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Cars: Hire Services

Asked by Vikki SladeLiberal DemocratDepartment for Business and TradeTabled Answered 22 January 2026UIN 106846

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of requiring car hire companies to capture and store digitally timestamped (a) photographic and (b) video evidence of a vehicle’s condition both at check-out and check-in for people hiring cars.

Answered by Kate Dearden

The Competition and Markets Authority published guidance in 2018 to support car rental companies to comply with consumer law. The department does not intend to impose specific obligations on car rental companies regarding how they monitor the vehicle's condition. Consumers are advised to keep their own records regarding the state of the vehicle before and after the hire, so that they can dispute any damage claims if required.

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