Features of legal regulation under a vehicle lease agreement + a template for a car rental agreement between individuals with an acceptance certificate.

In the context of the insane development of technology and the globalization of cities, it is simply impossible for an ordinary citizen to imagine his life without the use of a vehicle. It can be either your own car or public transport or taxi. It is also impossible to imagine running a successful business without using a vehicle, establishing logistics processes and mechanisms.

It is no secret to anyone that in order to use a vehicle on their own, it is not necessary for an individual or legal entity to buy it in private ownership, and if necessary, it is possible to rent it.

Today we will consider the features of regulation and conditions under the contract for the hire (lease) of a vehicle.

A vehicle lease agreement is one of the varieties of a lease (lease) agreement and all the provisions of these agreements apply to it.

According to Art. 759 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, under a lease (lease) agreement, the landlord transfers or undertakes to transfer property to the tenant for use for a fee for a certain period.

Subject of the contract.

A special difference between a vehicle lease agreement lies in its subject, because the subject of the agreement is nothing more than vehicles.

But vehicles include not only cars or trucks that we are used to seeing constantly on public roads.

In fact, this concept is much broader, and includes (part 1 of article 798 of the Civil Code):

• aircraft;
• sea and river vessels;
• ground self-propelled vehicles.

In particular, an aircraft is considered to be an apparatus maintained in the atmosphere as a result of its interaction with air, which is different from interaction with air reflected from the earth's surface (clause 79, article 1, Air Code of Ukraine).

A marine vessel is a self-propelled or non-self-propelled floating structure that is used: for the carriage of goods, passengers, baggage and mail, for fishing or other marine fishing, exploration and mining, rescuing people and ships in distress at sea, towing other ships and floating objects, carrying out hydraulic engineering works or raising property sunken in the sea; for carrying out a special public service (protection of fisheries, sanitary and quarantine services, protection of the sea from pollution); for scientific, educational and cultural purposes; for Sport; for other purposes (Article 15 of the Merchant Shipping Code of Ukraine). The legislation does not contain an exact definition of a river vessel. According to the general understanding, a river vessel is a vessel intended for use on the inland waterways of Ukraine and other countries.

The definition of a ground vehicle is in the Law of Ukraine "On Compulsory Insurance of Civil Liability of Owners of Ground Vehicles".

In accordance with paragraph 1.5 of this law, ground vehicles are recognized as devices intended for the transport of people and / or cargo, as well as special equipment or mechanisms installed on it, subject to state registration and accounting in the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and / or admitted to the road movement, as well as imported into the customs territory of Ukraine for temporary use, registered in other countries.

In addition, the subject of this agreement may also be railway rolling stock (cars, locomotives, motorized transport).

The list of objects for renting a vehicle is not limited to the above vehicles. Therefore, we can conclude that any other vehicles (for example, horse-drawn vehicles, etc.) can be the subject of lease.
 

The specifics of these contracts.

If we are talking about the above vehicles as the subject of a lease (lease) agreement, then it should be understood that these vehicles have their own specifics of owning, using and disposing of them, and that is why they should be considered separately from other items under lease (lease) agreements .

Firstly, the specificity of a vehicle as an object of civil law relations lies in the fact that it is a complex technical device, the use of which requires certain knowledge, qualifications and skills, and under certain conditions even a license.

Secondly, activities related to the use, storage or maintenance of a vehicle are considered as a source of increased danger (Article 1187 of the Civil Code), which leads to increased requirements for its owner.

Thirdly, the vehicle by its properties refers to movable things. Moreover, according to its purpose, it is used to move in space (together with cargo, a passenger, etc.), but in many cases it is subject to the legal regime of an immovable thing and, accordingly, special rules for drawing up contracts are established.

The crew of the leased vehicle does not terminate the employment relationship with the lessor. Therefore, crew members must comply with the internal labor regulations of the employer (in relation to the form of clothing, behavior, etc.) and have the appropriate rights in relation to the employer established by the employment contract (the right to receive wages, the right to rest, etc.). ). In matters of management and technical operation of the vehicle, crew members must be subordinate to the hirer. But in terms of commercial operation (determining the route of movement, loading, etc.), the crew is subordinate to the employer, since it is thanks to this that the goal of hiring can be achieved.

Parties to the agreement.

The parties to this agreement are the landlord (lessor) and the tenant (tenant). The landlord and the tenant can be both legal entities and individuals.

Landlords are the owners of vehicles, persons with property rights, as well as persons authorized to conclude a property lease agreement. In this case, the tenants are individuals and legal entities intending to rent vehicles.

At the same time, if the party is an individual, then it is not required to be a participant in economic relations or carry out entrepreneurial activities (be registered as a payroll). The lessor can be any natural person who owns the vehicle and who wants to rent it out. To implement this intention, the landlord is not required to have any licenses or permits. Indeed, as a general rule, the right to lease property as a special case of exercising the authority to use and dispose of property is exercised by its owner with full legal capacity. Minors between the ages of 14 and 18 (with the exception of persons who have acquired full legal capacity before reaching the age of 18), as well as persons limited by a court in legal capacity, may lease their own property only with the consent of their parents, adoptive parents or trustees.

It should be noted that if a vehicle is leased by an individual, the profit (rental payment) received from this activity will be subject to personal income tax in accordance with Art. 162 of the Tax Code.

Form of conclusion of the contract.

The vehicle rental contract is concluded in writing. (part 1, article 799 of the Civil Code).

If the landlord or tenant is an individual, then such an agreement must be notarized (part 2, article 799 of the Civil Code of Ukraine).

According to clause 3.2, chapter 5 of the Order of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine No. 296/5 dated February 22, 2012 “On approval of the Procedure for performing notarial acts by notaries of Ukraine”, contracts for hiring (renting) or loaning a vehicle are certified by notaries, regardless of their registration.

According to Part 1, Art. 220 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, if the parties fail to comply with the requirement for notarization of the contract, it is considered useless and does not give rise to legal consequences.

If a vehicle lease agreement is concluded between an enterprise, institution, organization and an individual entrepreneur, such an agreement is not subject to mandatory notarization.
 

Form of payment and amount of rent.

According to Art. 762 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, payment for the use of property under a lease agreement can be established in cash or in kind. The vehicle rental agreement specifies the amount of payment, the frequency of payment and the form. A mixed cash-in-kind form of payment is also not prohibited.

In the case of payment in kind, the parties should agree in the contract on certain additional conditions for its payment, for example, the quality of things or work that will be transferred by the tenant, how the rent in the form of things will be transferred to the landlord: by self-export or with delivery; how the delivery costs are distributed, if any, etc.

A contract or law may establish a periodic review, change (indexation) of the amount of payment for the use of property.

The amount of the rent is set by the parties by agreement of the parties (Article 632 of the Civil Code). That is, when renting a car from an individual, the parties have the right to set any price (after all, it is not subject to state regulation). This follows from Art. 44 of the Economic Code of Ukraine, art. 632 GKU, art. 10, 11 of the Law of Ukraine "On Prices and Pricing" dated June 21, 2012 No. 5007-VI.
 

Features of hiring a vehicle with a crew serving it.

In cases where the objects of our contracts are not just cars, but aircraft, sea or river vessels, railway rolling stock, then in such situations the vehicle is leased along with the operating crew.

In fact, this type of contracts will be of a mixed nature and include obligations related to the transfer of a vehicle for rent, and obligations related to the provision of services by the crew.

In case of concluding a contract for hiring a vehicle with a crew, it is the crew that is obliged to carry out the management and technical operation of the vehicle. The scope of actions for management and technical operation varies depending on the type of vehicle and the purpose of hiring, but in any case, the crew must ensure the normal and safe operation of the vehicle in accordance with its purpose.

The crew of the leased vehicle does not terminate the employment relationship with the lessor. Therefore, crew members must comply with the internal labor regulations of the employer (in relation to the form of clothing, behavior, etc.) and have the appropriate rights in relation to the employer established by the employment contract (the right to receive wages, the right to rest, etc.) . In matters of management and technical operation of the vehicle, crew members must be subordinate to the renter. But in terms of commercial operation (determining the route of movement, loading, etc.), the crew is subordinate to the employer, since it is thanks to this that the goal of hiring can be achieved.
 

The content of the contract.

The content of the contract must indicate the purpose of using the vehicle. The vehicle can be used both for own needs and for business activities.

The tenant is obliged to use the vehicle in accordance with its purpose. He has the right to use this vehicle to carry out business activities, concluding on behalf of contracts of carriage or other contracts in accordance with the purpose of the vehicle. In this case, the consent of the landlord for the conclusion of contracts is not required. This rule applies in cases where the lease agreement specifies that the vehicle is transferred for the employer to carry out business activities. If the intended purpose of the vehicle is exclusively its use for own needs, the conclusion by the lessee of contracts of carriage without the consent of the lessor will be contrary to the terms of the contract.

During the term of the lease agreement, the burden of maintaining the vehicle passes from the lessor to the lessee. The latter is obliged to maintain the vehicle in proper technical condition. Ensuring this serviceable condition is carried out by carrying out maintenance and repair. The list of operations related, in particular, to the maintenance and repair of vehicles, is established by the order "On approval of the Rules for the provision of services for the maintenance and repair of wheeled vehicles", approved by the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine dated November 28, 2014 № 615.

As a general rule (Article 776 of the Civil Code), the employer is obliged to carry out only current repairs of the vehicle. However, the contract may specify other conditions for the current or major repairs of the vehicle, different from the general rule.

The costs associated with the use of the vehicle are also borne by the employer. Such expenses, in particular, include those associated with the purchase of fuel, spare parts intended for the repair of vehicles, etc. The tenant is also obliged to pay taxes and other payments related to the use of the vehicle.

Vehicle insurance is carried out by the lessor (part 1, article 802 of the Civil Code).

The vehicle rental agreement must also specify the procedure for the transfer and return of the vehicle to the lessor. The fact of the transfer and return of the vehicle must be formalized by the act of acceptance and transfer of the vehicle, although the Civil Code does not directly establish a special procedure for the transfer and return of rented vehicles. However, it is necessary to draw up it, since this is the only document proving the fact of the transfer of the vehicle.

The act of acceptance of the transfer of the vehicle indicates the identifying features and characteristics of the vehicle, its condition and shortcomings, damage in case of their detection.

Contract time.

One of the main conditions of the contract is the term of the lease. Based on this, the contract must specify exactly when the lease expires. You can specify the conditions under which the landlord can terminate the lease early. It is better to state in writing what liability the tenant will bear if he violates the terms of the rent agreement.

The lease agreement is valid for the period specified in the agreement (part 1 of article 763 of the Civil Code). Beyond this period, the lease relationship may continue if the parties so agree. This means that after the end of a vehicle rental agreement concluded, for example, for one year, in the absence of statements about the desire to terminate this agreement, it is considered valid for another calendar year on the same conditions.

You can download a template for a car rental agreement between individuals and an act of transfer acceptance to it from the link. Or use the extended functionality of the system in terms of maintaining a register of counterparties, generate an agreement, act, invoice filled with data, and also sign it with a qualified digital signature.