Terms and Conditions

Introduction

Welcome to Upad.co.uk (this 'Website').

Upad Limited ('Upad'), registered in England and Wales with company number 06569680 whose registered office is 15 Linen House, 253 Kilburn Lane, London, W10 4BQ, owns and operates this Website. For the purposes of these Terms and Conditions 'We', 'Our' and 'Us' refer to Upad. Please review these Terms and Conditions carefully before using this Website.

By using or accessing this Website (whether as a guest or a registered user) you confirm your agreement to these Terms and Conditions. Your use of this Website is at all times subject to these Terms and Conditions (which form a legally binding contract between Upad and you) and all applicable laws. If you do not agree to these Terms and Conditions, do not use this Website.

These Terms and Conditions apply to the services available from www.upad.co.uk and any of its current or future sub-domains (the "Services"). We reserve the right to change these Terms and Conditions from time to time. Any such changes will be displayed on this Website. Your continued use of this Website following such changes will be deemed to be your acceptance of such amended Terms and Conditions. If you do not accept any such changes, you should stop using this Website.

Any further product specific Terms and Conditions are documented in the relevant product pages. They apply specifically to those products and services and form an integral part of the Terms and Conditions of use of Upad, its website and services provided.

Data Protection

Save as provided elsewhere in these Terms and Conditions or as expressly agreed otherwise, any personal information you supply to Us when you use this Website will be used in accordance with Our Privacy Policy.

Property rights and use of material

All trademarks, copyright, database rights and other intellectual property rights in the materials on this Website (as well as the organisation and layout of this Website) together with the underlying software code and any other information provided to you in the course of the receipt of any Services, are owned or licensed directly by Us. Without Our prior written permission, you may not copy, reproduce, reverse engineer, modify, create derivative works from, publish, transmit, distribute, or otherwise publicly display, or sell or transfer any material on this Website or the underlying software code or any other information provided to you in the course of the receipt of any Services, whether in whole or in part. However, a single copy of the contents of this Website may be downloaded, printed or copied for your personal non-commercial use.

If you breach any of these Terms and Conditions, your permission to use the materials on this Website and any other information provided to you in the course of the receipt of any Services, automatically ceases and you must immediately destroy any copies you have made.

Content

When you give Us content, you grant Us a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sub licensable (through multiple tiers), licence to use, display, distribute and reproduce such content in whole or in part in any media, including via our Partners' Websites as set out below (We need these rights to host and display your content).

You warrant that all content (including, but not limited to, photographs) provided by you is accurate and does not infringe the rights of any third party and you shall indemnify us and keep us indemnified against any claim against Us by any third party in relation to any such infringement. We reserve the right to not initiate or discontinue any service we provide if we suspect any breach against this clause. You explicitly agree any compensation paid at that point is forfeit.

Acceptable Use Policy

Upad trusts that all its landlords are honest and genuine. However, Upad reserves the right to stop, cancel, remove or limit adverts which Upad considers in its absolute discretion to be disingenuous dishonest or fraudulent.

You may only use this Website in accordance with these Terms and Conditions and, in any event, only for lawful and proper purposes, for example in order to find a tenant for your property. It is your responsibility to comply with all applicable laws, regulations and codes of practice within the UK or other jurisdiction from which you are accessing this Website.

As an example, but non-exhaustive list, you agree that you will not:

  • Post, transmit or disseminate any information on or via this Website which is or may be harmful, obscene, defamatory or otherwise illegal
  • Use this Website in a manner which causes or may cause an infringement of the rights of any other person
  • Make any unauthorised, false or fraudulent advertisement
  • Use any software, routine or device to interfere or attempt to interfere electronically or manually with the operation or functionality of this Website including but not limited to uploading or making available files containing corrupt data or viruses via whatever means
  • Deface, alter or interfere with the front-end look and feel of this Website or the underlying software code
  • Use any robot, spider, scraper or other automated means to access this Website for any purpose or use any robot, spider, scraper or other automated means or any manual process to monitor, copy or extract any material on this Website without the prior written consent of Upad
  • Violate the restrictions in any robot exclusion headers on this Website or bypass or circumvent other measures employed to prevent or limit access to this Website
  • Carry out any "caching", "framing" or "mirroring" of any material on this Website
  • Take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on this Website or related infrastructure
  • Obtain or attempt to obtain unauthorised access, via whatever means, to any of Our networks
  • In the case of landlords or property agents advertising on the Site, use the Site to promote any other property or service other than that represented in the specific advertisement or listing for which you have paid

You warrant that you will adhere to this Acceptable Use Policy and you shall indemnify us and keep us indemnified against any claim against Us by any third party in relation to any such infringement. We reserve the right to not initiate or discontinue any service we provide if we suspect any breach against this clause. You explicitly agree any compensation paid at that point is forfeit.

Links to other websites

This Website may include links to other internet sites. We do not endorse any such websites and We are not responsible for the information, material, products or services contained on or accessible through those websites. Your access and use of such websites remain solely at your own risk.

Limitation of Liability

Save as provided elsewhere in these Terms and Conditions, to the maximum extent permitted by law, We exclude all warranties, conditions or other terms, whether express or implied, whether by statute, case law, custom or otherwise in relation to this Website or any Services, including without limitation as to satisfactory quality, fitness for particular purpose, non-infringement, availability, compatibility, accuracy or completeness.

You acknowledge and agree that:

The material on this Website is only for information purposes and is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without representation or endorsement of any kind and is obtained at your own risk. The material on this Website does not constitute advice and you should not rely on any material in this Website to make (or refrain from making) any decision or take (or refrain from taking) any action. Neither Upad nor any participant in this Website and its Services provides professional advice of any kind and use of such advice or other information is solely at your own risk and without Our liability of any kind.

Upad will not be liable if for any reason this Website is unavailable at any time or for any period. Access to this Website may be suspended temporarily and without notice in the case of system failure, maintenance or repair or for reasons beyond Upad's control. Upad makes no warranty that this Website (or websites which are linked to this Website) is free from computer viruses or any other malicious or impairing computer program.

The material on this Website may be updated from time to time and may at times be out of date. We accept no responsibility for keeping the information on this Website up to date or liability for any failure to do so.

We have no control over, do not guarantee, and you will not hold Us responsible for:

  • viewings or management of properties;
  • the quality, safety or legality of items advertised;
  • the truth or accuracy of listings;
  • the truth or accuracy of feedback or other content posted by users on this Website;
  • the ability of users to vend or pay for items; or
  • whether a user will actually complete a transaction.

You should not assume that the offer, sale, purchase, export or import of any item is valid and legal simply because it is listed on this Website.

You accept sole responsibility for the legality of your actions under laws applying to you in connection with your use of this Website and/or the receipt of any Services.

Upad cannot and does not confirm, and is not responsible for ensuring, the accuracy or truthfulness of users' purported identities or the validity of the information which they provide to us or post on this Website.

While we will use our reasonable endeavours to maintain an uninterrupted service, we cannot guarantee this and we do not give any promises or warranties (whether express or implied) about the availability of our Services.

Save as 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 Website, or in connection with the use, inability to use, or results of the use of this Website, any websites linked to it and any materials posted on it. We do not limit liability for fraudulent misrepresentation or death and personal injury arising from Our negligence.

Third party material and services

This Website contains material (including but not limited to advertisements) submitted and created by third parties. All third-party material is published by Upad in good faith. Upad does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy of such material (nor is any warranty expressed or implied by publication) and Upad specifically disclaims and excludes all liability to any person (be they advertiser, reader or user) for any loss or damage of any nature whatsoever or however arising from any error, omission or inaccuracy in such material and Upad takes no responsibility for such material.

In the event that you purchase or obtain any goods or services from a third party then your acquisition of such goods or services will be in accordance with the third party's terms and conditions and Upad will have no liability to you in respect of the same.

You agree that Upad has not conferred by implication, or otherwise, any licence or right under any patent, trademark or copyright (except as expressly provided) of Upad or of any third party.

Indemnity

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold Us harmless from any liability, loss, claim and expense (including reasonable legal fees) related to your breach of these Terms and Conditions.

Fair Usage Policy

Upad trusts that all its landlords are honest and genuine. However, Upad reserves the right to stop, cancel, remove or limit adverts which Upad considers in its absolute discretion to be disingenuous dishonest or fraudulent.

Third party material and services

This Website contains material (including but not limited to advertisements) submitted and created by third parties. All third party material is published by Upad in good faith. Upad does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy of such material (nor is any warranty expressed or implied by publication) and Upad specifically disclaims and excludes all liability to any person (be they advertiser, reader or user) for any loss or damage of any nature whatsoever or however arising from any error, omission or inaccuracy in such material and Upad takes no responsibility for such material.

In the event that you purchase or obtain any goods or services from a third party then your acquisition of such goods or services will be in accordance with the third party's terms and conditions and Upad will have no liability to you in respect of the same.

You agree that Upad has not conferred by implication, or otherwise, any licence or right under any patent, trademark or copyright (except as expressly provided) of Upad or of any third party.

Indemnity

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold Us harmless from any liability, loss, claim and expense (including reasonable legal fees) related to your breach of these Terms and Conditions.

Additional terms for Landlords advertising properties on this Website



Descriptions

It is entirely your responsibility to make sure that all personal and property particulars held by Us are correct. We are not responsible for any mis-descriptions that have been provided by you.

If you are a landlord, you may not upload any corporate or other logo, image or brand identifier to your property description or include the same in any image you submit to Us. Similarly, you must not include your phone number, website address or email address to your property description.

Property descriptions must include a minimum of one useable photograph of the relevant property and a written description of no less than 100 words.

Landlord & Tenant disputes

Any dispute that arises between a landlord and tenant who have used Our service will be resolved solely by the landlord and tenant. We are not responsible and shall have no liability for any disagreements or disputes that may arise throughout a tenancy term.

In the case of deposits held under a tenancy deposit scheme, if We have collected the deposit on behalf of a landlord, We are deemed to have acted as ‘stakeholder’ so that in the event of any dispute, Upad will take only such reasonable and appropriate action as may be determined by the relevant dispute resolution service in relation to the dispute.

Landlords' responsibilities

You accept sole responsibility for the legality of your actions under laws applying to you and your property and the legality of any items you list on this Website. In particular (but without limitation), save where Upad has expressly agreed to provide the same as part of any Services subscribed for and separately paid for by you, it is your responsibility to ensure that all of the following are adhered to in relation to your properties listed on the Website:

  • Where applicable, a current landlords' electrical safety certificate is in place
  • Current landlord's gas safety certificate is in place
  • Where applicable the landlord must have permission from the mortgage lender to let out his/her property
  • Adequate insurance is in place to cover all eventualities
  • All furnishings within the landlords' property pass Fire Safety Regulations 1998
  • All tax that is due from rental income is declared to the Inland Revenue no matter if the landlord is resident in the UK or overseas
  • Where applicable standing order payments are arranged by the landlord to allow for rental payments by the tenant
  • Where applicable a rent book is given to the tenant to register weekly rental payments
  • All utility bills are transferred into the current tenants' name
  • Council tax payments are made by the current tenant
  • The tenant(s) deposit has been placed in a suitable tenancy deposit scheme, or the landlord holds the tenant(s) deposit and has ensured the tenant(s) deposit via a suitable tenancy deposit scheme
  • A suitable energy certificate (EPC) is obtained and a copy provided to Us within seven days of listing a property on the Website. If We do not receive a completed EPC within a further 21 days of listing or if it is not shown here: www.epcregister.com, We reserve the right to remove any property listed.

We reserve the right to reject, at our sole discretion, any property listing even if we have acknowledged receipt of payment and taken payment from you if you have asked or requested from potential tenants any money before signing a contract.

Landlords’ HMO and Licensing Obligations

It is landlords’ obligation to ensure compliance at all times with the provisions of the Housing Act 2004 (the Act) (including any secondary legislation, orders or regulations made under it) related to the licensing of HMOs and the terms and conditions of any applicable licence granted pursuant to the Act. Landlords acknowledge and agree that Upad shall be under no obligation to comply with the Act notwithstanding that Upad may by virtue of its property management services be a ‘person having control’ over, or a ‘person managing’, an HMO within the meaning of section 263 of the Act. Further, landlords hereby indemnify and shall keep Upad fully and effectually indemnified against any non-compliance of the Act by them as landlords including as to any costs damages expenses fines and/or penalties suffered or incurred by Upad in connection with any such non-compliance.

Editing and deletions

If you wish to amend any details about your property or personal particulars please log into your online landlord console, using your username and password.

We reserve the right to remove property listings from this Website and other property sites fed from this Website if we have reasonable cause to believe the property is no longer available for rent. We will use reasonable endeavours to notify you by email prior to such removal.

If a user reports a mis-description in your property listing, we reserve the right to suspend or remove the relevant listing from this Website and to contact you to request confirmation that the advert is correct. Upon receipt of such confirmation, we will decide, at our sole discretion, whether to re-instate your advert. No refund will be payable to you where your advert is removed in accordance with this process.

If you wish to remove an advert this can be carried out by logging into your online landlord console, using your username and password.

Once a property has been removed from this Website we are unable to advertise the property again unless payment has been received in full for a new term.

Data feeds

You agree that We may use an automated feed system to send details of properties you list on this Website to Our carefully selected partners' websites ("Partners' Websites").

We do not guarantee that any property you list on this Website will be displayed on Partners' Websites and We are not be responsible for any technical problems relating to Partners' Websites. You acknowledge that your use of Partners' Websites will be subject to the terms and conditions set out on the relevant Partners' Website.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, We (including Our affiliates, officers, directors, agents 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 Partners' Websites, or in connection with the use, inability to use, or results of the use of Partners' Websites, any websites linked to them and any materials posted on them. We do not limit liability for fraudulent misrepresentation or death and personal injury arising from Our negligence.

The only properties that We will distribute to property portals will be those advertised directly by landlords on the Website. We will not advertise properties on behalf of other estate agents or lettings agencies and We may ask landlords for confirmation of ownership before We activate their property listing.

Additional terms for landlords who select any viewings, valuations, tenancy administration, rent collection, property management services or any other services apply.

Cancellation and refunds

When you buy Services (including any services bundles or packages) from Upad on a one-off basis, you have 14 days from the date of purchase to request a refund. Upad will ensure that each request will be reviewed and a decision made within 48 hours. This does not affect your statutory rights as a consumer.

Note, no refund will be processed when the service had already started. For example, Professional Photograph has been booked but not carried out, the services have started in this example. Or when a tenant is being referenced and has been sent the forms from our referencing team, the services have started in this situation.

When you buy Services (including any services bundles or packages) from Upad on an on-ongoing basis, you may contact Upad to cancel the contract but it will not end until one calendar month after the day on which you contact Upad.

UChoose

UChoose is a service Upad Ltd. provides to help you, hereinafter referred to as ‘the landlord’ to find tenant(s).

This package includes the following services:

  • The property advertised on major portals, like Rightmove, Zoopla & Prime Location
  • Enquiries introduction & management (24/7)
  • SMS & E-mail notification of tenant enquiries
  • Upad’s Tenancy Compliance Service
  • Comprehensive Tenant Referencing (£75 per tenant / charged to the landlord)

Included within this package, the landlord benefits from personal account management and Upad’s customer service support.

Upad facilitates the landlord to list a property on the abovementioned property portals until a reasonable amount/number of tenancy enquiries has been reached. ‘A reasonable amount/ number of enquiries’ depends on variables such as property type, market and location and is determined by Upad Ltd. The advert will feature up to, but no longer than 90 days on the property portals.

The overall Acceptable and Fair Usage Policy applies.

UPay On Success

UPay On Success is a service UPad Ltd. provides to help you, hereinafter referred to as ‘the landlord’ to find tenant(s) without paying upfront for the advertising cost and tenancy set-up.

This service includes the following:

  • The property advertised on major portals, like Rightmove, Zoopla & Prime Location
  • Can include one Rightmove Premium Listing
  • Professional photography
  • Enquiries introduction & management (24/7)
  • SMS & E-mail notification of tenant enquiries
  • Upad’s Tenancy Compliance Service
  • Comprehensive Tenant Referencing (included as part of UPay on Success)
  • Tenant Sign-up Service
  • ARLA-approved Assured Short-term Tenancy (AST) contract
  • Funds collection (initial Rent & Deposit)
  • Compliant Deposit Registration with The Deposit Scheme (TDS)

From the moment the ad goes live, the landlord grants Upad the exclusive right to advertise the property for 4 weeks. Within this service, the landlord may not supply their own property photography, the ad only goes live with Upad photography supplied within the package.

The landlord agrees that this is a partnership programme, Upad commits to dedicating resource to find the landlord tenant(s) in our shortest time-to-let package and will have the autonomy to make changes to the property listing. The landlord assumes the responsibility to be responsive by promptly responding to tenant enquiries and arranging viewings. If the landlord and Upad disagree on terms of advertising, Upad reserves the right to cancel the programme and may offer to convert to a pay-upfront service.

What is the Definition of Success?

This is the case, for example, when the landlord:

  1. The tenant/tenants have signed the tenancy agreement supplied by Upad,
  2. The landlord informs Upad the tenant/tenants have signed a tenancy agreement.

If a tenant fails referencing, the landlord’s ad will be put live again. The landlord will continue to receive service until one of the success criteria has been met.

When is Payment Due?

Full payment is due when:

  1. The tenant/tenants have signed the tenancy agreement supplied by Upad,
  2. The landlord informs Upad the tenant/tenants have signed the tenancy agreement.

Partial recovery costs are due when:

  1. The landlord instructs to stop the ad and does not reactivate the listing within 7 days,
  2. The landlord chooses to no longer continue the programme after the first services (photography and/or property advertising) have been completed,
  3. The landlord has breached these T&Cs.

The overall Acceptable and Fair Usage Policy applies.

Upad Landlord Club

The Landlord Club is a service Upad Ltd. provides to help you, hereinafter referred to as ‘the landlord’ in the form of exclusive Landlord support material and benefits.

A number of the services currently include:

  • Legal advice telephone helpline
  • Universal Credit telephone helpline
  • National Landlord Association discount
  • Tax checklists
  • SimpleTax discounts
  • Tax advice telephone helpline
  • Free Rightmove Premium Listings
  • Landlord guides
  • Premium webinars
  • Mortgage telephone helpline
  • Rent collection by Direct Debit

Services may be added or changed from time to time without prior notice.

Unless you notify us before the next due date of your membership fee that you want to end your membership at this date, we will automatically charge the then-applicable periodic membership fee using your preferred payment method.

All payments made for the Landlord Club service are non-refundable.

If your preferred payment method becomes invalid during your membership period, or if the charge is refused for any other reason outside our control, the service will stop and you will no longer be able to access any of the services.

We may terminate your Landlord Club membership immediately by notice if we consider that your use of the service materially breaches our terms and conditions. In this case we will not give any refund.

Included with the Landlord Club annual subscription service, a maximum of 3 properties can be selected for rent collection via Direct Debit. Please contact us if you require more rent to be collected on more than 3 properties.

Should the membership renewal fail or membership be cancelled, the rent collection via Direct Debit will be subject to cancellation or an ongoing charge of £5 per property.

Scottish Properties

If you are the landlord of a property in Scotland, you should note that your tenant may not be charged fees for our services and so you will be liable to pay Our fees (for example, in relation to tenant referencing) which might otherwise be payable by them under these Terms and Conditions.

Limitation of Liability for Services

We shall not be liable for any failure in, or delay in, performing the Services to the extent directly prevented or delayed by:

  • any information and documentation provided to Us by you or on your behalf or by any of your tenants in relation to the Services
  • any instructions provided to Us by you or on your behalf or by any of your tenants being materially incomplete, inaccurate, illegible, out of sequence or in the wrong form, or arising from their material late delivery or non-delivery
  • any failure by you to comply with your obligations as expressly set out in any description of the relevant Services listed on this Website (as amended from time to time) (the "Services Description")
  • any act or omission by the tenants of your property. It is your responsibility to procure that your tenants cooperate with Us to allow Us to provide the Services. We reserve the right not to deal with uncooperative tenants and to suspend Our Services in relation to an affected property altogether or for such period as We in Our absolute discretion shall determine.

For the avoidance of doubt, We shall have no liability (including without limitation to you or to any of your tenants) in respect of gas certification, save to the extent expressly included in the relevant Services Description.

We do not limit liability for fraudulent misrepresentation or death and personal injury arising from Our negligence. We (including Our affiliates, officers, directors, agents, subcontractors and employees) will not be liable to you in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise for indirect or consequential loss incurred or suffered by you or any third party (including without limitation any of your tenants) in connection with the receipt of any Services. Subject to the forgoing, to the maximum extent permitted by law, Our (including Our affiliates, officers, directors, agents, subcontractors and employees) aggregate liability, whether in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise for any loss incurred or suffered by you or any third party (including without limitation any of your tenants) in connection with the receipt of any Services is limited to the amount of any Fees paid by you in respect of the relevant Services.

International Bank Accounts

Monies that are transferred to an international bank account will incur a fee of £25 (including VAT). This will be deducted from the amount to be transferred.

Deposit Registration

If We are instructed to collect the tenancy deposit monies and register them with one of the Government approved Tenancy Deposit Schemes; This instruction is irrevocable and cannot be amended. For the avoidance of doubt, should deposit monies have been received, We will refund such monies back to the tenant(s), if the tenancy does not commence and provided We have not already registered the deposit. If the deposit has been registered by Us, then it will be held by Us as stakeholder in Our ring-fenced client account subject to the terms of the tenancy agreement.

Deposit monies will always be returned to the lead tenant.

Interest from the Customers' tenants deposits and on any balance held on the rent client account from time to time will be retained by UPAD.

Termination

Our provision of any Services is subject to your payment of the Fees in accordance with these Terms and Conditions and the Fees and specific Product Terms and Conditions that may apply.

Property Management

Please refer to the specific terms and conditions in relation to Our property management services.

Marketing and User Content

You hereby grant to Upad and their respective retail partners, marketing or public relations agencies, and other affiliates (the “Licensed Parties”) a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, fully-paid, non-exclusive, transferable, sublicensable right to use your User Content (images, copy, reviews) in any manner to be determined in the Licensed Parties’ sole discretion, including but not limited to on webpages and social media pages operated by the Licensed Parties, in promotional e-mails and advertisements, and in any and all other marketing, promotional and advertising initiatives, and in any media now or hereafter known. The Licensed Parties may use, display, reproduce, distribute, transmit, create derivative works from, combine with other materials, alter and/or edit your User Content in any manner in their sole discretion, with no obligation to you whatsoever.

Miscellaneous

These Terms and Conditions, any product specific Terms and Conditions as specified on the relevant Product pages and the Privacy Policy and any relevant Services Description contain all the terms of your agreement with Us relating to your use of this Website and any Services. No other written or oral statement (including statements in any brochure or promotional literature published by us) will be incorporated.

Upad may at any time and without liability modify, suspend or discontinue this Website (or any part thereof), with or without notice, for any technical, operational or commercial reasons.

This Website is controlled by Upad from its premises in the UK. Upad makes no suggestion that this Website is suitable or accessible for use in other places, and access to it from territories where its substance is illegal is prohibited. Those who choose to access this Website from other places are responsible for observance with relevant local laws and do so on their own initiative. If any provision of these Terms and Conditions is found to be invalid by any court having competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of such provision will not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of these Terms and Conditions, which will remain in full force and effect. No waiver of any term of these Terms and Conditions will be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or any other term.

These Terms and Conditions and your use of this Website will be governed by and construed in accordance with English law. You and Upad agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.

Queries

If you have any questions or queries regarding any of the Services or products featured please send an email to [email protected].