Thread: Normal terms for renting studio space

Hi everyone: My dance company is in the process of negotiating some studio space for a workshop that we'd like to hold in a private studio. The studio owner would require us to sign a liability-waiver because she says her umbrella policy doesn't cover third-parties that rent her space.

Does this sound normal or not? I'm not liking the sound of it.

This may sound like a stupid question, but I generally work through a university venue that has no such policies, where licensing, liability, etc. is all covered and we don't have to worry about these issues. And we may still hold the event on campus if this private studio doesn't work out, but we're trying to increase our visibility elsewhere in town by spreading out our events a little.

Sedonia

Originally Posted by ssipes

The studio owner would require us to sign a liability-waiver because she says her umbrella policy doesn't cover third-parties that rent her space.

Does this sound normal or not? I'm not liking the sound of it.

It's normal. This year, we had the Mahmoud Reda workshop in a community college facility, and they required us to provide proof of liability insurance before they would even talk to us about details.

The studio where I teach provides liability insurance for us. But the executive director told me that there are other studios in town who don't do it.

It's normal here in Australia, too! So annoying. It's got to the point where a hobbyist troupe can't even hire practice space in a community centre because they'd have to pay a year's insurance to be eligible for hiring the space for one hour.

Perhaps there are other options - local government or university run places, for example, where you can pay a fee to come under their insurance during your period of hire?

Or perhaps the studio's insurance policy does provide the option of paying a small fee to cover your hire period as a special event (I know I can do that here, if I choose to run a festival or whatever). If so, you could offer to pay the fee.