Sqmeterz General Terms & Conditions of Use
Last Updated: October 31, 2020
1. Introduction
Please read carefully the following General Terms and Condition
of Use (“Terms”) before you make any use of our platform, mobile application
and/or services (hereinafter referred to collectively as “Sqmeterz Platform”).
These Terms regulate the use and access to the Platform sqmeterz.com and the
corresponding mobile application and they contain important information
regarding your rights and obligations.
If you access, register and/or, in anyway, use Sqmeterz Platform
and/or provide any personal information to Sqmeterz, you will be giving your unconditional,
full and express acceptance to the entire general Terms.
These Terms are a binding legal agreement between you and
Sqmeterz that govern your use of the Platform, applications and other offerings
from Sqmeterz Platform. When used in these Terms, “Sqmeterz,” “we,” “us,” or
“our” refers to the Sqmeterz entity with whom you are contracting and “you”
or “your” refers to the user of Sqmeterz Platform.
Additional, please note that when registering, accessing
and/or using in any given way Sqmeterz Platform you are also agreeing to be
legally bound by our Privacy Policy and our Cookies Policy, so we kindly advise
you to carefully read and understand them.
We are Sqmeterz Ltd (hereinafter referred to as “Sqmeterz”)
Our registered office is at: Ocean Spirit, PH5 9th April Street, Mosta. Malta
Company registration number: C93680
Our VAT number is: MT26699823
Our contact email is: info@sqmeterz.com
1.1. Changes to these General Terms and Conditions of Use
1.2 Definitions
“Sqmeterz Platform” refers to any web pages, applications or other platforms and/or
means of access, made available by Sqmeterz.
“Sqmeterz Services” refers to Sqmeterz services associated with the use of
Sqmeterz Platform and the completion of Booking Requests.
“Agreement” refers to those General Terms and Conditions of Use as well
as our privacy Policy and our Cookies Policy, which are together a legally
binding agreement between you and Sqmeterz.
“User” refers to any person who uses the Platform owned by Sqmeterz.
“Tenant” refers to the person requesting to book a Premises via the Platform and
who is not the Owner of the same Premises.
“Owner” refers to anyone who publishes a listing of premises on Sqmeterz that is
available for booking by the Tenant. Owners may be either individuals or legal
entities, or any other entity that is the owner or manage to enter into a Lease
Agreement for the Premises on their own behalf or for a third party for a lease
for medium to long-term period. Id the Owner is a legal entity, the individual
making use of Sqmeterz services accepts this Terms and Conditions on behalf of
the Owner and confirms that he/she holds enough legal standing to fulfill any
obligations on its behalf.
“Sqmeterz Booking System” refers to the functionality offered by Sqmeterz that
allows Users to formalize a Booking of Premises.
“Sqmeterz Content” refers to all material the Sqmeterz shares through its Platform
and any content that is Premises of Sqmeterz or authorised by third parties
found in the Sqmeterz Platform.
“Sqmeterz Service Fees” refers to the amount charged by Sqmeterz for the
provision of an online services and it includes the fees that Sqmeterz charges
to the “Owner”.
“Booking Acceptance” refers to the formal acceptance of a Booking Request by the
Owner.
“Booking Confirmation” refers to the email sent by Sqmeterz regarding the full
completion of a booking of a listing through Sqmeterz Platform.
“Booking Rejection” refers to the formal rejection of a Booking Request by the
Owner.
“Booking Request” refers to a booking request sent by the Tenant to the Owner,
to finalise the booking of the Premises. The Booking request contains the
move-in date, length of stay, the deposit amount if applicable and the 1st
month’s rent amount.
“1st Rental Payment” refers to the amount paid by the Tenant
to the Owner at the Booking Request is accepted, and whose aim is to ensure the
operation goes smoothly for both parties. The 1st rental payment
will be retained for a maximum of ninety days before move-in date and it will
be subject to the mandatory release and transfer to the Owner following such
period.
“Deposit” refers to the amount that the Owner may on an optional basis request
from the tenant as a guarantee in the event of any problem with non-payment or
the use of the Premises.
“Lease” refers to the private rental contract entered between the Owner (acting
as lessor) and by the Tenant (acting a lessee), regarding which Sqmeterz is
neither part nor experts any influence or control upon.
“Listing” refers to any Premises published with the purpose of being available to
rent by a Tenant using Sqmeterz Platform.
“Messages” refers to one of Sqmeterz Platform features, which allows verified
users to communicate securely through the Sqmeterz Platform.
“Premises” refers to the available Premises published using Sqmeterz Platform
and available for a Tenant to request a booking.
“Move-in Date” refers to the date on which the Tenants indicate, upon confirming
the booking request, that they will move into the Premises.
“Move-out Date” refers to the date on which the Tenants indicate, upon
confirming the booking request, that will move out of the Premises.
“Tax” refers to the Value Added Tax (VAT) and any other applicable municipal, autonomous community or state tax.
1.3. Use of the Platform and Service
a) Providing the Platform and services.
1.4. How to contact Sqmeterz and how Sqmeterz may send communications to You.
- For general information, technical issues and/or any additional questions, please contact Sqmeterz Customer Support services at the following email address: info@sqmeterz.com
- For
booking requests, payments and/or any additional questions, please contact
Sqmeterz Customer Support services at the following email address: bookings@sqmeterz.com
2. Your Obligations
2.1. Platform Eligibility and Platform Acceptable Use Policy.
(i) You expressly Agree and Warrant that:
- Visuals that only include the Premises and neither people nor personal items;
- Descriptions that only refer to the real physical conditions of the Premises; (including its availability);
- Information that does not induce others users to circumvent the use of the Sqmeterz Platform or execute a Booking Request by others means than Sqmeterz itself (such as telephone numbers and email addresses);
- Information that only reflect accurate rental prices;
- Information that is within the limits of a real estate transaction and based on the offering of the Premises for accommodation purposes in exchange for a rent.
Please note that any acts or omissions contravening the above
will constitute a violation of the Agreement and, therefore, such acts or omissions
shall entitle Sqmeterz to suspend, ban or cancel your account and to take the
appropriate legal actions.
Users are fully responsible for the access and correct use of
their profile and other contents of the Platform subject to current local state
and national legality, as well as principles of good faith, morality, good
manners and public order. And specifically, they commit to diligently observe
the present General Terms and Conditions of Use.
(ii) You expressly Agree and Warrant that you will not:
If necessary, Sqmeterz will provide the police, security forces and bodies and/or other competent authorities with the pertinent information to understand whether the User’s activity may constitute a crime or an offence.
2.2 Registration
2.3 Booking Policy
This Booking Policy regulates the relationship between the Owner
and the tenant through Sqmeterz Platform only with regards to the functioning of
Sqmeterz Booking System, notwithstanding the subsequent conditions agreed upon
by the parties in the private lease.
As precaution for using Sqmeterz Booking System, both the
Owner as well as the Tenant represent and warrant that they:
1. are
a legal age;
2. are
fully capable of advertising and renting the Premises;
3. have
complied and will comply with applicable national, regional and local laws and
regulations, pursuant to the place in which the properties are located;
4. have
read, understood and fully accept the Agreement.
Pursuant to applicable regulations on electronic commerce, we
kindly provide You with the details of Sqmeterz Booking System, in particular:
1. Necessary
steps in order to complete a Booking;
2. Confirmation
means that will be sent to You in order to formally acknowledge that the
Booking has been successful; and
Users – Owners and Tenants – must register and obtain a User
Account, subject to the Agreement. Sqmeterz Platform allows Users to exchange information
through the use of Sqmeterz Messages. In case a Booking Request is sent either
by the Tenant, the Owner will have 72 hours to accept or decline the Booking.
If, after 72 hours, Sqmeterz has not received a response, Sqmeterz will consider
the Booking Request expired.
In the event that the Booking Request is accepted, Sqmeterz will
confirm the details of the Booking with the Tenant the Owner via email and SMS.
In addition, this information will appear in the corresponding section within
the respective User Account.
If the Booking confirmation message sent by Sqmeterz contains
an error or the User is for any reason not compliant with the information, the
User should proceed to inform Sqmeterz for the reasons they believe there to be
an error.
2.4 Rental Prices and Taxes
Users freely determine rental prices, and Owners can modify
them at their convenience. Please note that once the Owner accepted the Booking
Request, the Owner cannot modify the rental price. Sqmeterz does not recommend
prices to its customers. Under no circumstance, the Owner my request the Tenant
for intermediary fees unless allowed by applicable regulations where the
premises are located and explicitly stated by the Owner in the listing
description.
Sqmeterz is not in any way liable for taxes arising out of or
derived from any such Leases. Therefore, Users are the sole responsible for the
tax, any obligations arising from the Lease, as well as any charges or
encumbrances or contractual or extracontractual liability arising in connection
with the lease and the relationship established between the Users, and users expressly
agree to hold Sqmeterz harmless in this regard. Indeed, Users are solely
responsible for compliance with local, regional, state or national laws that
are applicable in each case.
2.5 Sqmeterz Service Fees
The minimum
booking period made via the Platform is for one month (30days). When a Tenant
makes a booking request that has been confirmed by the owner, he/she will make
a transfer to Sqmeterz for the 1st Month’s Payment via the payment
methods available on the Platform.
The Sqmeterz
fee is 25% of the 1st month’s rent charged to the Owner. Sqmeterz
will only transfer the 1st Month’s Payment, minus the Service Fee
and Value Added Tax (VAT), to the Owner 48 hours after Move-in Date (that which
is indicated on the booking confirmation).
2.6 Owner and Tenant Responsibilities
After the
Owner accepts the Booking Request and Sqmeterz has sent the Booking
Confirmation to both the Tenant and the Owner, including the contact
information of both parties, it is the responsibility of the Owner to provide
any additional instruction to the Tenant about his move into the Premises for which
purposes Sqmeterz Customer Support team may contact the Owner.
The Owner guaranteed that the Premises booked by the Tenant
are in reasonable conditions with regard to its livability and, in particular,
the Owner guarantees that the characteristics of the Premises and terms related
to the price of the Lease are in accordance to those that were published in the
Listing of the Premises, as well as that no additional cost or charges are
applicable in detriment of the Tenant. The Owner also guaranteed that the
Premises count with an occupancy certificate (or any additional necessary documentation
or certificate ex. energy performance certificate) issues by the corresponding
competent authorities, in accordance with the applicable regulations. In
addition, the Owner guarantees that any applicable ground rules or code of
conduct to which the Tenant is required to adhere to are explicitly stated in
the Listing and they brought in due course to the Tenants attention before the
Move-in Date.
2.7 Payments
If You use the Sqmeterz Platform, You agree to pay Sqmeterz
the applicable Service Fee and Taxes or expenses that You might be obliged to
pay according to the applicable regulations. Please note that any failure to
pay any of the above Sqmeterz Fees will constitute a breach of the Agreement
and it will entitle Sqmeterz to take the appropriate legal actions.
Payment processing services for Sqmeterz are provided by
Stripe Technology Europe, Limited 9Strip) and are subject to the Stripe
Connected Account Agreement, which includes the Stripe Terms of Service (collectively,
the “Stripe Services Agreement”). By using the Sqmeterz Platform or Sqmeterz Services,
You agree that; Payments between the Tenant and the Owner are processed through
Stripe as a payment service provider.
As a condition for Stripe to be able to process the payments
mentioned above, You agree to provide Sqmeterz accurate and complete
information about You and your business, and You authorised Sqmeterz to share
it and transaction information related to your use of the payment processing
services provided by Stripe.
Sqmeterz shall not be liable for any damage or loss attributable to Stripe.
2.8 Damages
In the event that the Tenant deliberately causes damages to the
Premises during their stay and the repair costs exceeds the Deposit privately
agreed between Owner and Tenant, Sqmeterz may provide coverage up to the value
of 250€ at the company’s discretion if the following requirements are
met:
The Lister must contact Sqmeterz customer support within 48 hours from the date the damage was caused, accompanied with the following supporting documentation:
- Photographs or videos of the damages.
- Copy of the Lease agreement; and
- Copy of the Deposit receipt.
Sqmeterz customer support will then open a ticket regarding
your case for investigation and Sqmeterz will contact the Tenant for further
verification. Additionally, within seven calendar days after notifying Sqmeterz
customer support, the Owner must send the receipts corresponding to the repairs
undertaken.
Sqmeterz customer support reserves the right to contact any
relevant party to verify the information submitted by both the Owner and the
Tenant.
The guarantee will only cover the damage area or object and not the labour costs, transportation or taxes (VAT) and please note that the following items will be excluded from the guarantee:
- Pieces of art;
- Jewelry;
- Money; and/or
- Personal objects 9e.g. computers, tablets, wallets, watches, shoes, clothes, etc.)
Additionally, Sqmeterz guarantees will not cover damages due to normal wear and tear.
3. Your Rights
3.1 License to Sqmeterz regarding your content
As between You and Sqmeterz, You own the content and information
that You submit or post, and You are granting Sqmeterz a worldwide
non-exclusive royalty free license to use, copy, modify, reproduce, distribute,
publish, translate and process, information and content that You provide
through Sqmeterz Platform, without any further notice and/or compensation to
You or others, as well as the right to use the name, image and profile provided
by the User in relation to that content.
Therefore, You agree to only provide content or information
that does not violate the law or anyone’s right (including intellectual
property rights). You will be solely responsible for the content and information
you provide and You will hold Sqmeterz harmless from any claim regarding such
content or information.
You represent and
warrant that you are the owner of all the rights on the content you will post,
and warrant that i) such information is accurate and truthful, and that ii) the
use of such information and content does not represent any breach of Sqmeterz
Policies.
3.2 Service Availability
We may change or discontinue any of our Services. There,
Sqmeterz does not warrant to store or keep showing any information and content
that You may have posted.
You agree that we have no obligation to store, maintain or
provide You a copy of any content or information that You or others provide,
except to the extent required by applicable laws and as indicated in our
Privacy Policy.
3.3 Limits
Sqmeterz reserves the right to restrict, suspend, or
terminate your account in its sole discretion for any reason, including if
Sqmeterz believes that You may be in breach of the Agreement or any applicable
national, regional or local law or regulation. We will notify you with the
reason for termination or suspension unless we reasonably believe that to do
so: a) would violate the law or the direction of a legal enforcement authority,
or would otherwise risk legal liability for Sqmeterz or our affiliates
entities; b) would compromise an investigation or the integrity or operation of
the Service; or c) would cause harm to any user, other third party, Sqmeterz or
our affiliates entities.
3.4 Intellectual Property Rights
Sqmeterz is the sole holder of all
intellectual property rights related to its services, such as: its source code,
modules, packages, operating structure, business model, algorithms and all
information related to the use, operation and other data and documentation. We assure you that we are the owners of the technology and tools
authorized to perform our services, when we are not, we have the proper
authorizations for the use of the tools.
4. Disclaimer of Warranties
5. Limitations on Liability
The Owner and the Tenant acknowledges that it is their responsibility to know, at any time, any legal obligations applicable to them, In the even of any conflict between these Terms & Conditions and the Local laws, the Law shall prevail.
6.
Termination
You
may terminate the Agreement at any time without notice to Sqmeterz. On termination,
You lose the right to access or use Sqmeterz Platform. However, any outstanding
obligations and amounts owed by you or Sqmeterz prior to termination shall
survive termination.
7. General Terms
7.1 Severance
If any provision of the Agreement (or part of any
provision) is or becomes illegal, invalid or unenforceable, the legality,
validity and enforceability of any other provision of the Agreement shall not
be affected.
Additionally, if any provision of the Agreement (or part of any provision) is or becomes illegal, invalid or unenforceable but would be legal, valid and enforceable if some part of it was deleted or modified, the provision or part provision in question shall apply with such deletions or modifications as may be necessary to make the provision legal, valid and enforceable.
7.2 Entire agreement
You and Sqmeterz agree that the Agreement constitutes the
entire agreement between You and Sqmeterz and supersedes all previous
agreement, understandings and arrangements between You and Sqmeterz regarding
the subject matter herein, whether in writing or oral.
Each party acknowledges that it has not entered into the Agreement
in reliance on, and shall have no remedies in respect of, any representation or
warranty that is not expressly set out in the Agreement. You shall have no
claim for innocent or negligent misrepresentation on the basis of any statement
in the Agreement.
Nothing in the Agreement purports to limit or exclude any
liability of Sqmeterz for fraud.
7.3 No Waiver
No failure, delay or omission by Sqmeterz in
exercising any right, power or remedy provided by law or under the Agreement
shall operate as a waiver of that right, power or remedy, nor shall it preclude
or restrict any future exercise of that or any other right, power or remedy.
Therefore, a waiver of any term, provision, condition or breach of the
Agreement shall only be effective if given in writing and signed, and only to
be applicable in the instance and for the purpose for which it is given
7.4 No assignment
The User may not assign any rights or obligations
under the Agreement. However, Sqmeterz may assign, subcontract or encumber any
right or obligation under the Agreement, in whole or in part, without the
User’s prior consent. Indeed, Sqmeterz may perform any of its obligations and
exercise any of its rights granted under the Agreement through any affiliate.
The
Agreement does not create any third-party beneficiary rights and, therefore, no
third party to the Agreement has the right to enforce any of its terms.
7.5
Legal Notices
Notices to You
may be given and are deemed received by means of the email address provided
during Your registration to Sqmeterz Platform.