1. In these Terms & Conditions:
(a) capitalised terms are defined in bold type as set out below;
(b) “the Owner” means Leesa Vere-Stevens whose address is 20 East Park Road Harrogate HG1 5QT England; landline telephone number 01423 523979; email leesavere@yahoo.co.uk;
(c) “the Client” means any person with whom the Owner contracts for the use of the Property and, where the context permits, all persons sharing the use of the Property during the Period and each of them; and
(d) “the Property” means Les Hirondelles, Saint Exupéry, La Réole 33910 France including the house at that address, the adjoining garage, its grounds (including its garden and the wooded area across the road from the house known as the Petit Parc) and swimming pool.

2. The procedure for making a booking of the Property shall be as follows. Upon receiving an enquiry from the Client as to availability of the Property for rental for a particular period, the Owner shall confirm to the Client the availability of the Property for that period and the price payable by the Client (“the Price”) for that booking (“the Availability Response”). If the Client wishes to proceed, the Client shall forthwith send a cheque for 25% of the Price ("the Booking Deposit"), or for the whole of the Price in the case of a Booking made less than 8 weeks before the start of the Period, to the Owner accompanied by a completed booking form in the form available from the website for the Property at www.stexuperyholiday.com signed by the Client (“the Booking Form”).

3. In the event the Booking Deposit and the Booking Form are not received by the Owner within 3 working days of  the Owner sending the Availability Response (time being of the essence for those purposes), the Owner is entitled, entirely at her discretion, to treat the Booking as cancelled and let the Property to another client for the Period without any further notification to the Client and in any event in those circumstances the Owner will have no liability or further obligation to the Client.

4. No contract comes into existence until the Owner has sent written confirmation to the Client that the Owner has received the Booking Deposit and the Booking Form ("the Owner's Confirmation").

5. Upon the Owner sending the Owner's Confirmation, the Owner agrees to provide and the Client agrees to accept the Property for the purposes of holiday accommodation subject to these Terms & Conditions for the period of the rental ("the Period") and at the price payable by the Client ("the Price") stipulated in the Owner's Confirmation ("Booking").

6. The Client agrees to pay the balance (ie the remaining 75%) of the Price ("the Balance"), no later than 8 weeks before the commencement of the Period (or at the same time as the Booking Deposit in the case of a Booking made less than 8 weeks before the start of the Period). Time is of the essence for payment of the Balance and in the event the Balance is not received by the Owner within that time, the Owner is entitled, entirely at her discretion, to treat the Booking as cancelled and let the Property to another client for the Period without any further notification to the Client and in any event in those circumstances the Owner will have no liability or further obligation to the Client.

7. Neither the Booking Deposit nor the Balance (as appropriate) is returnable to the Client in the event the client is unable, for whatever reason, to proceed with the rental of the Property for the Period. The Owner will, in those circumstances, entirely at her discretion endeavour to re-let the Property for the Period and if the Property is re-let for the Period the Client will be reimbursed the Booking Deposit and/or the Balance (as appropriate) less an administration charge of £50 (which the Client agrees is a genuine pre-estimate of the Owner's costs of cancelling arrangements for the Booking, making alternative arrangements, or costs wasted as a result of the Client's rental not proceeding including arrangements for cleaning the pool, provision of linen and the holding of keys); but the Owner is not obliged to re-let the Property or to refund the Booking Deposit and/or the Balance (as appropriate) if the property is not re-let. The Owner reserves the right, in case of emergency, to cancel the Booking at any time and to return to the Client any Booking Deposit and/or Balance which has been paid.

8. The Client shall:
(a) ensure that the number of persons using the Property shall not exceed the number stated on the Owner's Confirmation;
(b) supply to the Owner when making the Booking the names and addresses of the persons using the Property;
(c) take good care of, and not damage, the Property and the furniture, fixtures and fittings and leave it and them (including bedding) in a clean, tidy and orderly condition; 
(d) observe the rules relating to the use of Property and the swimming pool as contained in the copy of the House Manual located in the Property and which subject to clause 16 below are hereby incorporated into these Terms & Conditions;
(e) report to the Owner, by using the email and telephone contact details set out in clause 1 above, without delay, any defects in the Property, any breakdown in the equipment at the Property, any damage to the Property or any of its contents or equipment or furniture, fixtures and fittings supplied with it, the garage, its grounds and swimming pool, or loss of any of their contents or equipment, including keys;
(f) not cause any nuisance, disturbance, loss or damage to any or the properties adjoining the Property or in its vicinity or to their owners or occupiers;
(g) not commit any criminal or illegal act at the Property;
(h) not light any fires within the grounds of the Property or within the house or garage save in the fireplaces in the dining room and sitting room;
(i) not to allow any fire lit in the either of the fireplaces in the dining room or sitting room to cause any damage to the Property, furniture, fixtures or fittings;
(j) not use any glass or crockery eating or drinking vessels or sharp objects in the vicinity of the swimming pool;

(Note: broken glass is effectively invisible underwater and can cause serious injuries to users of the swimming pool; and if the pool liner is punctured the pool may need to be closed pending repairs, reducing the owner's ability to rent out the Property; the cost of repairs themselves may be very substantial; and the Owner will seek to recover any such losses from the Client in the event this condition is breached)

(k) not to allow any persons under the age of 18 to use the swimming pool or to be in the Petit Parc without supervision by at least one responsible person over the age of 18;
(l) to ensure the requirements of French law regarding pool safety are fully met and either (i) to erect the security fence supplied around the swimming pool when there is no responsible adult at the Property, or (ii) when a responsible adult is at the Property, to activate the pool alarm or to erect the security fence supplied around the swimming pool;
(m) to close and bolt all shutters and close and lock all external doors when the property is left unoccupied for any time and to take all steps to ensure the security of the Property and its contents against damage, theft and other risks;
(n) not block, impede or hinder the free passage of persons and traffic along the road passing across the front of the house at the Property;
(o) allow access to the Owner's agents to carry out routine swimming pool maintenance or any repairs to the Property; and
(p) to make all persons occupying the Property aware of the contents of these Terms & Conditions.

9. The Client warrants that it will observe the conditions in clause 8 above and agrees to indemnify the Owner against any losses suffered (including charges made by the Owner's local representatives) as a result of the breach of any of the conditions in clause 8 above.

10. The Period shall commence at 4:00pm local time on the first day of the Period (which will be a Saturday unless agreed otherwise) and the Client shall vacate the Property by 10:00am local time on the final day of the Period (which will be a Saturday unless agreed otherwise).

11. Save in the case of death or personal injury any liability of the Owner shall be strictly limited to the amount of the Price.

12. The Owner shall not be liable to the Client:
(a) for any defect or stoppage in the supply of public services to the Property or in respect of any equipment at the Property, garden or in connection with the swimming pool;
(b) for any loss or damage arising out of adverse weather conditions, riot, war, strike or any other matters beyond the reasonable control of the Owner;
(c) for any loss or damage arising out of the Client's failure to comply with these Terms & Conditions; or
(d) for any loss or damage caused to the Client's property, car(s) or personal possessions.

13. The Client agrees to obtain adequate travel insurance to cover cancellation, medical expenses and loss or damage to the Client’s property, car(s) or personal possessions.

14. Where any provision of these terms and conditions refers to the Owner sending  a communication to the Client, the date and time that communication is sent (for example when a letter is posted or when an email is transmitted according to the Owner’s computer records) shall, for the purposes of these terms and conditions, be deemed to be the date and time the Owner sends the communication rather than when the Client receives it, irrespect6ive of whether or not they actually do; and where any provision of these terms and conditions refers to the Owner receiving  a communication or anything else from the Client, the date and time that communication or other item is received by the Owner shall, for the purposes of these terms and conditions, be the date and time when the Owner actually receives it rather than when the Client sends it.

15. The booking procedure set out above envisages the Client paying the Owner by cheque. In the event that any cheque in respect of any Booking presented for payment by the Owner is not honoured, the Owner shall entirely at her discretion be entitled to treat that Booking as cancelled and/or any contract between the Client and the Owner as terminated and/or any Booking Deposit or other sum previously paid by the Client as forfeited to the Owner’s use use and/or the Owner shall entirely at her discretion be entitled to re-let the Property for the Period to another client, without the need in any of the above circumstances to give notice to the Client.

16. In case of any conflict between the contents of the House Manual and these Terms & Conditions, the provisions of these Terms & Conditions shall prevail.

17. Any delay by the Owner in enforcing any of her rights and exercising any of her remedies under these Terms & Conditions, or any indulgence granted by the Owner to the Client in respect thereof, shall not be construed as a waiver of any of those rights or remedies.

18. No amendment to these Terms & Conditions shall be valid unless it is agreed by the Owner and the Client in writing and signed by the Owner.

19. These Terms & Conditions shall prevail over any terms or conditions proposed by the Client.

20. In the event that any parts of these Terms & Conditions are held to be invalid or unenforceable, the validity or enforceability of the remainder of these terms & Conditions shall not be affected.

21. Any doubt as the meaning, interpretation or construction of these Terms & Conditions shall be construed in the Owner’s favour.

22. These Terms & Conditions, the contract between the Owner and the Client, and any claims arising between the Owner and the Client out of the Client's booking or the Client's occupation of Property or howsoever in connection with the foregoing or the Property shall be governed by English law and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.