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Member Terms and Conditions
1. Introduction
1.1.These terms of membership (“Terms”) set out the contract between HomeExchange UK LTD trading as Love Home Swap whose registered office is at 60 Gracechurch street, 6th floor, London EC3V 0HR (“Love Home Swap”, “LHS”, “we”, “us” or “our”) and any individual who is accepted by us for LHS membership (“Member” or “you”).
1.2.These Terms apply to all services offered by LHS to Members, and their guests (if applicable), together with any other applicable terms and conditions notified to you by LHS from time to time.
1.3.These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales, irrespective of the nationality of the Member.
1.4.Other services offered by third parties with the permission of LHS are subject to separate terms and conditions which will be notified to you at the time such offers are made.
2. Your relationship with LHS
2.1.By becoming a Member you are appointing LHS as your agent to:
2.1.1.introduce you to other Members who have listed their Home (as defined in term 2.2) which you may like to accept as an Exchange (as defined in term 5.1). For the purposes of these Terms, when you stay in another Member’s Home you are a “Guest”;
2.1.2.introduce you to other Members who would like to stay in the Home that you have listed. For the purposes of these Terms, when another Member stays in your Home you are a “Host”;
2.1.3.allow Members to participate in the LHS Points Scheme (“Scheme”); and
2.1.4.allow Members to use the Instant System (as defined in term 7.1).
2.2.You acknowledge that LHS does not own, control or in any way manage any property listed on the LHS platform (“Home”) and that LHS makes no promise or representation whatsoever in relation to any Home including, but not limited to, the level of cleanliness of a Home. You must make your own enquiries and satisfy yourself on such matters.
2.3.We make no promise or statement that your LHS membership will produce any particular outcome - for example, Exchanges into specific Homes or locations.
3. Membership
3.1.By applying for LHS membership you confirm that:
3.1.1.you are at least 18 years of age (or older if required by applicable local laws);
3.1.2.the LHS sign up process, in the form required by LHS from time to time, has or will be completed and submitted to LHS, either by you or on your behalf (“Application”);
3.1.3.you:
3.1.3.1.are the owner, or co-owner, of the applicable Home you wish to list on the LHS Platform (“Platform”); or
3.1.3.2.have the approval of the owner or co-owners of the applicable Home you wish to list on the Platform;
3.1.4.if you agree an Exchange, Points booking or Instant booking with another Member, such booking shall be in respect of the Home listed on the Platform; and
3.1.5.you shall pay all applicable fees to LHS at the time and in the manner specified by LHS.
3.2.We reserve the right to refuse any application for membership at our discretion including, without limitation, where we are required to do so by the laws, rules or regulations of any local, state, national or federal governmental entity or by judicial, public, regulatory or law enforcement authority or court.
3.3.Where there is a legal requirement in certain jurisdictions for LHS to facilitate the collection of information for reporting purposes, you instruct and authorise LHS to collect and report such information as may be required about you and your property to the relevant authorities. LHS reserves the right to suspend or terminate your membership and/or refuse or remove any listing or cancel any booking (s) at our discretion should you fail to provide us with information and / or documentation that we deem sufficient to support any such reporting obligation required by law, until such information and / or documentation is provided by you.
3.4.In the event that LHS suspend or terminate your membership and/or refuse or remove any listing or cancel any booking (s) pursuant to term 3.3, LHS shall be under no obligation to refund the membership fee paid, the scheme points and/or any fees associated with canceled booking (s) either in whole or in part.
3.5.Without prejudice to any other rights or remedies LHS may have, LHS reserves the right at its sole discretion to carry out background checks and/or refuse, cancel or terminate a membership, membership application or membership renewal if LHS becomes aware that a Member, or prospective member:
3.5.1. has or may have a criminal conviction that, in LHS’ reasonable opinion, may impact the Member’s ability to act as a Host and/or a Guest; or
3.5.2. has or may have previously behaved in a way that has called into question their ability to meet LHS’ expectations of its Hosts and/or Guests (as outlined in these Terms and the Member Exclusion Policy)
3.6.LHS shall use its reasonable endeavours to investigate any information and/or allegations it receives in relation to term 3.5 and shall only terminate a membership if it is satisfied (acting reasonably) that there is substance to such information and/or allegation.
3.7.In the event that LHS refuse, cancel or terminate your membership, membership application or membership renewal pursuant to terms 3.5 and 3.6 LHS shall be under no obligation to refund the membership fee paid (either in whole or part) and any such refund issued shall be entirely at the discretion of LHS.
3.8.If accepted, your membership shall start on the day on which (a) LHS has received, processed and accepted your Application; and (b) LHS has received the applicable membership fee. LHS may terminate/refuse membership if we do not receive the applicable fee.
3.9.Membership is personal to you and cannot be transferred or sold.
3.10. Up to 2 co-owners or residents of a Home who live at the same address may apply for one membership. You must nominate a lead Member to act as principal point of contact in relation to your membership.
3.11. LHS shall be permitted to take instructions from, and disclose information about the membership, to either co-owner or resident.
3.12. If we are given conflicting instruction from co-owners or residents, we are entitled to take the first set of instructions received and act on those instructions. If we continue to receive conflicting instructions from co-owners or residents, we may, at our reasonable discretion:
3.12.1. suspend or cancel (with an appropriate refund, if applicable and at LHS’ sole discretion):
3.12.1.1. exchange privileges relating to your Home;
3.12.1.2. confirmed Exchange bookings;
3.12.1.3. confirmed Points redemptions; and/or
3.12.1.4. confirmed Instant bookings; or
3.12.2. terminate your membership. Should LHS terminate your membership pursuant to this term, it shall be under no obligation to refund the membership fee paid (either in whole or in part) and any such refund issued shall be entirely at LHS’ discretion,
unless such instructions can be promptly reconciled or resolved.
4. Listings
4.1.In order to be able to list your Home on the Platform you must:
4.1.1.be a current LHS Member; and
4.1.2.have paid all applicable fees (including but not limited to membership fees).
4.2.When you list your Home with us, you agree, represent and warrant:
4.2.1.that you have the full legal right to use, and permit others to use, your Home in accordance with the LHS service;
4.2.2.that you will accurately describe your Home on the Platform and will upload a minimum of 12 images which accurately depict the rooms and/or spaces within your Home. You confirm that:
4.2.2.1.you have the necessary rights, licences, permissions and/or consents to use any intellectual property rights contained within any image and/or description of your Home; and
4.2.2.2.the images and information used accurately reflect the Home (such as the number and size of rooms etc.),
4.2.3.that you are not using the Platform for any commercial purposes including rental, sale or onward exchange to a third party;
4.2.4.that your Home is in good, safe and useable condition; and
4.2.5.that you have any necessary licences, permissions, consents and insurances to lawfully allow your Home to be used in accordance with the LHS service.
4.3.By listing your Home with us, you hereby grant LHS a non-exclusive, royalty free, worldwide, irrevocable licence to use the image(s) and/or description of your Home in any advertising, marketing and/or promotional material relating to the Platform.
4.4.We reserve the right to refuse and/or remove any listing at our discretion. We may do this if we think the Home is unsuitable or if we reasonably believe the listing to be inaccurate.
4.5.We recommend that you add your Home as a listing as early as possible once your Home’s availability is known to you to increase your chances of finding a successful swap.
4.6.You may withdraw the listing at any time unless:
4.6.1.the listing has already been assigned to another Member;
4.6.2.you have received a confirmed Exchange in respect of that listing; or
4.6.3.any part of that listing is shown as an Instant booking listing (in which case term 7.9 shall apply).
4.7.Where we are able to, we try to ensure that listings are accurate and complete however we cannot guarantee this and accept no responsibility for inaccurate listings and/or your reliance on them.
5. Intellectual Property
5.1 LHS respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects you to do the same when you use the Platform.
5.2 Where you post or upload to the LHS Platform any content of any type, including text or images, you undertake that you have the legal rights to do so.
5.3 You agree that we have the right, at our discretion, and where we see appropriate, to remove any suspected copyright infringement material from the Platform. In circumstances where Members repeatedly infringe, or are repeatedly charged with infringing the copyright or other intellectual property rights of others, we may suspend or terminate your membership with immediate effect.
5.4 In the event that LHS suspend or terminate your membership pursuant to term 5.3, LHS shall be under no obligation to refund the membership fee paid, the scheme points and/or any fees associated with canceled booking (s) either in whole or in part.
6. Exchanges
6.1.Before you can swap your Home with another Member (an “Exchange”), you must:
6.1.1.have listed your Home on the Platform;
6.1.2.have paid the necessary Exchange fee, as detailed on the LHS website (if applicable); and
6.1.3.for Scheme Members, have the necessary number of Points to be able to enter into the Exchange.
6.2.If you agree to enter into an Exchange with another Member the terms of the arrangement and/or agreement regarding the Exchange are solely between you and the other Member. LHS is not a party to such agreements. You therefore acknowledge and agree that, save as set out in these Terms, LHS does not have any responsibility or liability for any such arrangement, agreement, relationship or other dealing between you and another Member.
7. Points Scheme
7.1.To be able to participate in the Scheme you must be a fully paid-up Member:
7.1.1.at the time you list your Home; and
7.1.2.at the time you stay in another Scheme Member’s Home.
7.2.Being a Scheme Member allows you to use Scheme points (“Points”) to book an exchange into another Scheme Member’s Home (“Points Redemption”) upon the payment of the applicable Exchange fee, as detailed on the LHS website.
7.3.Points can be:
7.3.1.earnt by listing your Home through the Scheme and/or as an Instant booking listing; and/or
7.3.2.borrowed upon payment of the applicable fee, as listed on the LHS website. Please note that you can only borrow Points up to a maximum of 5 times during your membership, and you may only borrow a maximum of 10,000 Points each time.
7.4.Points Redemptions are:
7.4.1.subject to availability and are offered on a first-come, first-served basis (except as otherwise indicated in these Terms);
7.4.2.conditional upon the Scheme Member having a sufficient number of Points for the Points Redemption requested; and
7.4.3.conditional upon the Scheme Member paying the applicable fee (“Redemption Fee”), as detailed on LHS’ website.
7.5.Confirmation of a Points Redemption will only be valid when issued to you in writing by, or email from, LHS and the ‘discussion status’ is shown as agreed. You should check the details of your confirmation carefully when you receive it and let us know as soon as possible if anything is incorrect.
7.6.If you cancel a Points Redemption which has already been accepted by the Host you shall lose your Redemption Fee and shall not be entitled to a refund, whether in whole or in part, and the number of Points returned to you will be determined in accordance with the cancellation policy outlined within these terms.
7.7.If a Host cancels a Points Redemption which has already been accepted and confirmed by them, we will use our reasonable endeavours to find you an alternative Home of equivalent size and location to stay in. If we are unable to find you an alternative Points Redemption or you do not agree to any alternative Points Redemption found by us (acting reasonably), we will credit your Points account with the appropriate number of Points.
8. Instant Booking
8.1.The instant booking system (“Instant System”) allows participating Members to earn and spend Points instantly.
8.2.The Instant System is only available to Members who:
8.2.1.have opted into the Scheme; and
8.2.2.have completed the LHS on-boarding programme (“On-boarding Programme”).
8.3.Hosts can list their Homes for Instant booking via the Instant calendar. For the avoidance of doubt, the terms and conditions contained elsewhere in these Terms in relation to listings also apply to Instant booking listings.
8.4.A Host’s Instant booking listing will only be accepted if:
8.4.1.the listing is for a duration of between 3 and 14 nights (inclusive);
8.4.2.the start date for the listing is at least 2 months from the date the listing is posted;
8.4.3.the start date for the listing is no more than 18 months from the date the listing is posted; and
8.4.4.the listing dates fall within the Host’s membership period. To add a listing which is outside of your membership period, please contact our Customer Services team to discuss extending your membership.
8.5.Hosts may only use the Instant System to add up to a maximum of 30 nights at any one time. This limit applies per account and to all properties listed on that account. Once a Host has hosted a trip, the number of nights used as part of that trip will be credited back to the Host’s available nights, up to the maximum of 30 nights.
8.6.Hosts will be allocated their Points as soon as they have listed their Home as an Instant booking listing. Hosts may spend their Points as soon as they have been allocated.
8.7.The number of Points allocated to an Instant booking listing is determined at LHS’ sole discretion. The Host accepts that the number of Points allocated by LHS is final and that no correspondence will be entered into.
8.8.A Host may not make their Home inactive if they have a future listing for an Instant booking on the Instant System. Attempts to make Homes inactive which have future Instant bookings on the Instant System may lead to LHS taking action against the Host, which may include termination of membership.
8.9.Hosts will only be allowed to remove or edit their Instant booking listing at LHS’ sole discretion. Hosts should contact Customer Services via the details provided on our ‘Get In Touch’ page in this regard (https://www.lovehomeswap.com/contact). If the Host is given permission to remove or edit their Instant booking listing the Points allocated to the Host in respect of that Instant booking listing will be removed from the Host’s Points balance.
8.10.Instant booking allows Guests to book an Instant Home using their Points without having to message the other Member first.
8.11.Instant booking Guests are not able to request:
8.11.1.that the booking take place on alternative dates; or
8.11.2.that the booking be made available for an alternative number of Points.
8.12.Guests will be able to communicate with Hosts once the Host has confirmed the Guest’s Instant booking.
8.13.Where a Guest chooses to cancel an Instant booking they shall be entitled to a refund of Points in accordance with the cancellation table outlined at term 11.3 below.
8.14.The terms and conditions outlined elsewhere within these Terms apply to a Guest’s use of a Host’s Home made through the Instant System.
8.15.LHS reserves the right in its sole discretion to remove members from the Instant System and/or suspend or cancel a Member’s membership if a Member:
8.15.1.is determined by LHS to have breached any of these Terms; or
8.15.2.is, in LHS’ reasonable opinion, abusing the Instant System. Such scenarios may include, but are not limited to, creating Instant booking listings which are unlikely to be booked by a Guest for the sole purpose of gaining Points.
8.16.If LHS does remove, suspend and/or cancel a Member’s membership for any of the reasons outlined in term 7.15 above the Member shall not be entitled to a refund of any sums paid pursuant to these Terms.
9. Fees and Payments
9.1.In consideration of the performance of the services by LHS, you agree to pay LHS any applicable fees as outlined within these Terms or notified to you from time to time. The current applicable fees are published on the LHS website. All fees are subject to reasonable change, at LHS’ sole discretion, from time to time.
9.2.All fees are inclusive of any value added tax or other applicable sales tax, which shall be payable by you.
9.3.LHS shall not be obliged to perform the services until all applicable fees are received by us. All sums must be paid by debit card, credit card or bank transfer.
9.4.If payment is made by credit or debit card, you confirm that you own the credit or debit card you provided us with the details of (and any subsequent or replacement card you ask us to use in relation to any payment to be made under these Terms). All credit and debit card holders are subject to validation checks and authorisation by the card issuer. If the issuer of your card refuses to authorise payment, we will not be responsible for any non-provision of any aspect of the services. We are not responsible for your card issuer or bank charging you as a result of our processing of your credit or debit card payment.
10. Communications with other Members
10.1.The Platform allows Members to communicate with each other solely for the purpose of arranging Exchanges, Points Redemptions and Instant bookings. When communicating with other Members, you agree not to send communications that:
10.1.1.are unsolicited or unlawful;
10.1.2.are of a commercial or business benefit and/or purposes;
10.1.3.are charity requests or petitions;
10.1.4.contain any content which is defamatory, obscene, or may have the effect of being harassing, threatening or abusive to another Member, individual or group of individuals on the basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age or disability or which is otherwise inappropriate;
10.1.5.shall or may interrupt, damage, impair or render the Platform and/or LHS service less efficient;
10.1.6.transfer files containing viruses, Trojans, malware or other harmful programmes;
10.1.7.authorise, encourage or assist any other person to copy, modify, reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble, alter or otherwise tamper with any software (including source code), databases and other technology that forms part of the Platform and/or the LHS service; or
10.1.8.are otherwise inappropriate.
10.2.You agree to repay LHS for any losses or damages it suffers as a result of any claims or legal proceedings brought against us by any third party arising out of your breach or alleged breach of these Terms.
11. Sale of your Home
11.1.You must notify us as soon as possible in the event that:
11.1.1.you sell or transfer the legal rights to your Home;
11.1.2.your Home becomes uninhabitable due to fire, flooding, subsidence or any other reason beyond your control; or
11.1.3.your Home is repossessed.
11.2.If you decide to sell or transfer the legal rights to your Home during your membership, you must make your Home inactive on the LHS website and, if you have a confirmed Exchange, Points Redemption or Instant booking in relation to your Home, contact the Guest(s) immediately.
11.3.If you receive notification from a Host that they are selling their Home and you have a confirmed Exchange, Points Redemption or Instant booking as a Guest in respect of that Home, please contact our Customer Services team by using the details provided on our ‘Get In Touch’ page on the LHS Website (https://www.lovehomeswap.com/contact).
12. Cancellation
12.1.This term 11 applies to Scheme and Instant booking cancellations. In the event you make a Scheme or Instant booking, the cancellation provisions set out in this term 11 apply to the Points element of that booking only.
12.2.Your cancellation will only take effect once you have:
12.2.1.notified your Guest or Host; and
12.2.2.notified Love Home Swap.
You can notify Love Home Swap using the contact details provided on our ‘Get In Touch’ page: https://www.lovehomeswap.com/contact
12.3.Where you choose to cancel your Points Redemption or Instant booking as a Guest the following shall apply:
Date that the cancellation notice is receive by LHS /
Number of Points returned (if any)
Cancellation within 48 hours of confirming the booking /
100% of Points returned
Cancellation up to 4 months before the departure date /
75% of Points returned
Cancellation between 4 and 2 months from departure date /
50% of Points returned
Cancellation between 2 months and 1 month from departure date /
25% of Points returned
Cancellation less than 30 days before departure date /
No Points to be returned
13. Termination of your membership by you
13.1.You may terminate or suspend your membership at any time by giving us notice in writing, provided that you have not received a confirmed Exchange, Points Redemption or Instant booking in respect of your listing. All Points will be lost when you terminate your membership.
13.2.Upon termination you shall lose all rights to use the LHS service.
13.3.In the event that you terminate your membership you shall not be entitled to a refund of any fees paid, whether in whole or part.
14. Termination of your membership by us
14.1.We reserve the right to terminate or suspend your membership and cancel any outstanding confirmed Exchanges, Points Redemptions and/or Instant bookings if any of the following occur:
14.1.1.you fail to comply with any of these Terms;
14.1.2.you fail to pay any sums due to LHS or any associated company or any other party in connection with the LHS service or any relevant travel arrangements;
14.1.3.you choose to issue legal proceedings against LHS or its associated companies;
14.1.4.you are found to be a vexatious or serial complainant who threatens or uses physical violence and/or harasses, abuses or is verbally aggressive to our employees or another Member;
14.1.5.you abuse your rights as a Member and/or act in a manner that is contrary to the interests of LHS; or
14.1.6.your continued membership is or becomes contrary to any law, rule, regulation or statutory instrument or if we are required to terminate it by any judicial, governmental, regulatory or law enforcement body or court.
14.2.Where we suspend your membership for non-payment in accordance with these Terms we also reserve the right to terminate your membership at our option at any time in the event that outstanding payments remain unpaid. Suspended Members may be readmitted to full membership on payment of all outstanding sums and completion of any required documentation. For the avoidance of doubt, suspended Members are not entitled to any benefits of LHS membership during the period of suspension.
15. Complaints
15.1.LHS does not own, manage or operate any Home and is not liable for their description and/or presentation. As each Home is different standards may vary enormously. If you have an issue with a Home please contact your Host in the first instance. If you are still dissatisfied and decide not to occupy the Home then LHS shall have no liability for any costs and expenses incurred (including, without limitation, the cost of alternative accommodation) unless prior authorisation to incur such costs has been given by LHS in writing.
15.2.In the unlikely event that your Host is unable to resolve the issue, please contact LHS within 30 days of your return home by writing to us at hello@lovehomeswap.com. When writing please provide your membership number and all other relevant information.
16. Our liability to you
16.1.As LHS is not responsible for and does not own, manage or operate any Homes we cannot accept any liability for any act or omission on the part of any Member. Your use of the Home may be subject to additional rules or terms imposed by the Member who owns the Home. LHS’ maximum liability if we are found to be at fault in relation to any service we provide is limited to the sums received by us for the Exchange, Points Redemption or Instant booking in connection with which we are found to be at fault. We do not exclude or limit any liability for death or personal injury which arises out of our own negligence or that of LHS employees acting in the course of their employment or for our own criminal act.
16.2.LHS is not liable for any damage, loss or theft of or to personal property which occurs through your Guests’ use of a Home.
16.3.LHS accepts no liability for the acts and omissions of any third parties providing non-exchange related programmes or services to you.
17. Communicating with you
17.1.LHS processes personal data and responds to requests you may have concerning personal data in accordance with its Privacy Policy, a copy of which is available at https://www.lovehomeswap.com/privacy-policy .
18. Other Services
18.1.Without limitation, LHS does not provide flights, coach or train travel, car hire, insurance, ferries, cruises or tours. Such services may be purchased from independent third party suppliers and will be subject to the terms and conditions of the suppliers concerned.
18.2.LHS reserves the right to vary, withdraw or add to the services it provides at any time, with or without notice.
19. General
19.1.These Terms and LHS’ policies and procedures may be changed by LHS at its sole discretion from time to time. Members will be notified of any such changes by publication on LHS’ website(s) and such changes will be effective as soon as they are published.
19.2.The fees and prices charged by LHS are subject to regular review and any fee/price changes resulting from this review will take effect immediately. Such price and fee changes will be published on LHS’ website(s) (or notified to Members by letter or email at LHS’ option).
19.3.Please see LHS’ website(s) for our latest Terms. The latest Terms published on LHS’ website(s) supersede and replace all prior versions.
19.4.You may not assign, transfer, declare on trust or otherwise dispose of any of your rights under these Terms or any other person without the prior written consent of LHS. LHS may assign these Terms to any third party and any such assignment shall be binding on Members when notice of assignment is given to them. Notice may be given on LHS’ website(s), in other LHS publications or by letter or email.
19.5.LHS shall not be liable for any delay in performing or failure to perform its obligations under these Terms if such delay or failure results from any circumstances outside its reasonable control. Such delay or failure shall not constitute a breach of these Terms and the time for its performance shall be extended by such period as is equal to that during which performance is prevented.
19.6.These Terms constitute the entire agreement between the parties, supersede any previous agreement or understanding and may not be varied except in writing by you and LHS. All other terms and conditions, express or implied by statute or otherwise, are excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.
19.7.Nothing in these Terms is expressly or impliedly intended to confer on any third party any right to enforce any of its provisions pursuant to the Contract (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
19.8.No waiver by either party of any breach of these Terms by the other shall be considered as a waiver of any subsequent breach of the same of any other provision.
19.9.Any provision of these Terms which is held to be invalid or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall be ineffective to the extent of such invalidity or unenforceability without invalidating or rendering unenforceable the remaining provisions of these Terms, and any such invalidity or unenforceability in any jurisdiction shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provisions in any other jurisdiction.
19.10.Any notice required or permitted to be given by either party to the other under these Terms shall be in writing and addressed to LHS at its registered office and to you at the address given as your correspondence address (or such other address as may at the relevant time have been notified to the party giving notice pursuant to this provision).