HomeRenter Terms of Use

Here are our terms and conditions. Please contact us at ​support@homerenter.co.uk​ if you have any other questions.

The HomeRenter terms & conditions (updated 1st May 2017) provide a guideline to help you understand HomeRenter’s and your own obligations and responsibilities on the HomeRenter marketplace.

HomeRenter Battersea Limited (company number 09974587) trading as HomeRenter.co.uk (“the Site”) provides an online rental platform covering web and mobile devices, that connects private Landlords with a community of prospective Tenants, Key-holders (“HomeViewers”) and Service Providers.

By using the Site, you agree to comply with and be legally bound by these Terms and Conditions (“Terms”), whether or not you become a registered user of the Services.

The Site includes an online platform through which i) Landlords may create and promote listings advertising rental properties for the purpose of finding new Tenants and entering into new Tenancy arrangements, and ii) Service Providers and Key-holders (defined further below) may create listings for services they offer and Landlords may learn about and book such Services from the Suppliers.

You acknowledge and agree that HomeRenter is not a party to any agreements entered into between Tenants and Landlords or Suppliers and Landlords - Landlords contract for services directly with Key-holders and Service Providers; nor is HomeRenter a Broker, Agent or Insurer. HomeRenter has no control over the conduct of prospective Tenants, Key-holders and Service Providers or any other users of the site and disclaims all liability in this regard.

Definitions

• "Content" means text, graphics, images, music, software, audio, video, information, documents, compilations, data or other materials.
• "Landlord" means a person who completes the account registration process under the Landlord persona and lists Property details or searches for, contacts and books Supplier Services via the Site.
• “Tenant” means a person who completes the account registration process under the Tenant persona and utilises the site to source a rental property direct from a private Landlord.
• "Key-holding Supplier" means a person who completes the account registration process under the HomeViewer (key-holder) persona and creates a services profile via the Site.
• "Trades Supplier" means a person who completes the account registration process under the Service Provider persona to advertise their property maintenance service in the trades directory and creates a services profile via the Site.
• "Supplier Services" means property related services provided by Suppliers.
• "Services Profile" means the profile by which a supplier states their prices and information about the services they offer.

Registration

• In order to be a Landlord, Tenant or Supplier (whether Key-holder or Service Provider), you will be required to register with the Site.
• You agree by registering, to provide and maintain true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by the Site. If any of your registration data is inaccurate or incomplete, we may terminate your account immediately. We also reserve the right to reject a registration application if we determine in our sole discretion that the applicant is not an appropriate Landlord, Tenant or Supplier.
• We have no obligation to disclose the reason for our decision to reject an application.

How the Site Works - Landlords & Tenants

• HomeRenter provides a marketplace for Landlords and Tenants to connect and supports this with features to reduce the risks and administrative burden of the lettings transaction; however, we cannot provide any guarantee regarding the integrity of the information supplied on this site or its users.
• Landlords listing a property on the Site agree and warrant that:
  • You have the right to offer the property for rental and will not breach any law, agreement or contract by doing so (this includes the terms of any mortgage on the property, insurance, fire regulations, gas and electrical safety).
  • A valid Landlord Registration Number will be in included in any advertisement where this is legally requiredYou will only post or otherwise make available photographs, video and other information for which you have lawfully authority
  • The property has a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
  • The property has a valid Landlord Insurance policy
  • The property has a valid Gas Safety Certificate
  • The property meets all Electrical Safety obligations
  • The property’s windows and door all lock properly and securely
  • Everything you provide with the property is safe and in working order
• You should satisfy yourself of the accuracy of any and all information and of the integrity of all individuals you are transacting with, whether Tenant or Supplier, before entering into any contract or agreement or making payments directly to them.
• At a Landlord’s request we can provide a variety of tenant referencing services either via the HomeReferencer do-it-yourself checklist or via our referencing partner; although this is designed to help our users make a more informed decision we similarly cannot provide any guarantee regarding the integrity of the information supplied or the Tenant users being referenced.
• Since the Services we offer are non-tangible and irrevocable we cannot issue refunds after a listing or reference is commenced except at our sole discretion. Having said this we are committed to our customers and will make our best efforts to help you if you are not fully satisfied when using our paid Services.
• We reserve the right to limit your activities on our sites (including, without limitation, restricting the number of properties you may list on our sites), if we think that such restrictions will improve the security of the HomeRenter community or reduce our or another HomeRenter user’s exposure to financial or other liabilities.
• We also reserve the right to cancel unconfirmed accounts or accounts that have been inactive for a long time or to modify or discontinue HomeRenter listings. You agree not to hold HomeRenter responsible for any loss you may incur as a result of HomeRenter taking this action.

Landlords : Annual Listing Subscription pricing, refunds and renewals

• Your annual subscription with HomeRenter Limited will start when HomeRenter Limited confirms your payment and will continue for a period of one year. Listing subscriptions purchased on the HomeRenter platform are billed annually in one payment.
• You will pay us the applicable fee listed on this Website (as amended from time to time) at the time of your order (plus any applicable taxes (including any value added tax). Fees are payable in GB pounds sterling using SagePay.
• We may choose to temporarily change the fees for our Annual Listing for promotional events and such changes are effective during the period set out on the relevant Pricing page of this Website.
• Annual HomeRenter subscription fees are strictly non-refundable within the subscription term for which the fee applies.
• When you purchase an annual subscription, auto-renew is automatically selected in your HomeRenter ‘My Subscriptions’ account found in Settings / My Subscriptions. At the end of the annual subscription period, HomeRenter Limited will sign you up and bill you for an additional subscription term of one year.
• If you do not wish your subscription to auto-renew, you may cancel your subscription at any time by visiting your My Subscriptions page and managing your property prior to the end of your current subscription term.
• You may also advise HomeRenter Ltd of your decision not to renew an annual listing at any point within term of current subscription by telephone +44 207 223 1300 or email support@homerenter.co.uk.

Landlords : Additional Services pricing, refunds and renewals

• HomeRenter offers a range of one-off Landlord Additional Services purchases fulfilled by third party sub-contractors, such as Photography and Tenant Referencing.
• Tenant Referencing payments are non-refundable as we initiate the Service immediately upon instruction.
• When you buy any other such Services from HomeRenter on a one-off basis, with the exception of Tenant Referencing, you have 7 days after the day HomeRenter email you to confirm HomeRenter accept your order to cancel the Services you have ordered from HomeRenter.
• Once HomeRenter have completed the Services you cannot change your mind, even if the period is still running.
• If you cancel after HomeRenter have started the Services, you must pay HomeRenter for the services provided up until the time you tell HomeRenter that you have changed your mind. HomeRenter will refund any sums paid by you for Services not provided but HomeRenter may deduct from that refund compensation for the net costs HomeRenter will incur as a result of your ending the contract. Such costs will always include any third party costs incurred by HomeRenter from the time We email you to confirm HomeRenter accept your order together with our own administration costs connected with your order. Please note that HomeRenter instruct our sub-contractors and agents immediately upon confirming that HomeRenter accept your order and so HomeRenter incur a liability to pay them at that time.
• HomeRenter will refund any advance payment you have made for Services which will not be provided to you as long as HomeRenter or HomeRenter sub-contractors’ or agents’ performance of the Services has not started. If they have started, the refund provisions above shall apply.
• If you wish to cancel the Services, please telephone +44 207 223 1300 or email support@homerenter.co.uk immediately; as by not doing so, you acknowledge that you will lose your right of withdrawal from the contract once the service contract is fully performed.

Landlords & Tenants: Fair Use Policy

• In order to protect all Landlords using our system, and the Tenants enquiring, we reserve the right to take down listings if we deem them to be abusing the system. We do this to prevent spam, stop harvesting of Tenant details and to encourage all adverts to portray a true representation of the available property.
• Although we don't expect our fair usage limits to be breached by genuine Landlords, we reserve the right to remove or limit all adverts which are generating disproportionately high number of viewing requests or we suspect to be fraudulent.

Landlords & Tenants: Holding Deposits

• When a Tenant’s request to reserve a property by paying a Holding Deposit is accepted by the Landlord, HomeRenter will require the Tenant to a pay a Holding Deposit.
• Payment of a holding deposit does not automatically entitle a Tenant to secure the respective property in so far as it remains at the Landlord’s discretion as to whether they accept the Tenant’s application, including but not limited to requiring satisfactory referencing or meeting the candidate tenant in person.
• In circumstances where the Tenant(s) make a genuine offer to rent the property and respond promptly and faithfully within a period of 72 hours from the holding deposit being paid with all and any answers required by the Landlord in response to referencing questions, the deposit is refundable. In these instances the deposit is refunded at the point the lease agreement is cancelled.
• In the event that a Tenant cancels or abandons their application to rent a property because of change of heart or fails to supply referencing responses in good time, specifically within 72 hours, the holding deposit will not be returned to the Tenant. As such and for the avoidance of doubt, the payment of the holding deposit is at the Tenant’s own risk.

Landlords & Tenants: Tenancy Agreements

• HomeRenter’s relationship to all documents completed using the service is that of a trusted, disinterested third party. Accordingly, HomeRenter disclaims any representations of any kind regarding the documents that pass through the Service. You are responsible for recognising the parties of interest in all transactions you complete using the Service and assessing all associated risks.
• You expressly understand and agree that HomeRenter shall not be liable to you or any third party for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or exemplary damages of any kind, including, but not limited to, damages for loss of profits, goodwill, use, data or other intangible losses (even if such HomeRenter has been advised of the possibility thereof), and including damages resulting from: (i) any document or transaction sent through the service, (ii) the use of inability to use the service, including errors, interruptions or delays; (iii) unauthorised access to or alteration of your documents or transmissions; or (iv) any other matter relating to the service.

How the Site Works - Service Providers & Key-holding

• The Site can be used to facilitate the listing and booking of Supplier services (key-holders and other tradespeople). Such Supplier services are included in their Profiles. You may visit the Site to view supplier profiles whilst unregistered but in order to book or contact a Supplier, you must first register to create an account.
• HomeRenter makes available a platform or marketplace - providing the technology for i) private Landlords to meet prospective Tenants online and arrange tenancy agreements and ii) private Landlords to meet Suppliers to meet online and arrange for the booking and payment of Supplier Services such as property maintenance and key-holding.
• HomeRenter does not provide any property maintenance or key-holding services itself. HomeRenter’s responsibilities are limited to: (i) facilitating the availability of the Site, (ii) serving as the limited agent of each Key-holder Supplier for the purpose of accepting payments from Landlords on behalf of the Key-holder Supplier and (iii) facilitating the introduction of Trades Suppliers to Landlords for the purpose of advertising their Services via a directory-style listing with no further financial interest in any transactions between said Landlord and Trades Suppliers.
• Please note that HomeRenter does not and cannot control the content contained in any Supplier profiles or the provision, quality, condition, legality or suitability of any Supplier services. HomeRenter is not responsible for and disclaims any and all liability related to any and all Supplier profiles and Supplier services. Therefore, any bookings of Supplier services are made at each Landlord’s own risk.

Key-holder Services & Financial Terms

• HomeRenter, through its network of Key-holder Suppliers, arranges for the provision of the Key-holder Supplier Services to Landlords. As a Key-holder Supplier, you may set the pricing of your quotes and the terms for your service within the parameters permitted by the Site. HomeRenter charges a Service Fee of 10% to the Key-holder Supplier to cover the costs of payment processing, Site administration and marketing.
• As a Key-holder Supplier, you contractually agree that the first and all future bookings made with a client introduced by HomeRenter will be booked via the Site​.
• Failure to abide by this policy will lead to suspension from the Site.
• As a Landlord you may book Key-holder Supplier Services through the site. HomeRenter reserves the right to charge a Booking Fee (determined at our sole discretion) and this will be presented to you during the booking process if relevant.
• HomeRenter will validate your card upon submission of your booking and will store the Credit card details securely in accordance with PCI DSS compliance rules. The Key-holder Supplier will be given ​ 3 ​ business days to respond to the booking request or the booking may be automatically cancelled.
• When the Key-holder Supplier accepts the booking request, the full amount of the booking will be charged to the Landlord’s card immediately. HomeRenter reserves the right to cancel any reservations for which the payment is not visible in the account within​ 4​ days of the booking and will inform the Key-holder Supplier.
• Each Key-holder Supplier appoints HomeRenter as their sole limited agent solely for the purpose of collecting payments made by Landlords on behalf of the Key-holder Supplier. Each Key-holder Supplier agrees that payment made by a Landlord shall be considered the same as a payment made directly to said Key-holder Supplier.

Key-holder Services: Cancellation & Refunds

• As a Landlord, you should discuss the specific cancellation policies with the Key-holder Supplier you intend to book with.
• Funds are held by HomeRenter until the completion of the respective property viewing assignment.

Key-holder Supplier Profiles

• As a supplier, you may create a Key-holder Supplier profile where you can list, but not limited to, your preferred area of operations, the type and availability of Key-holder Supplier services you provide, pricing and related rules and financial terms. These profiles will be made publicly available via the Site.
• Landlords will be able to book your services via the Site based upon the information provided in your Key-holder Supplier Profile and other information you may have communicated directly with the Landlord. You understand and agree that once a Landlord books your services, the price for such Services may not be altered unless you express the change in price to HomeRenter and the full booking value has gone through the Site.
• HomeRenter reserves the right at any time and without prior notice, to remove or disable access to any Key-holder Supplier profile for any reason, in violation of these Terms and Conditions or otherwise harmful to the Site.
• As a Key-holder Supplier you must ensure:
  • That you retain any Landlord client keys safely in a secure code-locked portable safe
  • That you attend viewings promptly in advance of the stated time agreed with the prospective Tenants
  • That you attend viewings with the respective property particulars downloaded and printed from the HomeRenter site
  • That you report back on the perceived success or otherwise of each and every HomeViewing performed on behalf of the Landlord client
  • You lock and secure the Landlord client’s property after each viewing

Key-holder Supplier : Employment

• HomeRenter is not an employment service and does not serve as an employer of any user signing up to the Site. It is the Key-holder Supplier’s responsibility to disclose any income made through bookings on the site and HomeRenter will not be liable for any tax or withholding, including but not limited to unemployment insurance, employer’s liability, social security, PAYE, NIC in connection with your use of the Site.
• You understand and agree that if HomeRenter is found to be liable for any tax in connection with your use of the Site, then you will immediately reimburse and pay to HomeRenter an equivalent amount including any penalties and interest incurred.

Key-holder Supplier : Limitation of Liability and Release

• By agreeing to serve as a Supplier of Key-holder services to a Landlord, you expressly assume the risk of any damages including property damages or personal injury, which you or anyone else present in your residence may suffer.
• We always recommend a face-to-face meet to take place before providing and agreeing the booking of Services and exchange of keys in order to mitigate as many risks as possible.
• As a Key-holder Supplier, you agree not to hold HomeRenter or its affiliates, offices, directors, employees, agents or third party providers liable for any damage, suits, claims and controversies (collectively, “liabilities”) that have arisen or may arise relating to your use of our Site and services, including without any limitation any liabilities arising in connection with (a) any instruction, advice, act or service provided by HomeRenter or its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, agents or third party providers, (b) any destruction of your information, (c) failure of the Key-holder Supplier to provide services to the Landlord, (d) any disputes with any users of the Site, (e) any injuries or harm suffered by you or any third party, (f) any damage or harm to personal property or belongings, (h) any other conduct, act or omission of any other party.
• You agree that the limitations specified in this section will survive and apply even if any limited remedy specified in these Terms is found to have failed of its essential purpose. You also expressly acknowledge and agree that HomeRenter has set its prices and entered into these Terms in reliance upon the limitations of liability specified herein, which allocate the risk between you and HomeRenter and form a basis of the bargain between the parties.

HomeRenter: General Use of the Site

• Any personal information submitted to the Site is governed by our Privacy Policy. In consideration of being allowed to use the Site, you agree that the following actions shall constitute a material breach of these Terms:
  • Accessing or using the site for competitive purposes
  • Impersonating another person or entity
  • Using the Site in a way that is intended to harm other users
  • Behaving or acting any way that creates a negative experience for an existing Site user, to be determined at the sole discretion of HomeRenter
  • Behaving or acting in any way that is unprofessional to any HomeRenter staff member that may cause upset or harm, to be determined at the sole discretion of HomeRenter
  • Sending threatening or potentially defamatory private messages to users on the Site
  • Receiving more than one validated negative review provided to HomeRenter
  • Using a profile with incorrect or erroneous information
  • Modifying, mirroring, injecting or filtering or changing any Content on the Site without HomeRenter’s written consent
  • Usage of any tools to access, copy, acquire information, or monitor the Site or any portion or Content thereof;
  • Circumventing any measures implemented by us aimed at preventing violations of the Terms by creating a new user;
• HomeRenter reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate any user’s access to the Site due to any act that would constitute a violation of the Terms. It is your obligation to comply with all applicable state, federal and international laws. This also applies to all tax laws and regulations that apply to your activity on the Site. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account information and password and for restricting access to such information.
• HomeRenter is owned and operated by HomeRenter Battersea Limited, registered in England and Wales with company number 09974587. Please address all correspondence to:
  HomeRenter Battersea Limited
  18 Molasses Row
  Plantation Wharf
  SW11 3UX
• By using this Site, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use, which fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of English courts in the case of any dispute.
• We collect anonymous data relating to how you use the Site, for example which pages your visit, how long you look a them and detail of what browser you are using. We can’t trace any personal information through this tracing which is covered by our Privacy Policy​.
• You agree that in your use of this Site:
  • Any information you provide on this site is accurate and reliable to the best of your knowledge (this includes all personal information, contact details, and information related to property listing);
  • You will not use HomeRenter to distribute any illegal, obscene or otherwise harmful material;
  • You will not do anything to interfere with other users’ access to the Site;
  • You will not copy any material from the HomeRenter site without permission

Risk and Information Quality

• Although we have features in place to maintain a high standard of information quality, HomeRenter cannot make any absolute guarantee over the accuracy of any information supplied to this Site.
• You should satisfy yourself of the accuracy of any and all information before entering into any contract or agreement. In particular, please verify the identity of any person to whom you are handing over money. You should not pay any holding deposits or similar payments before you have viewed a property and met the Landlord/or relevant parties.
• Material supplied on this Site, including content on our blog and social media accounts, does not constitute legal advice and is supplied for information purposes only.

Legal Disclaimer on Use of HomeRenter

• Except where provided elsewhere in these Terms and Conditions, to the maximum extent permitted by law, we (including our affiliates, officers, directors, agents, subcontractors and employees) will not be liable to you in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise for any liabilities, damages or losses (whether direct, indirect, consequential, special or otherwise) incurred or suffered by you or any third party in connection with this Site, or in connection with the use, inability to use, or results of the use of this Site, any sites linked to it and any materials posted on it.
• We are not liable for any consequences or loss from your use of this Site.