements must be met:

  • The salon cannot have any say in how the services are performed.
  • The renter/stylist must have their own license, if that is required by the state.
  • The renter/stylist must carry their own insurance policy.
  • The renter needs to collect the customer's payments instead of having customers pay through a front register.
  • The renter should carry their own supplies needed to perform their services instead of using a communal supply.
  • The rent may either be a fixed amount or may be a percentage of the renter's sales. In that case, the renter needs to keep records of their sales.

Depending on the arrangement, either the renter prepares a 1099 detailing the payments made to the salon, or the salon prepares a 1099 identifying the contractor's earnings.

If you need more information or help with booth rental contracts, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.