What are the advantages and disadvantages of equipment hire?

• The advantages of hiring equipment rather than buying it are:
  • if you only need the item for a specific period of time hiring it would be significantly cheaper than buying it;
  • if you are a business that uses equipment that is frequently upgraded such as computers, hiring a piece of equipment on a long term lease then ending the lease and replacing it with a lease for a new model of the same equipment can mean your business will be using up-to-date equipment without having to pay for the equipment outright; and
  • if there are any faults or issues with the equipment that prevent it from working safely or properly it is the owners’ responsibility to arrange for the fault to be fixed at his or her own cost not the hirers.
    • The exception to this is where the hirer caused the fault.
• The disadvantages of hiring equipment rather than buying are:
  • as the hirer is not the legal owner of the equipment the hirer is obliged to use the equipment to the owners’ specifications;
  • long term leases could end up being more expensive over time than paying for the item upfront; and
  • the hirer runs the risk of losing their security deposit if they or anyone under their control causes damage to the equipment.
• Our LegalPlan™ membership will allow you to ask lawyers for a Fixed Fee Quote on your matter for all your equipment hire contract needs.