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Secure 'guaranteed' Income

Easy to manage

Frees up your time to do other profitable things or have fun

Easy to set up and try out

The key question to ask yourself is, “Is renting a chair more profitable than doing the job myself?” There’s no straight answer to that question. If you have zero clients walking through the door, of course it’s better to rent out 4 chairs at £100 per week each than earn nothing at all. On the other hand, if you have a premium salon charging £70 or more per cut and there’s no shortage of customers walking through your door you may need your head examined before renting out your chairs for even £1,000 a week. Not surprisingly there’s a fuzzy area in between these extremes where some hair salon owners find it profitable to start renting one or more of their chairs.

Less chance of arguments

Avoid problems with your landlord

Avoid problems with the Revenue

It could make it MUCH easier if you need to end a stylist’s agreement

Precisely set out important terms such what parts of the Property they’re allowed to use, what they are allowed to do etc

The provisions for payment can be complex. If so, a written document is essential.

As you’d expect, a lot depends on the market. You need to do some research into how many hairdressers there are in your area looking for chairs to rent and what the going rate is. If it’s a busy market you may be able to negotiate some lucrative terms. If your business plan is to buy a salon in order to rent chairs then it will be crucial to research the market before buying.

Often it’s the personal circumstances and preferences of the salon owner that will dictate whether or not he chooses to rent chairs. We’ve found that our clients generally start renting out chairs for one of three reasons:

1. The easy life – slackers out there (you know who you are!) who like the idea of doing less work and still receiving an income are often interested. Some make very good money, too.

2. Too busy – there are others who are simply too busy to be able to run a full salon. They might even have a full time job doing something completely different and need to find a way to keep the business going.

3. Making ends meet – those starting out in the hairdressing business will not necessarily have a large client base or much money. Therefore, to make ends meet in those early days, salon owners may rent some chairs to at least guarantee a fixed income to pay the bills. Conversely, existing salon owners may rent chairs out if they face a drop in business and need to find a way to keep paying those overheads.

In short, you need to work out the best rent you’re likely to make renting a chair and compare that to the profits that chair could bring you in the normal course of business. If renting the chair is going to free up your time, you need to take into account how valuable that extra time is to you and factor that into the equation too.

Keep in mind that, ultimately, renting a chair is a very different business from running a salon. It’s more akin to being a landlord. Whether you’re happy in that role really is a personal decision.

Whatever reason you have for renting out a chair and however much you stand to gain, you must make sure that you have a proper chair rental agreement in place. Otherwise, you could quickly find yourself with a heap of trouble that, unlike hair on the salon floor, can’t easily be swept away.

Our solicitors are experts at drawing up salon chair rental leases. Call us to find out how a solicitor can help with hairdresser chair rental. If you are thinking of using a chair rental agreement template, feel free to call us for advice.