Terms & Conditions

“Colochousing.com ” is a platform available online on the website www.colochousing.com and/or through an application (“Platform”) operated by Coloc.io Management BV, company under Belgian law, with its registered office at 47, Boulevard Saint-Michel, 1040 Etterbeek and listed in the Crossroad Bank for Companies (Kruispuntbank voor ondernemingen / Banque-Carrefour des entreprises) under company number BE 0773.923.507, hereafter referred to as (“Coloc Housing”, “Us” or “We”), .

These Terms of Use, including the terms of our Privacy Policy (“Terms”), contain important information about your rights and obligations. Please take sufficient time to read and understand all of these Terms carefully before using the Services or the Platform. If you do not agree to these Terms, you have no right to obtain information or Services from this Platform and must immediately cease its' use.

Coloc Housing is approved as a real estate agent in Belgium under the IPI number 512 838. It is subject to the supervision of the Professional Institute of Real Estate Agents ("IPI") located rue du Luxembourg 16b in 1000 Brussels and acts in accordance with the Code of Ethics of the IPI approved by the Royal Decree of 27 September 2006.

2. Definitions

In the present general conditions of service, hereinafter referred to as the "General Conditions", the terms beginning with a capital letter should be defined as follows :

3. Acceptance of terms

By registering, accessing the Platform and/or using the Services, a person who applies for an Accommodation acknowledges that she/he has read and understood these Terms and agree to be bound by them to comply with these Terms and all applicable laws and regulations.

Coloc Housing reserves the right to modify the Terms and Conditions at any time without prior notice. Colocs will be informed of such changes to the Terms by notification or email.

4. Services

Coloc Housing provides an online Platform allowing Landlors to list available rooms for rent to Colocs looking for an Accommodation in a cohousing and to handle any rental transations between both parties. The Platform Colocs to better organise their household and for Landlords to follow up on their property and rental revenues.

Coloc Housing does not own the Accommodation it offers on the Platform. It intervenes as an intermediary between the Coloc and the Landlord within the framework of the property management mandate entrusted to it by the Landlord.

You understand and agree that :

All of these services are hereafter referred to as "Services".

5. Functioning of the Platform

Coloc Housing attaches the utmost care to uploading information on the available Accommodations and their characteristics, as well as photos illustrating the Accommodations.

Coloc Housing wants to make sure the description and pictures of the Accommodation correspond with reality. However, sometimes through the years the inventory and the state of the room (colours, sheets,...) might change because of wear or replacement. In such cases Coloc Housing cannot be held liable.

To apply for a visit and ultimately book an Accommodation, the Coloc is required to register for an (“Account”). You must be at least eighteen (18) years old and be entitled in your jurisdiction to enter into legally binding agreements in order to use the Platform. You must provide current, accurate identification, contract and other information that may be required as part of the registration process and/or continued use of the Services.

By registering, the Coloc represents and warrants that: a) You fulfill the conditions for opening an Account as set out in these Terms; and b) Your registration Data is accurate, up-to-date and complete.

The Coloc is invited to provide a certain number of data:

The Coloc acknowledges the strictly personal and confidential nature of his password. The Coloc is solely responsible for the confidentiality and use of his username and password and other information related to the security of his account. Therefore, Coloc Housing cannot be held responsible for any loss, damage, fraudulent access or use related to an account.

If the Coloc doesn’t fulfill the conditions above, he will be refrained from benefiting from the Services mentioned above.

In addition, Coloc Housing reserves the right to delete an account at any time, without notice, if the account is no longer used during a given period of time or if Coloc Housing suspects fraudulent use of the account. The Coloc cannot claim any compensation in case of deletion of his account, even if Coloc Housing is at fault.

6. Booking procedure

The booking of an Accommodation via the Platform is made in several stages, as described below:

6.1. The Coloc selects the desired Accommodation by clicking on an Accommodation.

The Coloc applies for a visit. Before filling out the Apply Form the Coloc is asked to register an account and complete his profile. Once he completed his profile the Coloc is brought back to the apply form where the fields are automatically filled out for him.

An Accommodation can never be booked for less than two (2) months. The Coloc is free to choose the initial duration of the rent, as long as it doesn’t exceed the period of the rental agreement of a specific house. Rental agreements are usually up to 9 years. A Coloc can decide at any moment to terminate his/her rental agreement with two months notice. S/he does not need to provide a reason for terminating the agreement.

When a housemate decides to put an end to his lease, this person must notify as soon as possible the Landlord and the other housemates by letter, email or any other communication channel with acknowledgment of receipt.

Within the first month of the two months notice, the outgoing Coloc is held to make sufficient efforts to find a replacement Coloc, who is aligned with the Philosophy of the colocation.

The Landlord and the remaining housemates have the right to refuse the proposed replacement Coloc provided a just and reasonable explanation. When all parties have accepted the candidacy of the respective replacement Coloc, the replacement Coloc will be invited to sign an Assignment Agreement to the original Rental Agreement and Colocation Agreement.

Provided the outgoing Coloc has made sufficient active searches or a replacement Coloc has been admitted the outgoing housemate is released from any future liabilities or obligations (from the lease contract). In any other case the Coloc remains responsible and liable to this Tenancy Agreement for a maximum period of six months starting from the first day of notice.

6.2 Rental Agreement:

The Description of the Premises is prepared by Coloc Housing. The Coloc declares to have received the inventory describing his private space and common areas. The Coloc has a period of fifteen (15) days after entering the Accommodation to make changes to the inventory. After this period, the inventory is considered final and accepted by all parties.

The Coloc is asked to give his consent by signing the documents via the DocuSign electronic signature system. The electronic signature has the same legal value as a handwritten signature. By signing the documents, the Coloc acknowledges having read the documents and expressly accepts the rights and obligations mentioned therein. Under no circumstances can Coloc Housing be held responsible for any failure or unavailability of the DocuSignsystem.

The Coloc is strongly advised to download and save the documents. The Coloc also has the possibility to find them at any time in his "Personal Dashboard" or upon request by email to info@colochousing.com.

After having signed the Rental Agreement (or Assignment Agreement) and the Pacte de Colocation the Coloc will be invited to pay the deposit which is equal two months of rent without the charges.Only from the moment the deposit is paid, the booking of the room is confirmed.

The booking of the Accommodation will be confirmed by automatic email within 48 hours following the application for the room. The confirmation will be sent to the email address used for the account registration by the Coloc at the time of applicaiton. Coloc Housing reserves the right to refuse an application, especially if the Accommodation is not available or if the data provided by the Coloc are incomplete or incorrect. Coloc Housing will contact the Coloc personally in case of refusal to specify the reason for the refusal.

In case of refusal, there will be no contract between the Coloc and the Landlord. Neither Coloc Housing nor the Landlord can be held liable for any compensation whatsoever.

7. Prices

7.1. Charges

The room prices appearing on the Platform are indicated in euro (€) and all monthly charges are included. The price consists of the rent and the monthly charges. The deposit is always equivalent to two (2) months rent excluding monthly charges.

The Coloc is required to pay the price as indicated on the Platform at the time of booking. Any obvious error in the price indicated can always be corrected by Coloc Housing after the conclusion of the contract. The Coloc will have the possibility to terminate the contract if he does not agree with the new price and will be able to obtain the refund of the sums already paid. Prices vary from house to house. Coloc Housing has the right to modify its prices at any renewal of a Coloc. At each anniversary of the Rental Agreement rent is subject to the annual indexing.

7.2. Payment of the deposit

In principle, the payment of the deposit has to be made within 48 hours after your application has been confirmed. If payment is not made within this period, the application is automatically cancelled by Coloc Housing. In that case there will be no contract between the Coloc and the Landlord. The deposit should be paid on the deposit bank account indicated in the email we sent the Coloc to confirm his room.

7.3. Payment of the rent

The Coloc should pay his first rent pro rata on the bank account of the Landlord. The amount and bank account number is given in the email we sent you with the Rental Agreement.

From the moment the deposit and the first rent are paid, the Rental Agreement of the Coloc becomes active. Coloc Housing asks at this stage the House Manager of the respective co-house to add the Coloc to the communcation channel (Whatsapp, Facebook,...) of the co-house.

The following rent payments, including monthly charges, shall be made during the term of the Tenancy Agreement on the Landlord's bank account number in accordance with the terms of the Rental Agreement.

In case of any delay in payment due, the Coloc in question shall be liable, on expiry, automatically and without prior notice, an interest of ten percent a year, with interest calculated each time for the entire month.

8. Moving in

The Coloc could move in in principle anytime he wants. However, Coloc Housing will only be able to welcome the incoming Coloc during office hours, so between 10am and 5pm from Monday to Friday. The Coloc can however always ask the other Colocs in the communication channel of the house if someone is at home. The Coloc is however always required to communicate in advance the day and time of his arrival to Coloc Housing. Moving in takes place at the cost and risk of the Coloc.

9. Cancellation Policy

Article VI.53 of the Belgian Code of Economic Law (Wetboek Economisch Recht - Code de droit économique) provides exceptions to the right of withdrawal of the Consumer, in particular for "1 ° service contracts after the service has been fully performed if the execution began with the prior express agreement of the consumer, who has also acknowledged that he will lose his right of withdrawal once the contract has been fully performed by the company ".

Coloc Housing's Services are executed once the booking of an Accommodation has been made. Therefore, the Coloc acknowledges and accepts that he loses his right of withdrawal once he has validated his booking on the Platform.

In case of cancellation before entering the Accommodation, the Coloc will remain liable for the amount of one month of rent of the deposit. The second month of rent as other amounts paid by the Coloc will be refunded by Coloc Housing, within fifteen (15 calendar) days following the cancellation.

10. Liability of Coloc Housing

The Rental Agreement is concluded between the Coloc (as lessee) and the Landlord (as lessor). Coloc Housing is under no circumstances a party to the Rental Agreement.

The liability of Coloc Housing is limited to the Services provided via the Platform, as described above. Coloc Housing cannot be held liable if the bad execution of the Services is due to the fault of the Coloc, a third party unrelated to the Rental Agreement or in case of force majeure.

In any case, the liability of Coloc Housing is limited to the repair of the direct damages suffered by the Coloc arising from identified shortcomings. Coloc Housing can in no way be held liable for any form of indirect damage resulting from any shortcomings.

11. Intellectual property

“Intellectual Property Rights” means copyrights, patents, registered design, design rights, database rights, trademarks, trade secrets, know-how or any other proprietary or industrial right, registered or unregistered.

The content which is published on our Platform is protected by the intellectual property rights of Coloc Housing. “Content” means the very broad category of information, logos, photos, brands, drawings, models, slogans, databases, et cetera available on the Platform. The source code of the Platform is protected. Any third party cannot derive or attempt to derive such source code, or reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or translate the software or any part thereof Unless Coloc Housing has given its prior agreement in writing, Colocs are not authorised to modify, reproduce, translate, distribute, sell, borrow, rent, communicate to the public, in whole or in part the protected elements. Coloc Housing intends to pursue any infringement of its intellectual property rights.

12. Protection of personal data

The personal data provided by the Coloc at the time of booking is necessary for the execution of the Services. This data is collected and processed by Coloc Housing exclusively for internal purposes. Coloc Housing undertakes to comply with the applicable legislation in this area, namely the Belgian Act of 8 December 1992 on Privacy Protection in relation to the Processing of Personal Data (“Privacy Law”) and the Regulation of 27 April 2016 on the Protection of Natural Persons with regard to the Processing of Personal Data and on the Free Movement of such Data (“GDPR”).

For more information on the collection and processing of your personal data by Coloc Housing, we invite you to consult our Privacy Policy, available here.

13. Force Majeure

If Coloc Housing is prevented, in whole or in part, from providing the Services due to an unforeseen circumstance beyond its control, then it is a matter of force majeure. Coloc Housing's liability, both contractual and non-contractual, may not be invoked if the breach of its obligations or a delay in performance results from a case of force majeure.

14. Applicable law and court of competent jurisdiction

These Terms and all matters arising out of or relating to these Terms (including non-contractual disputes or claims and their interpretation) shall be governed by the laws of Belgium to the extent that such law is not overridden by applicable mandatory law. Any claim or dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms shall (including non-contractual disputes or claims and their interpretation) shall be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of Brussels, Belgium.

Any dispute relating to their validity, interpretation or execution shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the judicial district Brussels.