Terms of Service

1. Who we are

GaffSwipe is run by GaffSwipe Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 17390238), whose registered office is at [registered address] ("we", "us"). You can contact us at support@gaffswipe.co.uk.

These terms form a contract between you and us when you create a GaffSwipe account. Our End User Licence Agreement covers your licence to use the app itself, and our Privacy Policy explains how we use your data.

2. What GaffSwipe is, and isn't

GaffSwipe is a mobile app where landlords and letting agents list student accommodation in England, students browse and save it, and students find potential housemates.

We are a listing platform. In particular:

• We are not a letting agent and do not act for either landlords or tenants.
• We are not a party to any tenancy, licence or agreement between users.
• We never collect, hold or pass on deposits, holding deposits, fees or rent. All payments go directly between tenant and landlord, outside GaffSwipe.
• We do not inspect properties. Verification badges confirm only the specific checks described in the app (for example, a university email address or a phone number). They are not a guarantee about a person or a property.
• Listing information, including prices, EPC ratings, licences and availability, is provided by the landlord. Check it yourself before you commit.

3. Your account

• You must be 18 or over to use GaffSwipe.
• You choose to join as a student or as a landlord/agent. Your account type can't be changed once you have listed a property or swiped.
• Give accurate information and keep it up to date. Don't impersonate anyone or make more than one account.
• You are responsible for activity on your account. Tell us straight away if you think someone else has accessed it.
• You can delete your account at any time in the app under Profile → Privacy → Delete account.

4. If you're a student

• Exact addresses are shared only after a landlord accepts your enquiry. Don't share them with anyone else, or use them for anything other than arranging a viewing or tenancy.
• Always view a property in person, or by a live video call with the landlord, before paying anything or signing anything.
• Never pay anyone who says the payment is "through GaffSwipe". We never take payments.
• Roommate posts in Social must be about finding people to live with. Don't include your full postcode or exact address.

5. If you're a landlord or agent

When you publish a listing, you confirm that:

• you own the property or are authorised to let it, and the property exists and is available as described;
• the listing is accurate and includes the material information the law requires, including price, deposit, council tax band, bills and a valid EPC rating;
• any deposit is no more than the cap under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 (five weeks' rent where annual rent is under £50,000). The app won't let you publish above this;
• you hold any HMO or selective licence your council requires;
• you will protect any deposit in a government-approved scheme and meet your other legal duties as a landlord, including Right to Rent checks. These checks happen between you and the tenant, outside GaffSwipe;
• if you are a letting agent, you belong to a government-approved redress scheme and, if you hold client money, a client money protection scheme; and
• your photos are of the actual property, are yours to use, and have no people in them who haven't agreed to it.

We can review listings before or after they go live, ask for evidence of ownership or authority, and pause or remove listings that break these terms.

6. Fees

GaffSwipe is free for students. We will never charge students a fee.

Landlords and agents don't pay to list. When a let is agreed with a tenant who found the property through GaffSwipe, we charge the landlord a commission of 5% of the first year's rent, invoiced after the tenancy is signed. The full commercial terms are in our Landlord Commission Terms, which you accept before publishing your first listing. Landlords must not pass any part of this commission on to tenants. That would be a banned fee under the Tenant Fees Act 2019.

7. Community rules

On GaffSwipe you must not:

• Discriminate. Listings and posts must not exclude people based on race, nationality, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, disability, age, pregnancy or maternity, or marriage or civil partnership. That includes phrases such as "no DSS", "no benefits", "professionals only", "no international students" or "[nationality] only". Students choosing their own housemates may state a housemate preference using the structured field the app provides.
• Scam or mislead. No fake listings, fake profiles, bait pricing, or asking for money before a viewing.
• Ask for or send bank details, ID documents or payment links before a viewing has taken place.
• Harass, threaten, bully or abuse anyone, or send sexual content.
• Share anyone else's personal information, including addresses, without their permission.
• Post illegal content, or content that infringes someone else's rights.
• Spam, scrape, reverse-engineer or overload the service, or use bots or automated accounts.
• Use GaffSwipe for anything other than finding or letting accommodation and finding housemates.

8. Your content

You own what you post: photos, listings, posts and messages. You give us a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, store, resize, display and distribute it within GaffSwipe for as long as it stays on the service, and for a reasonable time afterwards in backups. We remove location data (EXIF) from every photo you upload.

We check public text and messages automatically for discriminatory wording and signs of fraud, as described in our Privacy Policy. A message that looks like a scam may still be delivered, with a warning shown to the person receiving it.

9. Reporting, moderation and appeals

You can report any listing, profile, post or message from inside the app. We aim to review reports within 24 hours, and within 2 hours for threats, child safety or fraud in progress. We'll let you know the outcome in general terms.

If we act against your content or account, we'll tell you why, unless the law or someone's safety means we can't. You can appeal in the app or by emailing support@gaffswipe.co.uk. A person will review your appeal within 5 working days.

We follow our duties under the Online Safety Act 2023. We remove illegal content when we find it and report it to the authorities where we must.

10. Suspending and closing accounts

If you break these terms, we can restrict what your account can do, suspend it, or close it permanently, depending on how serious the breach is. Where there is a risk of fraud or harm, we can do this without notice. We keep records of moderation decisions as explained in our Privacy Policy.

11. Our liability

Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that can't be limited by law. Nothing affects your statutory rights as a consumer.

Because we are not a party to any tenancy, we are not responsible for the condition of a property, the conduct of a landlord, tenant or housemate, or any money you pay to another user. We provide the app "as is" and don't promise it will always be available or error-free. If you're a business user, our total liability to you in any 12-month period is limited to the fees you paid us in that period.

12. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms as the app or the law changes. We'll tell you in the app at least 30 days before any significant change takes effect. If you don't agree, you can delete your account before the change applies.

13. Law and complaints

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can also bring proceedings in your local courts.

If you have a complaint, email support@gaffswipe.co.uk and we'll respond within 14 days.