Hiring event cups as a business: the terms the law implies, and what a supplier can exclude

A festival organiser or a venue that hires cups signs a hire contract, whose specific terms at Branded Cups are set out in a quotation. Before the quotation is read, Parliament has already written several terms into it. This article sets out what the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 implies into a hire of goods by a business, how it treats the washing and collection that come with the cups, and what the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 says about a supplier's attempt to exclude those terms. It covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland, because the sections read are marked for those nations, and it is general information, not legal advice.

Which contracts are covered

Section 6(1) of the 1982 Act defines a relevant contract for the hire of goods as a contract under which one person bails or agrees to bail goods to another by way of hire, other than a hire-purchase agreement and other than a contract to which Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies. Section 6(3) adds that a contract is a relevant contract for the hire of goods whether or not services are also provided under it. A hire of cups with washing and collection included is a hire contract with services in our reading, and the Act says the services do not take it outside section 6. Section 6 leaves out contracts to which Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies, and we did not read that Act. This article is about a business hiring from a business.

Right to hire out the cups

Section 7(1) implies a condition on the part of the person bailing the goods that, in a bailment, they have a right to transfer possession of the goods by way of hire for the period of the bailment. Section 7(2) implies a warranty that the hirer will enjoy quiet possession of the goods for the period of the bailment, except where the owner or another person entitled to a charge or encumbrance disturbs it and that was disclosed or known to the hirer before the contract was made.

Description, sample and quality

Section 8 applies where the goods are bailed by description. It implies a condition that the goods will correspond with the description, and it says that where goods are bailed by reference to a sample as well as a description, it is not enough that the bulk corresponds with the sample if the goods do not also correspond with the description. Section 10 applies where the goods are bailed by reference to a sample. It implies conditions that the bulk will correspond with the sample in quality, that the hirer will have a reasonable opportunity of comparing the bulk with the sample, and that the goods will be free from any defect, making their quality unsatisfactory, which would not be apparent on reasonable examination of the sample.

Section 9(2) says that where the person hiring out the goods does so in the course of a business, there is an implied condition that the goods supplied under the contract are of satisfactory quality. Section 9(2A) defines that as meeting the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking account of any description of the goods, the consideration for the bailment if relevant and all the other relevant circumstances. Section 9(3) takes out of the condition any matter specifically drawn to the hirer's attention before the contract is made, and, where the hirer examines the goods before the contract is made, any matter that the examination ought to reveal.

Fitness for a purpose you have told them about

Section 9(4) and (5) cover fitness. Where the supplier hires out goods in the course of a business and the hirer makes known to the supplier, in the course of negotiations, any particular purpose for which the goods are being hired, section 9(5) implies a condition that the goods are reasonably fit for that purpose, whether or not that is a purpose for which such goods are commonly supplied. Section 9(6) removes the condition where the circumstances show that the hirer does not rely, or that it is unreasonable for the hirer to rely, on the skill or judgment of the supplier. In our reading, an organiser who says in the quotation request that the cups will be used for beer in a stadium bowl, rather than saying nothing, gives the supplier a stated purpose that section 9(5) can attach to, although section 9(4) also covers a purpose made known by implication.

The washing and collection

Section 13 implies a term, in a relevant contract for the supply of a service where the supplier is acting in the course of a business, that the supplier will carry out the service with reasonable care and skill. The cup hire page says cups arrive ready for service, with collection, washing and drying support available after the event, along with storage between uses. In our reading, washing and collection are services of that kind when they are part of the hire, and section 13 would apply to how they are carried out. We did not read the definition of a relevant contract for the supply of a service in section 12 of the 1982 Act.

Can the supplier exclude these terms

Section 7(1A) of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 says that, for a contract under which possession or ownership of goods passes and which is not governed by the law of sale of goods or hire-purchase, liability in respect of the goods' correspondence with description or sample, or their quality or fitness for any particular purpose, cannot be excluded or restricted by a contract term except in so far as the term satisfies the requirement of reasonableness. Section 7(4) applies the same test to liability for the right to transfer possession and quiet possession, and section 7(4A) says the section does not apply to a consumer contract. In our reading, a hire of cups to a business falls in section 7 because possession of the goods passes under a contract that is not a sale or hire-purchase.

Section 11(1) defines the requirement of reasonableness as the term having been a fair and reasonable one to be included, having regard to the circumstances which were, or ought reasonably to have been, known to or in the contemplation of the parties when the contract was made. Section 11(5) puts the burden on the person claiming that a term satisfies the requirement. Where a term restricts liability to a specified sum of money, section 11(4) says regard is had in particular to the resources the supplier could expect to be available to meet the liability and how far it was open to the supplier to cover itself by insurance. Section 3 applies where one party deals on the other's written standard terms of business: the other party cannot, when in breach of contract, exclude or restrict its liability, or claim to render a performance substantially different from that reasonably expected, except so far as the term satisfies the requirement of reasonableness. We did not read Schedule 2 to the 1977 Act, which section 11(2) points to for the guidelines.

What the Branded Cups pages say

The terms and conditions page says that the quotation for rental and other services sets out the terms specific to those services. The hire page says hire starts at 1,000 cups, with a lead time of 3 to 5 working days for generic printed cups, and that custom printed cups take longer. A buyer can read the quotation against the points above before signing: the description of the cups, the quantity, the condition on return, who washes them and what happens if some arrive unfit. The same page says that if hire is not the right shape for an event, the reusable event cups start at 50 per design, and our guide to whether to hire or buy reusable cups compares the two. A quote starts the process.

Where this stands

This was checked on 28 October 2026. The sections read showed no known outstanding effects on legislation.gov.uk. We did not see a hire quotation, so this article does not say what Branded Cups' hire terms contain. A business with a large or unusual hire should have the quotation read by an adviser.