1. Introduction & Acceptance

These Terms & Conditions ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Vardenus website at vardenus.com and any related apps, dashboards, APIs, or services (together, the "Platform"). The Platform is a worldwide marketplace that connects tenants, landlords, letting agencies, and property service providers across multiple countries.

By creating an account, listing a property, applying for a property, signing a contract, sending a message, or otherwise using the Platform, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, you must not use the Platform.

2. About Vardenus

Vardenus is a multi-role rental marketplace operating internationally. We provide tools for tenants to search, apply for, and rent properties; for landlords and letting agencies to list properties, screen applicants, and manage tenancies; and for service providers (cleaners, maintenance, inventory clerks, etc.) to offer services to landlords and tenants.

Vardenus acts as a technology platform. Unless we expressly state otherwise in writing, Vardenus is not a party to any tenancy agreement, service contract, or transaction between users.

3. Eligibility & Account Registration

You must be at least 18 years old (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction, if higher) and legally able to enter into binding contracts under the laws of the country in which you reside to register an account.

You must provide accurate, current, and complete information when registering and keep it up to date. You are responsible for keeping your password and any two-factor authentication credentials confidential and for all activity on your account.

You must notify us immediately at security@vardenus.com if you suspect unauthorised use of your account.

4. User Roles & Responsibilities

Each account is assigned a role: Tenant, Service Provider (owner or employee), Letting Agency (owner or employee), or Administrator. Some features are restricted to specific roles.

Tenants are responsible for the accuracy of their applications, references, and financial information.

Landlords and letting agencies are responsible for compliance with all applicable laws in the jurisdiction where each property is located, including landlord licensing, tenancy and consumer-protection laws, deposit-handling rules, building safety, energy-performance disclosures, fair-housing/anti-discrimination obligations, tax reporting, and any local right-to-rent or right-to-occupy checks.

Service providers are responsible for the lawfulness, quality, insurance, and certification of services they offer through the Platform in their operating jurisdiction.

5. Identity Verification

To protect the community, certain features (including submitting applications, signing contracts, and listing properties) require you to complete identity verification. This may include email and phone verification, government-issued ID upload, proof of income, and address verification.

By uploading documents, you confirm that they are genuine, belong to you (or to the entity you are authorised to represent), and that you consent to Vardenus and its verification partners reviewing them.

Verified status does not constitute a guarantee or endorsement by Vardenus. You remain responsible for your own due diligence before entering into any tenancy or contract.

6. Listings & Property Information

Landlords and letting agencies must ensure that every listing accurately describes the property, its rent, deposit, fees, location, and availability. Listings must comply with all applicable consumer-protection, fair-housing, advertising, and tenancy laws in the jurisdiction where the property is located.

You must not list a property you are not authorised to let, post duplicate or misleading listings, manipulate search results, or use bots to scrape or interact with listings.

Vardenus may at its sole discretion remove, edit, or suspend any listing that we believe breaches these Terms or applicable law.

7. Applications, Viewings & Contracts

Applications, viewing slot bookings, and contracts arranged through the Platform are between the tenant and the landlord (or their letting agency). Vardenus provides templates and digital signing tools for convenience; we are not a party to those agreements, and our templates are starting points only — you remain responsible for ensuring any final agreement complies with the laws of the relevant jurisdiction.

You must not submit fraudulent applications, falsify references, or misrepresent your identity, employment, or income. We may share verified information between matched users to support tenancy decisions, in line with our Privacy Policy.

8. Payments & Fees

Rent payments, holding deposits, and service payments processed through the Platform are handled by our payment partner Stripe (Stripe, Inc. and its regional affiliates). By using payment features, you also agree to Stripe's Connected Account Agreement and the Stripe Services Agreement applicable in your country.

Vardenus does not charge fees that would be prohibited under tenant-protection laws of the jurisdiction in which the property is located. Landlords, agencies, and service providers may be charged subscription, listing, transaction, or marketplace fees as separately disclosed at the point of purchase.

Fees are stated exclusive of any taxes (including VAT, GST, or sales tax) unless otherwise specified, and applicable taxes will be added at checkout. Subscription fees are billed in advance and are non-refundable except where required by law.

9. Messaging & Chat Policy

The following terms govern the use of Vardenus Chat, our in-platform messaging system for landlords, tenants, agencies, and service providers.

10. Acceptable Use

You agree not to use the Platform to: (a) breach any law or third-party right; (b) discriminate against any person on the basis of any characteristic protected by applicable fair-housing or anti-discrimination law in your jurisdiction (for example race, colour, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, familial status, age, or any other protected category); (c) harass, threaten, or abuse other users; (d) post false, misleading, or fraudulent content; (e) circumvent, disable, or interfere with security or rate-limiting features; (f) reverse-engineer or scrape the Platform; or (g) use the Platform to send unsolicited marketing.

We may suspend or terminate accounts that breach this section without notice and may report serious breaches to law-enforcement, tax authorities, data-protection regulators, or relevant local authorities.

11. Intellectual Property

The Vardenus name, logo, trade marks, software, design, and content are owned by Vardenus or its licensors and are protected by international intellectual-property laws.

You retain ownership of content you upload (listings, photos, documents, messages). By uploading, you grant Vardenus a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, display, copy, and process that content for the purpose of operating, improving, and promoting the Platform.

12. Privacy & Data Protection

Vardenus processes personal data in accordance with applicable data-protection laws, which may include the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA), Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Brazil's LGPD, and other equivalent laws in your country. Our Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, and your rights as a data subject.

Where we share data with third parties (for example, payment processors, identity-verification providers, cloud hosting, and email/SMS delivery providers), we do so under appropriate contractual safeguards. International transfers are protected by recognised transfer mechanisms such as Standard Contractual Clauses, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, or other lawful safeguards.

For privacy questions or to exercise your data-subject rights, contact privacy@vardenus.com.

13. Cookies

Vardenus uses cookies and similar technologies that are strictly necessary to operate the Platform, and (with your consent, where required by law) cookies that help us measure performance, remember preferences, and improve our service. You can manage your preferences at any time through our cookie banner or your browser settings.

14. Third-Party Services

The Platform integrates third-party services including Stripe (payments), Google Maps (location), and identity-verification providers. Your use of those services is also governed by the respective providers' terms. Vardenus is not responsible for the availability, accuracy, or content of third-party services.

15. Disclaimers & Limitation of Liability

The Platform is provided "as is" and "as available". To the maximum extent permitted by law, Vardenus disclaims all implied warranties, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

Vardenus does not guarantee the accuracy, legality, or quality of any listing, application, contract, service, or message provided by users. You are solely responsible for evaluating and verifying any counterparty before transacting.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Vardenus's total aggregate liability arising out of or in connection with these Terms or your use of the Platform will not exceed the greater of (a) the fees you paid Vardenus in the twelve months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) USD $100. Nothing in these Terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under the law of your jurisdiction.

16. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Vardenus, its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claim, loss, liability, or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of (a) your use of the Platform, (b) your breach of these Terms, (c) content you upload, or (d) your transactions with other users.

17. Suspension & Termination

You may close your account at any time from your account settings. We may suspend or terminate your account, with or without notice, if we reasonably believe you have breached these Terms, applicable law, or pose a risk to other users.

Sections that by their nature should survive termination — including intellectual property, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnification, governing law, and dispute resolution — will survive.

18. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by email and/or by an in-app notice at least 14 days before the changes take effect. Continued use of the Platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

19. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. Any dispute arising under these Terms will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in San Francisco County, California, except that nothing in this section deprives consumers of the protection of mandatory laws (including any right to bring proceedings in their local courts) of the country in which they reside, where those laws cannot be excluded by contract.

Before commencing legal proceedings, the parties agree to attempt in good faith to resolve disputes through Vardenus's dispute-resolution process and, where appropriate, mediation. Where applicable, EU and UK consumers may also use the relevant online dispute-resolution platforms.

20. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Contact us at legal@vardenus.com. For privacy questions, contact privacy@vardenus.com. For account or security issues, contact security@vardenus.com.