GearPool member asset agreement

Phase 0, members' pool. Plain-language draft for the founders' review and for counsel before the first paid rental. Version 0.1, 21 September 2026.

This is a working draft written to be read in ten minutes. Where it says "the desk" it means GearPool acting as the manager of the pool, not as the owner of any unit. Nothing in it is legal advice.

1. Who is who

  • The owner is a member who lists a unit they own, or are authorised to list, in the pool.
  • The renter is a member who books a unit from the pool.
  • The desk is GearPool. It runs the listing board, the calendar, the quote, the contract, the deposit, the handover record and the payout. It does not own the units and does not take possession of them unless a separate storage arrangement says so.
  • A unit is one listed item: a vehicle, a trailer, a generator, a battery station, a bike, a PA system, lighting, shade, or any other festival gear the desk accepts.

2. Joining and listing

  1. Membership is by application and a founder's approval. Founders may decline or pause any membership without giving a reason.
  2. Listing a unit is free in Phase 0. The owner provides truthful photos, the replacement value, the condition, the dates it is available and the dates it is not, and a day rate the owner will accept.
  3. A founder checks every listing before it goes live and may ask for more photos, a serial number, proof of ownership, or a lower or higher rate.
  4. The owner may withdraw a unit at any time it is not booked. A unit that is booked stays booked unless the renter agrees or the desk cancels.

3. Booking and money

  1. A renter requests dates. The desk quotes: day rate times days, plus a damage waiver of 10% of the rental, plus a delivery and handover fee if asked for, plus a refundable deposit. The owner and a founder confirm before anything is charged.
  2. The owner keeps 80% of the rental. The desk keeps 20% for running the pool. The damage waiver and the handover fee go to the desk and its handover crew; the deposit is the renter's money, held by the desk.
  3. The owner is paid within three business days of a clean check-in. In Phase 0 the desk pays by bank transfer, Zelle or Venmo, whichever the owner chooses.
  4. The deposit is 25% of the unit's replacement value unless the owner sets another figure. It is held from the renter before pickup and returned within three business days of check-in, less any agreed deduction for damage, missing items, cleaning or fuel and charge not returned as taken.
  5. Cancellation: a renter may cancel free of charge up to seven days before pickup. Inside seven days the desk keeps one day's rental as the cancellation fee and pays half of it to the owner. An owner who cancels a confirmed booking inside seven days owes the renter one day's rental unless the desk finds a replacement unit.

4. The tag and the handover record

  1. Every unit carries a small NFC tag placed by the desk. The tag opens the unit's page. It carries no personal data.
  2. At pickup, the person handing the unit over and the person taking it record a check-out on the tag page: photos of every side, meters, fuel and charge, and any marks, with the time and the names. At return they record a check-in the same way.
  3. The handover record is the evidence. If the unit comes back different from how it left, the two sets of photos decide it. A missing check-out record counts against the owner; a missing check-in record counts against the renter.
  4. Either party may add a condition note with photos at any time.

5. Damage, loss and repairs

  1. The renter returns the unit as it was taken, clean, with fuel and charge at the same level, on the agreed day.
  2. If the unit comes back damaged, the desk documents it from the record, gets a repair quote, and settles from the deposit first and the damage waiver fund second, within the caps of the waiver level chosen. Anything above both is the renter's responsibility, and the renter agrees to pay it within fourteen days of the desk's written figure.
  3. Total loss or theft while the unit is with the renter: the renter is responsible up to the listed replacement value, less any insurance recovery.
  4. Ordinary wear is not damage. A flat tyre, a blown fuse or a dead battery on a unit older than its service interval is the owner's cost, not the renter's.
  5. Neither party repairs, modifies or lends on the unit without the other's written agreement through the desk.

6. Insurance

  1. Vehicles, including RVs and trailers, are listed and rented through an established peer-to-peer rental platform's programme, with the desk managing the listing as a co-host. That platform's rental insurance applies to every booking. The owner agrees to the platform's terms and lets the desk manage the listing on their behalf. The owner's personal auto or RV policy is not relied on.
  2. Non-vehicle gear is protected in layers, set out on the protection page: the deposit; a renter-paid damage waiver at Standard (10% of the rental, accidental damage, renter's share capped at the deposit) or Plus (15% of the rental, adds theft and loss with a police report, renter's share capped at half the deposit); for any unit with a replacement value over $5,000 or marked by the owner, a short-term rental policy bought by the renter naming the owner as loss payee, certificate on file before pickup; and the desk's own commercial general liability policy. A damage waiver is a contract term, not insurance, and does not cover misuse, use by an unnamed person, a generator run indoors or near sleeping areas, a unit left unattended or in an unlocked vehicle, immersion, or modification. The desk will not confirm a first rental of non-vehicle gear until its liability policy is bound and its policy number is on file with the founders.
  3. Generators are listed in California with the owner's declaration of a carbon-monoxide shutoff sensor and fuel type. The renter agrees to the placement rules on the protection page (outdoors only, at least twenty feet from any tent, vehicle or sleeping area, exhaust pointed away, never refuelled hot); breaking them voids the waiver and the renter pays the damage. Where a renter policy is required, the unit does not leave the owner until the desk has verified the certificate, and the tag refuses the check-out until then.
  4. The owner's own policy is not relied on. Homeowners and renters policies generally exclude property used in a business, and the owner acknowledges that the layers above are the cover.
  5. The owner confirms the unit is theirs, is not subject to a lease or loan that forbids renting, and is in safe working order when listed.

7. Renter's undertakings

The renter agrees to use the unit only for the purpose booked, within the law, by adults named on the booking; never to sub-rent it; to follow the owner's written instructions; to stop using it and tell the desk at once if it becomes unsafe; and to return it on time. Late return is charged at the day rate plus 50% per day and may count as loss after three days without contact.

8. Availability and blackouts

The owner's own dates come first. Blackout dates written on the listing are never booked. If the owner needs a unit on a date that is already confirmed, the desk tries to find a replacement; if it cannot, the booking stands unless the renter agrees to release it.

9. Term and ending

  1. This agreement runs from the day the member is approved for one season, then rolls month to month.
  2. A member may leave with thirty days' written notice; any confirmed bookings inside the notice period are honoured.
  3. The desk may end a membership at once for a material breach, dishonesty, unsafe gear, or a false listing.

10. Limits and disputes

  1. The desk is a manager, not an insurer. Its liability to any member is limited to the fees it has received on the booking in question, except where the law does not allow that limit.
  2. The owner and the renter each release the desk from claims arising from the use of a unit, except those caused by the desk's own negligence.
  3. Disputes go first to the founders, who decide from the handover record within ten days. A member who disagrees may take the matter to mediation before any court claim.
  4. This agreement is governed by the law of the State of California, where the desk is registered.

11. Data

The desk stores members' names, contact details, listings, bookings, handover photos and the ledger. It shares an owner's first name and town with renters, and a renter's name with the owner of a booked unit. It does not sell or share member data outside the pool.

12. Changes

The founders may change these terms with fourteen days' notice by message to all members. A change does not affect a booking already confirmed.

By applying to join, listing a unit, or requesting a booking, a member accepts these terms for that action. A dated copy of the version accepted is kept in the ledger.