How to Rent Out Your Timeshare

Timeshare properties are single properties that multiple individuals or groups own, rent or lease together. Each individual or group maintains control of the timeshare for set periods of time throughout the year, relinquishing control to the next person when each time period is up. If you own an interest in a timeshare and won't be using it, renting out your timeshare so that someone else can use it may be an option that lets you earn some money on the property you've paid to use.

Contact the owner or manager of the property if you and the others you share property rights with do not own the property outright. Some property managers and building owners place limitations on sublets and rental of timeshare properties and may not allow you to rent your timeshare.

Determine how much you should charge to rent your timeshare. Set a weekly rate based off of the amount you pay for the time that you have control of the timeshare or the amount you wish to earn from the rental. Consult the rates of similar rental units in the area for a comparison. If your timeshare is a managed property, call the property manager and inquire how much it would cost for a nonowner to rent a week of time from them.

Review your timeshare schedule and determine which weeks are available for you to rent. Unless your timeshare group owns the property, there may be limitations on which weeks you can rent the property to someone else; some property management companies do not allow renting on bonus, exchange or last call days.

List your timeshare for rent in newspapers, online classifieds and other sources of potential interest. Some timeshare owners even find success in listing their timeshares for rent on auction websites where individuals can bid on the amount they rent the timeshare for. Avoid listings that require up-front fees unless they are standard newspaper listing fees; some websites and publications require significant fees up-front and you generally don't receive any of this money back if you don't find a tenant.

Draft a contract for the renter to sign. The contract should include the specific dates that the timeshare is rented for, the cost of the rental and whether a deposit is required for the rental. If the option exists to extend the rental into additional weeks, include this in the contract as well. If the renter does not live locally to you, consider using an escrow service for payment of the rent to avoid potential payment problems and to protect both you and the renter from fraud.

Inspect the timeshare property or have the property manager inspect it once the rental period is up and the renter has left the property. Assess whether any repairs or additional cleanup are required before returning any rental deposits. Be prompt in returning the deposit once the property has been inspected, or contact the renter to let him know about the delay.