Terms

Draft for legal review before launch.

1. Who we are

Carta Homes is an estate agency in Nairobi, Kenya. We visit and check homes, list them, and introduce renters to landlords. By using this website or our WhatsApp line you agree to these terms.

We are not a party to your lease. The lease is between the tenant and the landlord.

2. Renters

• Browsing, saving homes and viewings are free. We never charge renters a viewing fee, finder's fee or registration fee.
• Pay rent and deposit to the landlord only, against a written receipt. Carta Homes never takes rent or deposits. Anyone asking you to pay them to Carta Homes is a scammer; please report it.
• Each listing shows what we found on the date we checked it. Things can change, so look at the home properly at your viewing before you sign or pay anything.
• Give us true details (name, phone, budget) so we can arrange viewings, and turn up to viewings you book or tell us if you can't.

3. Landlords

• We list a home only after you sign our letting agreement and we've checked the unit, your ID and your right to let it.
• The details you give us (rent, service charge, deposit, water, power) must be true. Tell us straight away if anything changes or the home is let.
• Our commission is set in your letting agreement. It is due when a tenant we introduced signs a lease, including if they sign directly with you or through someone else within the protection period (6 months unless agreed otherwise).
• We invoice on the day the lease is signed. Payment is due within 14 days.
• Every introduction is logged with the date and channel, and you can ask to see the log for your home.

4. Agents and agencies

We are not taking listings from agents or agencies yet. When we do, these rules will apply:

• Partner agents and agencies must sign our partner agreement.
• You may list only homes you have the landlord's written authority to let. Each home goes through our checks before it goes live and is re-checked every 30 days.
• Partner listings follow the same rules as ours: real photos, the full monthly cost, and no viewing fees.
• The landlord stays your client and the commission is yours. You pay a monthly plan (KES 1,800 for up to 5 live homes, unless your partner agreement says otherwise), in advance. If you stop paying, your homes come off at the end of the paid month.
• We may pause or remove a listing that breaks these rules, and end the agreement for repeated breaches.

5. Kenyans abroad and relocation

• Prices are fixed and shown before you pay. You pay up front.
• We agree the visit date with you. If we can't do the visit, you get a full refund.
• Our report states what we saw and which documents we checked on the visit date. It is not a valuation or a legal opinion. Use an advocate for any purchase or transfer.

6. Payments

• Card and M-Pesa payments are processed by Paystack. Invoices can also be paid to our M-Pesa till or by bank transfer.
• Featured placement is optional, paid in advance (KES 500 for 7 days or KES 1,500 for 30 days unless agreed otherwise) and only for homes that have passed our checks. If we take a featured home down for breaking these terms, the unused days are not refunded.
• You get a receipt for every payment. We only collect our own fees.
• Refunds go back the way you paid, within 14 days of being agreed.

7. Listings and content

The photos, videos, reports and text on Carta Homes are ours or used with permission. Don't copy them for other listings. If you see something wrong in a listing, tell us and we'll fix it.

8. Things you must not do

• Pretend to be Carta Homes or one of our agents, or ask anyone for money in our name.
• Give false information, list a home you don't have the right to let, or post fake listings.
• Copy or scrape the site, or try to break into it.

9. Our responsibility

We check every home carefully, but we can't promise that a landlord, tenant or partner will keep their side of a deal. We are responsible for our own work and for what we tell you. Nothing in these terms takes away your rights under Kenyan law, including the Consumer Protection Act, 2012.

10. Changes

We may update these terms. The date at the top shows the latest version. Signed agreements keep the terms they were signed under.

11. Law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of Kenya. If something goes wrong, talk to us first and we'll try to fix it within 14 days. If we can't agree, the courts of Kenya decide.

Contact

hello@cartahomes.example · +254 182 309 571