Terms of Service
The short version: Carvia is a marketplace that connects people who own cars ("hosts") with people who want to rent them ("guests"). We're not a rental car company and we don't own any of the vehicles listed on Carvia. These terms are the rulebook for using our app and site — read the whole thing, but the sections on payments, cancellations, and liability matter most.
These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a legal agreement between you and Rent Cars LA LLC, a California limited liability company that operates the Carvia service ("Carvia," "we," "us"). By creating an account, browsing listings, booking a trip, or listing a vehicle, you agree to these Terms, our Privacy Policy, and any policy referenced below. If you don't agree, don't use Carvia.
1. Who can use Carvia
You must be at least 18 years old to create an account. To book a trip as a guest, you must meet our driver eligibility requirements — a valid driver's license, a passing identity and driving-history check, and, if you're 18-20, a completed extended verification and Premium protection plan. To list a vehicle as a host, you must own or have legal authority to rent out the vehicle, hold a valid driver's license or state ID, and pass our listing review.
You're responsible for keeping your account credentials secure and for everything that happens under your account. Tell us right away at support@carvia.app if you think someone else has access to it.
2. What Carvia is (and isn't)
Carvia operates a technology platform that lets hosts list vehicles and guests book them. We are not a party to the rental agreement formed between a host and a guest for a specific trip — that agreement (governed by these Terms, the listing's rules, and applicable law) is between the two of them. We are not an insurer (see our Insurance Disclosure), we don't manufacture or inspect vehicles beyond the listing requirements in our Prohibited Uses Policy and vehicle-eligibility rules, and we don't guarantee any host or guest's conduct — though we do screen accounts, run the protection program described in our Protection Plans Terms, and enforce our Community Guidelines.
3. Bookings, prices, and fees
When a guest books a trip, they see the full price before paying — trip subtotal, Carvia's 12% service fee, their chosen protection plan cost, and any extras — with no hidden line items. Full fee mechanics are in our Cancellation Policy and the fee breakdown help article. Hosts choose one of three earnings plans per vehicle (75%, 85%, or 93% host share) as described in the Protection Plans Terms; Carvia's commission is the difference.
Instant Book is opt-in for hosts. Otherwise, a booking request expires automatically if the host doesn't respond within 12 hours, and the guest isn't charged.
4. Cancellations
Guest cancellations are governed by the cancellation policy tier (Flexible, Moderate, or Strict) the host selected for that listing, shown to the guest before booking. Host cancellations carry a scaling fee and, for late cancellations, activate Carvia's funded rebooking guarantee for the affected guest. Full terms, refund percentages, and the extenuating-circumstances process are in our Cancellation Policy.
5. Trips: check-in, check-out, and vehicle use
Every trip starts and ends with a photo-documented check-in/check-out process in the app — this protects both sides and is how we resolve damage disputes fairly. Guests agree to use the vehicle only as permitted by the listing's trip rules and applicable law, to return it on time and in the condition documented at pickup (normal wear and tear excepted), and not to use it for purposes listed in our Prohibited Uses Policy — including subletting, racing, towing, driving under the influence, or unauthorized commercial use (rideshare/delivery unless the listing explicitly allows it).
6. Damage, claims, and protection
If something goes wrong on a trip, our claims process — including the evidence rule, timeline, and appeal rights — is described in the Protection Plans Terms and summarized in our published claims SLA help article. Filing a good-faith claim never results in a fee or fine to the person who files it.
7. Payments and payouts
Guests pay through Carvia's payment processor at the time of booking (or per the applicable cancellation refund rules). Hosts are paid out on Carvia's fixed twice-weekly schedule (every Tuesday and Friday) via our payments partner, once a trip's earnings become payable — see Getting Paid: Payout Schedule. You authorize Carvia and our payment processor to charge, hold, and disburse funds as described in these Terms and the policies they reference.
8. Account standing, suspension, and deactivation
We can suspend or deactivate an account for violating these Terms, our Community Guidelines, or our Prohibited Uses Policy, or for safety/fraud reasons. When we do, we tell you the specific policy reason in writing and you have the right to appeal — see our deactivation and appeals process. We don't do silent, unexplained deactivations.
9. Content you submit
Photos, listing descriptions, reviews, and messages you post on Carvia are yours, but you grant Carvia a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, display, and use them to operate and promote the platform (for example, showing your listing photos in search results). You're responsible for having the rights to anything you upload. See our Prohibited Uses Policy for content rules and our copyright policy for takedown requests.
10. Disclaimers and limitation of liability
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Carvia provides the platform "as is." We work hard to verify accounts and vehicles, but we can't guarantee every host or guest will behave as agreed, or that every vehicle is defect-free. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Carvia's liability for any claim arising from your use of the platform is limited to the fees you paid Carvia in the 12 months before the claim arose, except where our Protection Plans Terms provide broader coverage for a specific trip.
11. Dispute resolution
These Terms, and any dispute arising out of them or your use of Carvia, are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. `[PENDING: attorney to confirm arbitration clause, class-action-waiver language, and venue selection appropriate for a US-market marketplace]`
Before escalating a dispute, please contact support@carvia.app — most issues get resolved there. For disputes between a guest and a host about a specific trip (damage, cancellation, etc.), use the in-app claims and appeals process described in the Protection Plans Terms first.
12. Changes to these Terms
We'll give you 30 days' notice by email before any change to fees, commission rates, or earnings-plan terms takes effect, and 14 days' notice for other changes to these Terms. Legally required or safety-critical changes may take effect sooner, with an explanation sent within 48 hours. If you keep using Carvia after a change's effective date, that counts as accepting it; if you don't agree, you can close your account before the effective date at no penalty.
13. Contact
Rent Cars LA LLC (operator of Carvia)
2108 N ST STE N, Sacramento, CA 95816
support@carvia.app