Legal
Last Updated: October 26, 2023
PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF SERVICE CAREFULLY AS THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, REMEDIES AND OBLIGATIONS. THESE INCLUDE VARIOUS LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS, A CLAUSE THAT GOVERNS THE JURISDICTION AND VENUE OF DISPUTES, AND OBLIGATIONS TO COMPLY WITH APPLICABLE LAWS AND REGULATIONS. IN PARTICULAR, HOMEOWNERS SHOULD UNDERSTAND HOW THE LAWS WORK IN THEIR RESPECTIVE CITIES. CERTAIN TYPES OF SUBLEASE BOOKINGS MAY BE PROHIBITED ALTOGETHER. LOCAL GOVERNMENTS VARY GREATLY IN HOW THEY ENFORCE THESE LAWS. PENALTIES MAY INCLUDE FINES OR OTHER ENFORCEMENT. HOMEOWNERS SHOULD REVIEW LOCAL LAWS BEFORE LISTING A SPACE ON HOMADS.
If you are using the Site or Services and you reside in the USA, you are contracting with Homads, Inc. with respect to use of the Homads Site or Services, and with Stripe, with respect to any payments or payouts from or to you conducted through the Site or Services. Homads provides an online platform that connects homeowners who have accommodations to rent with renters seeking to rent such accommodations (collectively, the "Services"), which Services are accessible at www.homads.com and any other websites through which Homads makes the Services available (collectively, the "Site"). By using the Site, you agree to comply with and be legally bound by the terms and conditions of these Terms of Service ("Terms"), whether or not you become a registered user of the Services. These Terms govern your access to and use of the Site and Services and constitute a binding legal agreement between you and Homads. Please also read carefully our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these Terms, you have no right to obtain information from or otherwise continue using the Site or Services. Failure to use the Site in accordance with these Terms may subject you to civil and criminal penalties.
THE SITE AND SERVICES COMPRISE AN ONLINE PLATFORM THROUGH WHICH HOMEOWNERS MAY CREATE LISTINGS FOR ACCOMMODATIONS AND RENTERS MAY LEARN ABOUT AND BOOK ACCOMMODATIONS DIRECTLY WITH THE HOMEOWNERS. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT HOMADS IS NOT A PARTY TO ANY AGREEMENTS ENTERED INTO BETWEEN HOMEOWNERS AND RENTERS, NOR IS HOMADS A REAL ESTATE BROKER, AGENT OR INSURER. HOMADS HAS NO CONTROL OVER THE CONDUCT OF HOMEOWNERS, RENTERS AND OTHER USERS OF THE SITE AND SERVICES OR ANY ACCOMMODATIONS, AND DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY IN THIS REGARD TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
"Homads Content" means all Content that Homads makes available through the Site or Services, including any Content licensed from a third party, but excluding Member Content.
"Booking Request Period" means the time period starting from the time when a booking is requested by a Renter, within which a Homeowner may decide whether to confirm or reject that booking request.
"Collective Content" means Member Content and Homads Content.
"Content" means text, graphics, images, music, software, audio, video, information or other materials.
"Renter" means a Member who requests from a Homeowner a booking of an Accommodation via the Site or Services, or a Member who stays at an Accommodation and is not the Homeowner for such Accommodation.
"Homeowner" means a Member who creates a Listing via the Site and Services.
"Listing" means an Accommodation that is listed by a Homeowner as available for rental via the Site and Services.
"Member" means a person who completes Homads' account registration process, including but not limited to homeowners and renters.
"Member Content" means all Content that a Member posts, uploads, publishes, submits or transmits to be made available through the Site or Services.
"Tax" or "Taxes" mean any sales taxes, value added taxes (VAT), goods and services taxes (GST), transient occupancy taxes, tourist or other visitor taxes, accommodation or lodging taxes, and other similar taxes.
Homads reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify the Site or Services or to modify these Terms, including the Service Fees, at any time and without prior notice. If we modify these Terms, we will post the modification on the Site or provide you with notice of the modification. We will also update the "Last Updated Date" at the top of these Terms. By continuing to access or use the Site or Services after we have posted a modification, you are indicating that you agree to be bound by the modified Terms. If the modified Terms are not acceptable to you, your only recourse is to cease using the Site and Services.
The Site, Application and Services are intended solely for persons who are 18 or older. Any access to or use of the Site, Application or Services by anyone under 18 is expressly prohibited. By accessing or using the Site, Application or Services you represent and warrant that you are 18 or older.
The Site, Application and Services can be used to facilitate the listing and booking of residential and other properties ("Accommodations"). Such Accommodations are included in Listings on the Site and Services by homeowners. You may view Listings as an unregistered visitor to the Site and Services; however, if you wish to book an Accommodation or create a Listing, you must first register to create a Homads Account.
Homads makes available an online platform or marketplace with related technology for Renters and Homeowners to meet online and arrange for bookings of Accommodations directly with each other. Homads is not an owner or operator of properties, including, but not limited to, hotel rooms, motel rooms, other lodgings or Accommodations, nor is it a provider of properties. Homads does not own, sell, resell, furnish, provide, rent, re-rent, manage and/or control properties.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE SITE AND SERVICES ARE INTENDED TO BE USED TO FACILITATE HOMEOWNERS AND RENTERS CONNECTING AND BOOKING ACCOMMODATIONS DIRECTLY WITH EACH OTHER. HOMADS CANNOT AND DOES NOT CONTROL THE CONTENT CONTAINED IN ANY LISTINGS AND THE CONDITION, LEGALITY OR SUITABILITY OF ANY ACCOMMODATIONS. HOMADS IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR AND DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY RELATED TO ANY AND ALL LISTINGS AND ACCOMMODATIONS.
In order to access certain features of the Site and to book an Accommodation or create a Listing, you must register to create an account ("Homads Account") and become a Member. You can also register to join by logging into your account with certain third-party social networking sites ("SNS") including Facebook and Google.
We will create your Homads Account based upon the personal information you provide to us or that we obtain via an SNS. You may not have more than one (1) active Homads Account. Homads reserves the right to suspend or terminate your Homads Account if you create more than one Account or if any information proves to be inaccurate. You are responsible for safeguarding your password.
As a Member, you may create Listings. To create a Listing, you will be asked a variety of questions about the Accommodation including location, capacity, size, features, availability, pricing and related rules. All Accommodations must have valid physical addresses. Listings will be made publicly available via the Site and Services.
You are responsible for any and all Listings you post. You represent and warrant that any Listing you post will not breach any agreements with third parties and will be in compliance with all applicable laws, Tax requirements, and rules and regulations.
If you are a Homeowner, you understand that Homads does not act as an insurer or as your contracting agent. Homads recommends that Homeowners obtain appropriate insurance for their Accommodations.
Homads does not endorse any Member or any Accommodation. Verified Images are intended only to indicate a photographic representation of the Accommodation at the time the photograph was taken. Members are required by these Terms to provide accurate information, and although Homads may undertake additional checks, we do not make any representations about, confirm, or endorse any Member or the Member's purported identity or background.
Any references to a Member being "verified" or "connected" only indicate that the Member has completed a relevant verification process. We recommend that you always exercise due diligence and care when deciding whether to stay with a Homeowner or to accept a booking request from a Renter.
"Accommodation Fees" means the amounts due and payable by a Renter in exchange for staying in an Accommodation. The Homeowner alone determines these amounts.
"Renter Fees" means the fee that Homads charges a Renter for the use of its online platform, calculated as a percentage of the applicable Accommodation Fees.
"Homeowner Fees" means the fee that Homads charges a Homeowner for the use of its online platform, calculated as a percentage of the applicable Accommodation Fees.
"Service Fees" means collectively the Renter Fees and the Homeowner Fees.
"Total Fees" means collectively the Accommodation Fees and the Renter Fees.
The Homeowners, not Homads, are solely responsible for honoring any confirmed bookings and making available any Accommodations reserved through the Site and Services. Stripe acts as the Homeowner's payment collection agent for the limited purpose of accepting payments from Renters on behalf of the Homeowner.
Stripe will collect the Total Fees at the time of booking confirmation and will initiate payment of the Accommodation Fees (less Homads' Homeowner Fees) to the Homeowner within 48 hours of when the Renter arrives at the applicable Accommodation.
Homeowners may choose to include security deposits in their Listings ("Security Deposits"). If a Security Deposit is included in a Listing for a confirmed booking, Stripe will use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain a pre-authorization of the Renter's credit card in the amount the Homeowner determines for the Security Deposit within a reasonable time prior to the Renter's move-in.
If, as a Renter, you wish to cancel a confirmed booking, the cancellation policy of the Homeowner contained in the applicable Listing will apply. If a Homeowner cancels a confirmed booking, Stripe will refund the Total Fees to the applicable Renter within a commercially reasonable time. Homads may apply penalties or consequences to the Homeowner's Listing, including publishing an automated review indicating a reservation was cancelled, keeping the calendar blocked, or imposing a cancellation fee.
In certain circumstances, Homads may decide to cancel a confirmed booking and may determine to refund part or all of the amounts charged to the Renter in accordance with the Renter Refund Policy.
Tax regulations may require us to collect appropriate tax information from our Homeowners, or to withhold taxes from payouts to Homeowners, or both. You as a Homeowner are solely responsible for keeping the information in your tax forms current, complete and accurate. You are also solely responsible for determining your applicable Tax reporting requirements and for remitting to the relevant authority any Taxes included or received by you.
As a Renter, you are responsible for leaving the Accommodation in the condition it was in when you arrived. You are responsible for your own acts and omissions and are also responsible for the acts and omissions of any individuals whom you invite to, or otherwise provide access to, the Accommodation. In the event that a Homeowner claims and provides evidence of damage, you agree to pay the cost of replacing the damaged items with equivalent items.
Both Renters and Homeowners agree to cooperate with and assist Homads in good faith, and to provide Homads with such information and take such actions as may be reasonably requested in connection with any complaints or claims.
You are solely responsible for compliance with any and all laws, rules, regulations, and Tax obligations that may apply to your use of the Site, Application, Services and Collective Content. In connection with your use, you may not and you agree that you will not:
Homads has the right to investigate and prosecute violations of any of the above to the fullest extent of the law.
YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SITE, SERVICES AND COLLECTIVE CONTENT, YOUR LISTING OR BOOKING OF ANY ACCOMMODATIONS, YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE REFERRAL PROGRAM, AND ANY CONTACT YOU HAVE WITH OTHER USERS REMAINS WITH YOU. NEITHER HOMADS NOR ANY OTHER PARTY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING, OR DELIVERING THE SITE, SERVICES, COLLECTIVE CONTENT OR THE REFERRAL PROGRAM WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES.
EXCEPT FOR OBLIGATIONS TO PAY AMOUNTS TO APPLICABLE HOMEOWNERS, IN NO EVENT WILL HOMADS' AGGREGATE LIABILITY EXCEED THE AMOUNTS YOU HAVE PAID OR OWE FOR BOOKINGS IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTH PERIOD PRIOR TO THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE LIABILITY, OR ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (US$100), IF NO SUCH PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE, AS APPLICABLE.
You agree to release, defend, indemnify, and hold Homads and its affiliates and subsidiaries, and their officers, directors, employees and agents, harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including reasonable legal and accounting fees, arising out of or in any way connected with (a) your access to or use of the Site, Services or Collective Content or your violation of these Terms; (b) your Member Content; (c) your interaction with any Member, booking of an Accommodation, or creation of a Listing; (d) the use, condition or rental of an Accommodation by you; and (e) your participation in the Referral Program.
The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules. The Federal Arbitration Act will govern the interpretation and enforcement of this section.
Unless you and Homads otherwise agree, the arbitration will be conducted in the county where you reside. If your claim does not exceed $10,000, then the arbitration will be conducted solely on the basis of documents. The arbitrator will render an award within the time frame specified in the AAA Rules.
Your responsibility to pay any AAA filing, administrative and arbitrator fees will be solely as set forth in the AAA Rules. However, if your claim for damages does not exceed $75,000, Homads will pay all such fees unless the arbitrator finds that the substance of your claim was frivolous.
These Terms will be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas and the United States of America, without regard to its conflict-of-law provisions. You and we agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of a state court located in Travis County, Austin, Texas or a United States District Court.
The failure of Homads to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not constitute a waiver of future enforcement of that right or provision. If for any reason a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of these Terms invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible and the other provisions will remain in full force and effect.
If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact Homads at team@homads.com.