Portico Direct Terms & Conditions (Terms)

1.1.Portico Direct's advertising platform is designed for private landlords only. It should not be used by persons or entities who do not own the property which is to be advertised, for sub-letting or by third parties. By choosing to advertise on Portico Direct, landlords proclaim that they are the legal owner/landlord of the property they are advertising, or have the written permission of the owner/landlord of the property to place the advertisement and are not acting as an agent.

1.2.You agree to indemnify Portico Direct for any loss including consequential loss, claims, actions or proceedings that may be brought against Portico Direct as a result of a breach by you of clause 1.1, agree that Portico Direct may take legal action against you if you breach clause 1.1, and that you will be liable for any legal or enforcement costs reasonably incurred by Portico Direct in relation to such a breach including if we are required to take action against you.

1.3.Prices for advertising through Portico Direct are per property until: the advertising period expires, the property goes under offer, the Landlord chooses to pause or end their advertising of that property or where we are entitled to remove that advertisement as a consequence of a breach by you of these terms.

1.4.Landlords will only be charged for services they have chosen to use or purchased during the set up and selection process on this website.

1.5.All advertising and other services with a fixed or maximum duration are deemed to commence on the date that they were purchased through our website and to be continuous from that date.

1.6.Under the Consumer Contracts (Information Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (Regulations) we cannot begin providing you with our services including marketing under these terms unless you have made an express request that we begin the services in writing. By agreeing to these terms, you agree that you expressly request that we commence the services including marketing and acknowledge and agree that you lose the right to cancel under the Regulations and must pay the Fees for the Services up until the time you cancel.

1.7.As the services are for the supply of digital content that is "made to the consumer's specifications or are clearly personalised" and that such supply begins within 14 days of the order being placed they are excluded by regulation 28 of the Regulations, and we are not required to issue any refunds except at our sole discretion after the service has begun.

1.8.Notwithstanding clause 1.7, you are free to end your advertising with Portico Direct at any time after placing the advertisement. This can be done through our website.

1.9.Refunds will not be offered once services have been purchased if users are subsequently found to be in breach of this agreement or are unable to provide satisfactory evidence of authority to advertise or ownership.

2.1.These advertising content standards apply to any advertisement or part thereof that you instruct Portico Direct to place on your behalf. If we determine, at our sole discretion, that the content is not appropriate you agree that we may refuse to publish, remove or ask a third party to remove any such advertisement.

2.2.You agree that all Content must be accurate and comply with all applicable laws. We reserve the right to edit or remove any relevant sections of the advertisement which we think does not comply.

2.3.You agree that you will not use Portico Direct's website (or other websites to which the same information is syndicated) to distribute unsuitable content. Specifically, content must not:

2.4.You agree to indemnify Portico Direct for any loss including consequential loss, claims, actions or proceedings that may be brought against Portico Direct as a result of a breach by you of this clause 2 and as a result of content you have included in an advertisement and agree that you will be liable for any legal or enforcement costs reasonably incurred by Portico Direct in relation to such a breach including if we are required to take action against you.

2.5.We may at our sole discretion remove any advertisement or content.  You agree that any decision we make in connection with such removal is final and we accept no liability to users in respect of any such decision.

3.1.You agree that in your use of this website:

4.1.Portico Direct does not provide any guarantee in regard to the honesty or the accuracy of the information supplied on this website by it or its users or in any advertisement placed by its users.  It merely provides a platform which enables landlords and tenants to meet and transact.

4.2.Landlords and tenants agree that they are responsible for satisfying themselves of the accuracy of any information that they read on this website and that they supply to Portico Direct.

4.3.Landlords and tenants must do their own due diligence on any individuals which they are transacting with either through this website or as a result of an introduction through this website before entering into any contract or agreement or making or accepting payments directly to or from them. Both landlords and tenants acknowledge and understand that Portico Direct specifically advises them that it does not do any due diligence on such people and that this is solely their responsibility.

4.4.Information supplied on this website, our blog, the FAQ section, our messaging facility on our website and social media accounts (which may be provided by third parties which are not affiliated or authorised by us) is supplied for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

4.5.Landlords and tenants agree that they place no reliance on the information referred to in paragraph 4.4 in relation to the legal or tax implications or otherwise or any listing or transaction made through our website or platform and that they will obtain their own independent legal and financial advice in relation to the use of and transacting with third parties on and through this website.

4.6.Landlords and tenants agree that we have no control over, nor accept any responsibility or liability for, any problems that arise from properties or tenancy arrangements that are supplied by users of our website or other third parties.

5.1.The £1 advertising package can be used once per landlord per annum.

5.2.You agree and authorise us to amend or remove any listings which we deem in our sole discretion to be in breach of these Terms or misusing this website or Portico Direct's platform in order to protect users of our website without compensation to you. Such a breach might include spamming, deliberately underpricing, retaining tenants' details and misrepresenting the condition or location of a property.

5.3.We reserve the right to limit or set parameters on fair use by you of our website, we may in our sole discretion remove or limit a listing for any reason without compensation to you including but not limited to where we believe the listing is receiving a higher than usual amount of interest, viewing requests, where 1 month has elapsed from the time of publishing the advertisement or to reduce ours or other users potential liability.

5.4.If we have reason to believe a property may not currently be available to rent, we reserve the right to contact the landlord or registered proprietor shown at land registry to confirm that the property is still available, and to suspend the advertising of the property if the landlord does not respond in a timely fashion or if we believe in our sole discretion that the response is an inaccurate representation of the facts.

5.5.We also reserve the right to suspend or discontinue listings if: we believe that you are not or you do not have the authority of the legal owner of a property, or that the property does not hold legally required documentation such as a valid EPC or a gas safety certificate or if the account has not been used for 3 months.

5.6.You agree not to hold Portico Direct responsible for any loss you may incur as a result of Portico Direct taking any of the actions described in this paragraph 5.

6.1.Portico Direct provides customer service to you by way of email. You agree that any queries you have regarding our services or the use of our website are to be made to us directly via our email at direct@portico.com. We will endeavour to respond to these within 1 working day but landlords and tenants agree that we ae not liable for any loss to them which is a result of us not replying in that time frame.

6.2.Telephone calls made to Portico Direct may be recorded for training and monitoring purposes.

6.3.If either a landlord or a tenant is not satisfied with the way in which our customer services team deal with their query, they may make a complaint by emailing us and using the word "Complaint" in the subject line. We will deal with the complaint in the manner which is set out in our Complaint Procedure.  A supervisor will then investigate how you have been dealt with by our customer service team. If you are not satisfied after going through our complaints procedure you may contact the Property Ombudsman at https://www.tpos.co.uk/consumers/how-to-make-a-complaint.

7.1.You agree and warrant when you list a property on this website that:

7.2.You are fully responsible for ensuring the property meets the legal requirements for landlords and properties under any relevant legislation, including but not limited to the requirements outlined in this section. You fully indemnify Portico Direct for any failure by you to meet these requirements and in relation to any resulting inability of you to serve and enforce a notice under Section 8 or Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 to evict any tenant you have found through our platform.

8.1.As landlords offering property to tenants you must familiarise yourselves with legislation relevant to letting property including but not limited to the Housing Act 1988 and 2004, the Tenant Fees Act 2019, Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 (as amended in 1989, 1993 and 2010), Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 and the Plugs and Sockets, etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994.

8.2.Landlords must ensure that they know their legal obligations. Property laws vary depending on where the property is located in the UK and the type of tenancy. While we are not able to list every law or regulation in these Terms, failure to meet your local requirements may result in a landlord's advertisement being removed from our platform.

8.3.Areas such as Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland may have additional requirements for landlords beyond those stipulated for other regions including a requirement to use a model tenancy agreement or a tenancy agreement which is compliant with the legislation that is in force for each of those regions.

8.4.Where applicable, landlords in Scotland are responsible to ensure that they are compliant with registration requirements including under The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 and the Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Regulations 2011, The Housing (Scotland) Act 1988 and The Repairing Standard as contained in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006.

9.1.We may select properties (at our sole discretion) to erect a To Let Board at the property to advertise its availability, we will only do so after we have received your consent.

9.2.Landlords should notify Portico Direct through their online account if they have previously agreed not to erect a To Let board with the properties, freeholder or other interested parties.

10.1.Landlords who advertise on our website agree not to charge any fees to tenants (or a person acting on behalf of, or who has guaranteed the payment of rent by, a tenant) that would be illegal in the region in which the property being advertised is located including fees relating to administration or other compulsory one-off charges, fees for viewing or applying to rent the property, referencing, inventory or tenancy set-up.

10.2.Any landlord who takes a deposit from a tenant to hold a property found using Portico Direct's services (Holding Deposit) agrees to treat all such holding deposits in accordance with the Tenant Fees Act 2019. Including not taking a Holding Deposit which is greater than a maximum of one week's rent and not taking another Holding Deposit for the same property from any other party until all previous Holding Deposits taken have been returned.

10.3.Landlords who advertise on our website agree not to charge any default fees to tenants except for those that would be classed as "Permitted Payments" under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 (Tenants Fees Act). You agree that you will familiarise yourself on the requirements of the Tenants Fees Act in this regard.

10.4.Landlords who advertise a property in England or Wales on our website agree not to charge a tenancy deposit (Deposit) in excess of the limits set out under the Tenant Fees Act from time to time.

10.5.Portico Direct reserves the right to make any amendments to any listing on our platform which we believe in our sole discretion are required to ensure compliance to the terms of this clause 10.

10.6.If a landlord breaches any of the terms in this clause, we reserve the right to suspend their account with us.

11.1.Some Portico Direct services (for example, the tenant referencing service, organisation of utilities for a property, professional inventories or safety certificates) are provided by suitable third parties. These third parties are not controlled by us, but are independent subcontractors. Landlords and tenants acknowledge and agree that Portico Direct is therefore not responsible for, has no control over and does not accept liability for the actions, accuracy or advice of these third parties. Landlords and tenants also acknowledge and agree that Portico Direct will be required to provide such third parties with their personal data to enable those parties to provide services to landlords and tenants and both landlords and tenants indemnify Portico Direct in relation to the way in which these third parties deal with their personal data.

11.2.We accept no liability for any losses that may arise as a result of a service not being delivered by a third party on a particular date or in relation to the standard of the services provided by a third party including any claims made against a landlord by a tenant or vice versa.

12.1.We can organise a tenant referencing service for Landlords if they request it. This will be provided by our referencing partners who are a third party.

12.2.We cannot provide any guarantee regarding the accuracy or reliability of the information supplied by the third party or the users being referenced. You will be solely responsible for deciding whether or not a tenant is suitable for your property and will conduct your own ID, visa, immigration or other checks legally required to ensure that each of the tenants have the right to live and rent in the UK and agree that Portico Direct will have no liability in relation to the suitability of the tenant, the actions of the tenant during the tenancy or as a result of the tenant providing false information to you or the tenant refencing service.

13.1.If a tenant wants to proceed with renting your property, they may do so by making an offer to you by using our website (Offer).

13.2.We will let you know when the tenant has made the Offer, giving you the opportunity to decide at your sole discretion whether or not you wish to proceed or reject the Offer or to request that the tenant provide further information.

13.3.Once the Offer has been made, you have the option to order tenant referencing through Portico Direct by its referencing third party. If this third party advises that the tenant is suitable this advice is for information purposes only, you must still satisfy yourself of the suitability of the tenant.

13.4.If you proceed with the application following the Offer, you acknowledge that a tenancy agreement has not at that point been entered into and will not be until both you and the tenant sign an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) or other tenancy agreement.

13.5.If you accept the Offer, we will request that the Tenant pay a Holding Deposit equivalent to not more than one week's rent.

13.6.After the Holding Deposit has been paid, we will suspend the advertisement of the property on Portico Direct while the tenant's Offer is active in accordance with the requirements of the Tenants Fees Act and you agree that you will not take a Holding Deposit from another party in relation to the same property whilst the tenant's Offer is active.

13.7.By paying the Holding Deposit, the tenant agrees that:

13.8.If the landlord decides not to proceed to signing the AST or other tenancy agreement where a Holding Deposit is held, or acts in such a way that it would be unreasonable to expect the tenant to enter into an AST or other tenancy agreement or breaches sections 1 or 2 of the Tenants Fees Act, then subject to the requirements of any relevant legislation, the Holding Deposit will be returned to the tenant within 7 days or either the Deadline or the Extended Deadline expiry unless:

13.9.If the tenant decides not to or we reasonably believe that the tenant is not proceeding with the Offer the tenant agrees that we may resume marketing the property until it is clear that the tenant still wishes to proceed.

13.10.If any of the circumstances set out in paragraph 13.8 apply or if any other valid reason under the relevant legislation applies for not returning the Holding Deposit to the tenant, Portico Direct will where appropriate pay the Holding Deposit to the landlord as compensation for the tenant's abandoned application and any associated costs and lost profits incurred by the Landlord.  The tenant agrees that the repayment is on the instruction of the landlord and agrees to indemnity Portico Direct in relation to such payment of the Holding Deposit to the Landlord for any loss including consequential loss, claims, actions or proceedings that may be brought against Portico Direct.

13.11.The Landlords agree that the decision of whether or not to pay the Holding Deposit (or any part of it) to the tenant will be at Portico Direct's sole discretion and based, in the first instance, on feedback from the tenant. The landlord agrees to indemnify Portico Direct for any loss including consequential loss, claims, actions or proceedings that may be brought against Portico Direct as a result of a landlord or a tenant successfully bringing a claim for a return of the Holding Deposit against either the landlord or Portico Direct and that the landlord will be liable for any legal or enforcement costs incurred by Portico Direct in relation to such a claim.

13.12.If the tenant has already paid a Holding Deposit to a landlord in respect of a property the Portico Direct website cannot be used to arrange the tenancy. By making an Offer, tenants are declaring that they have not already paid a Holding Deposit for the property, or if they have paid such a Holding Deposit in respect of the relevant property, that it has been refunded in full.

13.13.In the event that the tenant has paid a holding deposit to Portico Direct, but the landlord subsequently elects not to use Portico's property deposit or rent collection services, the holding deposit will be returned to the tenant and all financial transactions will take place outside the Portico Direct website at both the tenant's and landlord's own risk.

14.1.Any acceptance by the landlord of a tenant's Offer is subject to contract. To complete the tenancy using Portico Direct's AST for use in England, the AST will need to be signed digitally on the Portico Direct website by both the landlord and the tenant.

15.1.A tenant entering into an AST or other tenancy agreement will usually be required by the landlord to pay a deposit to cover any damage or rental arrears which are incurred during the term of the tenancy (Deposit). The amount of this Deposit is limited by the Tenants Fees Act.

15.2.Tenants agree that by signing the AST or other tenancy agreement that they are providing express consent to the application of the Holding Deposit to either the first months' rent payable under the AST or other tenancy agreement or to part payment of the Deposit, except as provided for in 13.13.

15.3.By signing these terms, the landlord agrees that it is aware of the landlord's obligation under the Housing Act 1988 to register the Deposit with a government approved scheme within 30 days of receipt of funds either by Portico Direct or by the landlord directly. Failure to do so may mean that the landlord is unable to evict the tenant if a problem arises in the tenancy or if the landlord requires the tenancy to end for another reason that is allowable under the Housing Act 1988. If the landlord does not elect to use the Portico Direct deposit registration service, the landlord agrees to arrange for registration of the Deposit within the requisite time and the landlord agrees to indemnify Portico Direct for any failure by the Landlord to do so.

15.4.Where requested, Portico Direct will collect the Deposit and register this with Portico Direct's third party partner deposit agency within the prescribed 30 days provided it has been paid prior to the tenants taking occupation of the relevant property, so that the Deposit can be protected under the government-backed tenancy deposit scheme. The Deposit will be held under the terms and conditions of the deposit agency in question, and these terms will be provided to both the landlord and the tenants as part of the Deposit registration process.

15.5.The landlord acknowledges that the landlord will be solely responsible for the negotiation and deduction of any amounts from the Deposit with the tenant at the end of the tenancy and for engaging in any adjudication required by the Deposit agency prior to the release of any Deposit at the end of the tenancy.

16.1.Portico Direct will process payment of the first month's rent where the landlord has requested this. Once the first month's rent has been received in full by Portico Direct it will be held by Portico Direct, for a period which is up to a maximum of 14 days from the beginning of the Term, until the tenant has satisfactorily moved into the premises, after which it will be paid to the landlord, subject to the following:

16.2.Subsequent instalments of rent will be paid by the tenant when they become due according to the tenancy agreement, subject to the following:

16.3.In operating this service Portico Direct will make reasonable endeavours but we (including our affiliates, officers, directors, agents, subcontractors and employees) will not be liable to you in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise for any liabilities, damages or losses (whether direct, indirect, consequential, special or otherwise) incurred or suffered by you or any third party in connection with its use and any delayed or non-payment of rent or return of the deposit to either you or the tenant. Both the tenant and the landlord agree by using the Portico Direct services to indemnify Portico Direct for any failure by the tenant to pay the rent or for any delay in the transmission of the rent from the tenant to the landlord via Portico Direct or one of its third party providers including where the landlord and the tenant agree to a change in the tenants who are to occupy the property during a tenancy or the tenants change in bank accounts.

16.4.If Portico Direct transfers any funds to either the Landlords Nominated Account or to an account nominated by the tenants in error for any reason, both the landlord and the tenant agree to repay Portico Direct in full for any sum paid in error, such repayment to be made as soon as practically possible. This includes any overpayment where the sum transferred to either the landlord or the tenant by Portico Direct is in excess of the amount properly due.

17.1.Portico Direct is the controller of the personal data provided to it by its users (The Personal Data). To provide the services, Portico Direct may be required from time to time to transfer The Personal Data to you.

17.2.If we do transfer The Personal Data to you, you agree that you will become the controller of The Personal Data and you hereby agree to observe and perform your compliance obligations as a controller as defined in in relevant data protection laws including but not limited to the Data Protection Act 2018 (Data Act) including ensuring that you process The Personal Data only where you have a lawful basis to do so; and that you accept your compliance obligations in full as a controller under the Data Act.

17.3.Full details of our use and treatment of Personal Data are laid out in our Privacy Policy.

18.1.Portico Direct is a Member of The Property Ombudsman scheme (TPOS), and subscribes to this scheme's Code of Practice for Letting Agents. Further details of the scheme can be found at www.tpos.co.uk. Its membership number is T04820.

18.2.Portico Direct is a member of the Propertymark Client Money Protection Scheme as part of our membership of ARLA. Our membership number and scheme reference number is C0133173 and our Client Money Protection Certificate can be found here. Our procedures for handling client money can be found here: https://www.propertymark.co.uk/media/1045366/conduct-and-membership-rules.pdf.

18.3.Portico Direct is a registered agent in Scotland with registration number LARN2005010.

18.4.Portico Direct is a member of RentSmart Wales.

18.5.A copy of the relevant codes of practice for any schemes of which we are members can be provided electronically to users on request.

18.6.Portico Direct holds Professional Indemnity Insurance. Further details are available on request.

19.1.In this section we set out what we are and are not liable to you for in the provision of the website and our services in addition to any other provisions relating to our liability which are included in these terms. This section applies to all our terms and conditions. The terms in this section apply only to the extent allowed by law and do not affect your statutory rights as a consumer. Nothing in these terms and conditions limits or excludes our liability for: (a) death or personal injury caused by our negligence; (b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or (c) any other liability that may not be excluded or limited under applicable law.

20.1.We are not responsible for the content or details of advertisements that are provided by users of this website and accept no liability for such content (including any errors, omissions or inaccuracies).

20.2.We will do our best to ensure that all material and information that Portico Direct publish on the website is accurate. However, the website is provided on an 'as is' and 'as available' basis and may contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. We give no warranties, whether express or implied, in relation to the website, any third party content contributed to, accessed on or through the website, or any transaction that may be conducted on or through the website, including any warranties of: (a) non-infringement, security or accuracy; (b) that your use of the website will be uninterrupted, error or defect free; or (c) that the website or the server that makes it available to you are free of viruses or bugs or that any defect or downtime will be fixed promptly or at all. Note that if the need arises, we may suspend access to the website or close it, or any part of it, indefinitely and without further notice to you or any third party.

20.3.Commentary and other materials posted on the website are not intended to constitute advice upon which any reliance should be placed. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we therefore disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such materials by any visitor to our site, or by anyone who may be informed of any of its contents.

21.1.We warrant to you that any services purchased from us through the website are of satisfactory quality and reasonably fit for all the purposes for which products of that kind are commonly supplied. To the fullest extent permissible under applicable law, we disclaim any and all other warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, in relation to the products. This does not affect your legal rights as a consumer.

22.1.If we fail to comply with these terms and conditions, we are only responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a reasonably foreseeable and a direct result of our breaking these terms and conditions or our failing to use reasonable care and skill. We will not be responsible for any losses you suffer as a result of us breaching these terms and conditions that were not reasonably foreseeable to both you and us when you commenced using the website, or when the contract for the sale of services by us to you was formed.

22.2.To the extent allowed by law, where any claim relates to the supply of services by us to you, our liability for losses you suffer is limited to the purchase price of the services you purchased.

22.3.To the fullest extent permissible by applicable laws, we are not responsible for indirect losses which happen as a side effect of the main loss or damage and even if such losses result from a deliberate breach of these Terms by us that would entitle you to terminate the contract between us, including but not limited to: (a) loss of income or revenue, (b) loss of business, (c) loss of profits or contracts, (d) loss of anticipated savings, (e) loss of data or (g) waste of management or office time however arising and whether caused by tort (including negligence), breach of contract or otherwise, even if foreseeable.

22.4.We only supply the products for private use. If you use the products for any commercial or business purpose, we will have no liability to you for any loss of income or profit, loss of business, loss of contracts, loss of anticipated savings, loss of data, business interruption, loss of business opportunity.

23.1.We exclude liability resulting in any way from you or the tenants' breaches of paragraphs 1 to 5 of these Terms and we may take any other action we reasonably deem appropriate in relation to such breaches.

23.2.You are responsible for ensuring that your computer system meets all relevant technical specifications necessary to use the website and is compatible with the website. Please be aware that we cannot and do not guarantee or warrant that any material available for downloading from the website will be free from infection, viruses and/or other code that has contaminating or destructive properties. You are responsible for implementing sufficient procedures and virus checks (including anti-virus and other security checks) to satisfy your particular requirements for the accuracy of data input and output.