Terms and Conditions of VillaroHome Property GmbH for Lessors
§ 1 Scope of application
1.1 The legal relationship between the lessor or client (hereinafter only “Principal”) and VillaroHome Property GmbH (hereinafter only “VillaroHome”) is governed by the Order (including other integrated or referenced agreements as to remuneration, jointly the “Order”) and these Terms and Conditions for Lessors (the “Terms and Conditions”) of VillaroHome.
1.2 Through the issue of the brokerage order and use of the website www.villarohome.com the lessor agrees with the Terms and Conditions.
1.3 These Terms and Conditions also apply to subsequent orders of the Principal or an extension of existing orders, in the currently valid version.
§ 2 Services provided by VillaroHome
2.1 VillaroHome is charged to provide proof to the suitability of concluding a fixed-term or indefinite lease (possibly also use, assignment or subletting agreement). The proof may be provided in any form (orally, in writing, by email, by fax or by telephone). VillaroHome makes no commitment to perform a specific activity.
2.2 VillaroHome will market the property of the Principal through an anonymised presentation – specifying the street name without a house number – on its own website, relevant real estate portals and various social media channels as well as sending the property presentations to one or more Lessee in some other appropriate manner at its sole discretion.
2.3 VillaroHome will supply the Principal with respective lessees and the relevant data for concluding a lease (personal data, term of the lease, etc.). Data and information provided on prospective lessees will be based on the information given by the prospective lessee (or authorised persons). VillaroHome will not perform any checks of prospective lessees (such as credit, criminal record, etc.) and will assume that the data transmitted by the prospective lessee will be accurate.
2.4 VillaroHome acts as an intermediary and is not a party to the lease. VillaroHome will not act as representative of the prospective lessee or lessee. If the Principal so instructs, VillaroHome will also act on behalf of the Principal.
2.5 VillaroHome also offers further services to the Principal in the particular case. They are also governed by these Terms and Conditions. VillaroHome is in this case entitled to provide such services also through third parties (sub-contractors), without this requiring the consent of the Principal and without affecting the obligation of VillaroHome.
§ 3 Brokerage fee, commission
3.1 The activity of VillaroHome is subject to remuneration for the Principal. The amount and due date of the payment (commission) varies according to the rental amount and duration and is governed by the Order.
3.2 The contractually agreed total rent including charges and any additional costs (garage, electricity, heating, water, cleaning, etc., hereinafter “the rent”) and sales tax (where applicable) is used as a calculation basis for the commission entitlement. In the case of the agreement of a cold rent plus costs prepaid, the cold rent represents the calculation basis plus incidental costs prepayment and VAT if applicable and together with other additional costs constitutes the total rent.
3.3 The commission is earned and payable with the conclusion of the lease for the rental property with a lessee verified or brokered by VillaroHome.
3.4 The commission agreed under § 3.1 ff. is also earned and payable if the prospective lessee is verified by VillaroHome rents a different rental property, also offered by the Principal, as a result of the activity of VillaroHome.
3.5 In the case of the extension of a lease verified or brokered by VillaroHome, the amount of the commission entitlement may increase or a new commission entitlement may arise. The details will be laid down in the Order.
3.6 If VillaroHome is working exclusively on the basis of a search Order of prospective lessees and as a result a lease is concluded by the lessee with the Principal, the Principal will be required to pay a commission.
3.7 An early termination or cancellation of the lease will be without prejudice to the commission entitlement.
§ 4 Obligations of the Principal
4.1 The Principal gives an undertaking of being fully eligible for the letting of the property and that the rental property is in a perfect and functional state, suitable for the purpose of renting and free from significantly impairing defects. The Principal is required to maintain this condition and to eliminate any defects. On demand from VillaroHome, the Principal must demonstrate his right to let.
4.2 The Principal must inform VillaroHome correctly and completely about the rental property, the terms of the tenancy, the facilities and the availability and notify changes of property data relevant to the conclusion of a lease (such as contact details, rent, account data, facilities of the property, etc.) in writing. The Principal must inform VillaroHome immediately in writing in particular about any arising defects or other impairments (construction work in the inside and outside of the property, construction defects, etc., including sources of danger) as well as other essential facts relevant to the lease.
4.3 The Principal must inform VillaroHome in writing without delay of the conclusion of a lease, which has come about as a result of the demonstration or brokerage of VillaroHome, and its essential content (in particular rental period, name of the lessor and level of the rent) and send a copy of the lease to VillaroHome.
4.4 The Principal must notify VillaroHome in writing immediately if a prospective lessee verified by VillaroHome for a specific rental (in terms of property and period) or brokered is known to the Principal. The Principal must demonstrate the knowledge to VillaroHome on demand in an appropriate manner (with supporting documents).
4.5 Insofar as the Principal himself or through third parties offers the rental property for rent, he must inform VillaroHome immediately in writing, at the latest within 48 hours, about changes in the availability, in particular any no longer present availability, under including the duration. The same applies if an offered property is unavailable for letting for other reasons (e.g. own use).
4.6 The Principal must, in the case of another rental, not verified or brokered by VillaroHome (§ 4.5), communicate in writing the key details of the lease (duration of the rental, the lessee’s name) to VillaroHome.
4.7 The Principal must also notify VillaroHome in writing if (i) ongoing lease negotiations are terminated without a result, or (ii) the Principal concludes a lease on an another rental property with the lessee verified or brokered by VillaroHome, or (iii) if an existing lease has been extended or (iv) a lessee verified and brokered by VillaroHome requests a renewed lease of the property or other properties of the Principal or has concluded a lease for this.
4.8 The client must also inform VillaroHome in writing about other publications and acquisitions of the object (on real estate portals, by other agencies or any other online publication). A linking of other offers to the presentation and offer published on the website of VillaroHome is not permitted and must not be performed. The presentation and other advertising material created by VillaroHome may not be used or passed on by the Principal or third parties without prior written consent.
4.9 The Principal is required to indemnify VillaroHome from all damages, costs, claims of third parties and claims by prospective lessees, lessees, lessees, entitled persons or other third parties with regard to the property, which result from or in connection with the breach of the assurances given here or from his obligations arising from the order and these Terms and Conditions as stipulated by law.
4.10 The Principal will decide on the conclusion of the contract with prospective lessees who have been verified or brokered by VillaroHome and on the respective terms and conditions of the contract and will carry out any necessary checks himself. As far as further information is required, he will ask VillaroHome for it.
4.11 VillaroHome advises the Principal to seek advice on tax and tenancy law with regard to the conclusion of rental agreements and to take out appropriate insurance. Insofar as VillaroHome makes a rental agreement itself available for the purpose of renting, for example, this constitutes a courtesy service and no responsibility or liability is assumed for the appropriateness etc. of the relevant conclusion of the rental agreement. VillaroHome does not provide legal advice and any model lease provided does not replace such advice.
§ 5 Energy performance certificate
The Principal is aware of the obligation to provide the data of the energy certificate in presentations and advertisements, the obligation to present the energy certificate without being asked, at the latest when the prospective lessee inspects the leased property, and the obligation to enclose a copy of the energy certificate with the lease.
§ 6 Prohibition of circumvention, client protection, etc.
6.1 The data provided by VillaroHome to prospective lessees is confidential and is intended exclusively for the Principal for the purpose of carrying out the Order brokered with VillaroHome. The passing on of this personal data (including to the prospective lessee or lessee himself) is strictly prohibited without the consent of VillaroHome.
6.2 The passing on of prospective lessees brokered by VillaroHome without the prior written consent of VillaroHome is prohibited in particular if it is done for the purpose of facilitating a conclusion other than that intended with the brokerage of the lease.
6.3 VillaroHome will also be entitled to the commission by way of compensation if the Principal, contrary to § 6.1 and 6.2, forwards the verified prospective lessee to a third party and/or concludes the contract with the verified prospective lessee for third parties.
6.4 Agreements (including the attempt to make such an agreement) with the lessee verified by VillaroHome, which have the purpose of circumventing the Principal’s obligation to pay commission to VillaroHome, must be refrained from. This also applies to agreements that affect the amount of the commission payment obligation. In the event of breach, a flat-rate contractual penalty amounting to 25% of the commission applicable for this case in accordance with § 3 will be payable. The customer will retain the right to prove that less damage has occurred. The contractual penalty will apply in addition to the commission entitlement. We reserve the right to assert further claims for damages.
6.5 The obligations under § 6 will remain in force even after termination of the contract.
§ 7 Duration of the Order, termination
7.1 The contract is concluded for an indefinite period of time and is not terminated by rental.
7.2 The contract can be terminated by giving 4 weeks’ notice at the end of a month. Notice of termination must be given in writing.
7.3 Already existing obligations, in particular those arising from § 3 and § 4 and in particular for the payment of commission already earned, remain unaffected by the termination.
§ 8 Obligations and liability of VillaroHome Property GmbH
8.1 VillaroHome does not assume any responsibility for the selection of prospective lessees or lessees, the determination of the terms and conditions of the leases of the Principal with the lessees and damage to the leased property by the lessees. VillaroHome recommends the Principal to take out an appropriate insurance policy.
8.2 The liability of VillaroHome for breaches of duty and for other legal grounds in particular for damages is excluded, except for (i) the exclusion of liability for damages resulting from injury to life, limb or health, (ii) grossly negligent or intentional breach of duty, or (iii) a breach of so-called cardinal obligations. With regard to the breach of cardinal obligations, liability will be limited to the damage which is typical for this type of contract or which typically occurs in transactions of this kind.
8.3 The limitation period for claiming damages is one year. This begins with the end of the year in which the claim has arisen and the Principal knew of the circumstances which justify the claim and the person of the debtor or should have acquired such knowledge without gross negligence.
8.4 VillaroHome accepts no liability for the accuracy and completeness of the information provided by prospective lessees. In any case, the Principal is required to obtain certainty about the identity and creditworthiness of the other party to the lease, regardless of the information received from VillaroHome, e. g. through personal contact and queries with the other party to the lease.
8.5 Any liability for rental contracts not concluded is excluded.
§ 9 Images, copyright, right of use and storage
9.1 VillaroHome is entitled, but not required, to photograph and film the offered property from inside and outside for the purpose of marketing. All images and floor plans taken and created by VillaroHome are protected by copyright. Any use without the permission of VillaroHome is prohibited.
9.2 VillaroHome has an unrestricted and free right of use for all materials produced by VillaroHome for the property (pictures, videos, floor plans, etc.). This right of use will continue to exist even after termination of the order and will not be revocable.
9.3 Should the Principal provide VillaroHome with photographs, he will grant VillaroHome a royalty-free, unrestricted right to use the photographs for the purpose of executing the order, without VillaroHome being required to name the author of the photographs. This right of use exists at least for the duration of the order and beyond that until revocation.
9.4 The right of use for all materials includes all types of use necessary to reproduce, revise, publish, display, display, make publicly available, modify and store the recordings in print and online media, in particular the website. The photographs may also be used for advertising purposes of VillaroHome GmbH. The photographs and materials created by VillaroHome in accordance with § 9.1 may be marked with a visible watermark or logo of VillaroHome.
9.5 VillaroHome has the right to determine the selection of photos and the type of display of the presentation.
9.6 VillaroHome is entitled to retain the details and the accompanying graphical material for the offered property for a period of up to one year and to process them for its own contractual purposes, even if proof of this has not been provided or if a lease has not been arranged.
9.7 The Principal warrants that the photographic material provided by him is free of third party rights or that the use of the material has been approved in accordance with § 9.4. If a claim is asserted against VillaroHome for the breach of the rights of third parties with regard to the transmitted material, the Principal will indemnify VillaroHome from all related claims, damages, costs and compensation obligations and § 4.9 will apply.
§ 10 Data protection
The Principal’s data transmitted to VillaroHome will be electronically stored and used in accordance with the Order within the limits of what is permissible, taking into account tax and commercial law obligations as well as the case law of the Supreme Court. The Principal agrees to this. VillaroHome is not required to maintain storage for a legal minimum period of time.
§ 11 Dual action
VillaroHome is also entitled to act on behalf of the lessee, whether for payment or free of charge. VillaroHome commits itself to impartiality in any such dual activity.
§ 12 Final provisions
12.1 VillaroHome may make changes to these Terms and Conditions at any time. They will be published on the website and communicated to the Principal by email. If the Principal does not object within 14 days after notification of the changes or if he continues to use the services of VillaroHome, this will be regarded as consent.
12.2 Changes and additions to the order and these Terms and Conditions in all other respects (subject to § 12.1) must be made in writing in order to become effective. This will also apply to any change and cancellation of the constitutive requirement for written form.
12.3 Insofar as these Terms and Conditions require written information, notification or similar, transmission by fax or email is sufficient. This does not apply to the written form requirement for termination (§ 7.2).
12.4 Should any part of these Terms and Conditions be or become invalid, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect. The parties undertake to replace the ineffective provisions with those which are closest to the economic intent of the parties. The same applies to the case of a gap in these Terms and Conditions for lessors. In the event of an inadmissible term, the legally permissible measure will apply.
12.5 This contract and all legal disputes arising from or in connection with it and its fulfilment will be governed exclusively by German law, irrespective of the legal basis.
12.6 The legal venue for all disputes arising from and in connection with the order is Berlin, Germany, irrespective of the legal ground (as far as legally permissible). VillaroHome is also entitled, at its own discretion, to choose the legal venue at the principal’s domicile.