Terms of Use

1. About these terms

These Terms of Use govern your access to and use of the TrustHabitat website and web app (the “Platform”). By browsing the Platform, creating an account or publishing a listing, you agree to these terms, to our Privacy Policy and to our Cookie Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Platform.

In these terms, “TrustHabitat”, “we” and “us” refer to the operator of the Platform. “You” refers to any person who uses it. An “advertiser” is anyone who publishes a listing: an owner, landlord, real-estate agent or developer.

2. What TrustHabitat does

TrustHabitat is an online listing platform that helps people find property to rent or buy in the Democratic Republic of Congo and put them in direct contact with advertisers by WhatsApp or telephone.

TrustHabitat is not a real-estate agent, broker, notary, lender or party to any transaction. We do not own, manage, inspect or sell the properties listed, we do not handle rent, deposits or sale payments, and we are not involved in negotiations, contracts or handovers between you and an advertiser. Any agreement you reach is made solely between you and the advertiser.

3. Accounts

You can browse listings and contact advertisers without an account. An account is required to save favorites and to publish or manage listings.

• You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter into a binding agreement.
• The information you give us (name, email address, phone number, account type) must be accurate and kept up to date.
• You are responsible for keeping your password and the sign-in codes we send you confidential, and for all activity on your account. Tell us immediately at [email protected] if you suspect unauthorized use.
• You may not create an account for someone else without their authorization, impersonate another person, or hold several accounts to get around a suspension.
• You can close your account at any time from your account page.

4. Publishing listings

If you publish a listing, you confirm and guarantee that:

• you own the property or hold a valid mandate or authorization from its owner to advertise it;
• the description, price, location, photos and availability are accurate, current and not misleading, and the photos show the actual property;
• the price is stated in US dollars as the reference price; any amount in Congolese francs you add is your own and must be consistent with it;
• any documents you upload for verification (proof of ownership, mandate, identity) are authentic and that you are entitled to share them;
• the listing complies with the laws of the Democratic Republic of Congo and does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of ethnicity, religion, sex, disability or any other protected characteristic;
• you will update or withdraw the listing promptly once the property is no longer available.

The phone number you provide for a listing is shown publicly so that interested people can contact you by WhatsApp or telephone.

5. Verification and the verified badge

Before a listing receives the verified badge, a member of our team reviews the documents and information supplied by the advertiser. We may ask for more information, send the listing back for changes, or refuse it.

The verified badge means that the listing passed our review on the basis of the documents we received at that time. It is not a guarantee of title, a legal opinion, a survey or a valuation, and it does not replace your own checks. Before paying any money or signing anything, you should visit the property, confirm the identity of the person you are dealing with and check the ownership documents, if necessary with the help of a notary or lawyer.

6. Prices and currencies

Prices are set by advertisers in US dollars. Where an amount in Congolese francs is marked as an estimate, it is calculated automatically from a public market exchange rate, is given for information only, and may differ from the rate used by banks, exchange offices or the advertiser. Only the price agreed directly with the advertiser is binding.

7. Your safety

• Never pay a deposit, “visit fee” or advance before you have visited the property and checked the documents.
• Be cautious of prices far below the market, pressure to decide quickly, or requests to pay through unusual channels.
• Report any suspicious listing with the “Report this listing” button on the listing page, or by contacting us.

8. Prohibited conduct

When using the Platform, you must not:

• publish false, fraudulent, duplicate or misleading listings, or advertise a property you are not authorized to advertise;
• use the Platform to scam, harass, threaten or discriminate against anyone;
• upload content that infringes someone else’s rights, including photos you do not own or have permission to use;
• file false reports or misuse the reporting system;
• copy listings or data in bulk by automated means (scraping, crawling) without our written permission, or use them to build a competing service;
• interfere with the security or operation of the Platform, try to access accounts or data that are not yours, or introduce malicious code;
• use the Platform for any unlawful purpose.

9. Your content

You keep ownership of the text and photos you publish. By publishing them, you grant TrustHabitat a free, non-exclusive, worldwide licence to host, reproduce, resize, display and share them for as long as they are on the Platform, for the purpose of operating and promoting the Platform, including in shared links and previews on messaging apps and social networks.

10. Moderation, suspension and termination

We may review, refuse, hide or remove any listing or content, and suspend or close any account, if we reasonably believe that it breaches these terms or the law, puts other users at risk, or harms the Platform. Where appropriate, we will tell you why. Our decisions are recorded, and you can contest them by contacting us.

11. Fees

Using the Platform is currently free of charge. If we introduce paid services, we will present their price and conditions clearly before you are asked to pay, and they will not apply retroactively.

12. Intellectual property

The TrustHabitat name, logo, design and software, and the Platform as a whole, belong to TrustHabitat or its licensors and are protected by intellectual property law. You may not reproduce or reuse them without our prior written permission, except to share links to listings.

13. Disclaimer and limitation of liability

We work to keep the Platform accurate, secure and available, but it is provided “as is”. We do not guarantee that it will be uninterrupted or error-free, and we are not responsible for the content of listings, which is the sole responsibility of the advertisers who publish them.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, TrustHabitat is not liable for any loss arising from a transaction, agreement or dispute between users, from inaccurate listing information, or from indirect losses such as loss of profit or opportunity. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, such as liability for our own fraud or gross negligence.

14. Indemnity

If you publish a listing, you agree to compensate TrustHabitat for any claim, loss or expense resulting from your listing, your documents or your breach of these terms.

15. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms, for example when we add features or when the law changes. The date at the top of this page shows the latest version. If a change significantly affects your rights, we will inform you on the Platform before it takes effect. Continuing to use the Platform after that date means you accept the updated terms.

16. Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the Democratic Republic of Congo. If you have a complaint, please contact us first so that we can try to resolve it amicably. Failing an amicable solution within 30 days, the dispute will be brought before the competent courts of Kinshasa, subject to any mandatory rules protecting consumers.

These terms are available in French and English. In case of inconsistency, the French version prevails.

17. Contact

For any question about these terms, write to [email protected] or use our contact form.