Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using the Student Home platform (“Service” or “Platform”), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service (“Terms”) and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not access or use the Service.

These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and Student Home Holdings Group (Pty) Ltd. Student Home reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time. When we make material changes, we will notify you by email or by displaying a notice on the Platform. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

2. Description of Service

Student Home is an online marketplace platform that connects South African students seeking accommodation with verified property owners and managers across South Africa. The Service allows:

• Students to search, compare, shortlist, and apply for verified student accommodation
• Property owners to list, manage, and fill their student accommodation units
• Both parties to communicate, manage documents, and coordinate viewings through the Platform

Student Home acts as an intermediary technology platform and is not a party to any rental agreement between property owners and students. We do not own, manage, or control any accommodation listed on the Platform. All rental agreements are entered into directly between the student and the property owner and are governed by the Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999.

3. User Accounts

3.1 Registration

To access the full features of the Platform you must register for an account. You must provide accurate, complete, and current information during registration and keep your account information up to date at all times.

3.2 Account security

You are responsible for:

• Maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials
• All activities that occur under your account, whether authorised by you or not
• Immediately notifying us at support@studenthome.co.za if you suspect unauthorised access to your account

3.3 Account types

Each email address may only be associated with one account type — either a student account or a property owner account. If you require both account types, a separate email address is required for each.

3.4 Suspension and termination

We reserve the right to suspend, restrict, or permanently terminate any account that violates these Terms, engages in fraudulent activity, or poses a risk to the Platform or other users. Where reasonably practicable, we will notify you of any action taken against your account.

4. Student Obligations

Students using the Platform agree to:

• Provide accurate and truthful information when creating a profile and submitting accommodation applications
• Upload only genuine, unaltered documents (ID, proof of registration, NSFAS approval letter, etc.)
• Not submit fraudulent, forged, or misrepresented documentation of any kind
• Honour commitments made to property owners through the Platform, including agreed move-in dates
• Pay applicable deposits and rental amounts in accordance with the signed rental agreement
• Respect the house rules, policies, and community standards of any accommodation they occupy
• Withdraw pending applications to other properties once an accommodation offer has been accepted and confirmed
• Not conduct any part of the accommodation transaction off-platform in a manner designed to circumvent Platform protections

5. Property Owner Obligations

Property owners listing accommodation on the Platform agree to:

• Provide accurate, truthful, and current information about their properties, including photos, amenities, room sizes, and pricing
• Hold all required municipal, provincial, and national licences and approvals for operating student accommodation
• Submit valid, current compliance documents for verification (see our Verification Process)
• Maintain NSFAS accreditation requirements on any property advertised as NSFAS-accredited
• Respond to student applications within a reasonable timeframe (we recommend 2–5 business days)
• Not discriminate against applicants on the basis of race, gender, religion, disability, nationality, pregnancy, marital status, or any other characteristic protected under South African law, including the Rental Housing Act and the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act
• Pay all applicable platform fees, including the monthly listing fee and, where applicable, the inspection fee
• Not request or accept any payment from students outside of the Platform's approved processes unless pursuant to a signed lease agreement
• Update listing information promptly when rooms become unavailable or property details change

6. Platform Fees

6.1 Owner fees

Property owners pay a monthly listing fee of R250 per property, billed on the date the listing is first published. A once-off site inspection fee of R1,000 applies when a property first undergoes inspection for NSFAS accreditation. Full details are set out on our Pricing page.

6.2 Student fees

Students use the Platform completely free of charge. No fees apply at any stage — not for browsing, applying, messaging, booking viewings, or receiving booking codes. Student Home will never charge students to use the Platform.

6.3 Fee changes

Student Home reserves the right to update its fee structure with at least 30 days’ written notice to affected users. Continued use of the Service after a fee change takes effect constitutes acceptance of the new fees.

7. Payments & Billing

• Platform fees are billed monthly by credit card, debit card, or EFT.
• Tax invoices are issued automatically each billing cycle.
• Listings are temporarily paused if an outstanding balance remains unpaid for more than 14 days after the due date.
• The monthly listing fee is non-refundable for partial months. No pro-rated refunds are issued upon cancellation.
• The R1,000 inspection fee is non-refundable once the inspection has been completed and a report issued. Cancellations made more than 48 hours before the scheduled inspection receive a 50% refund (R500).
• Rental payments between students and property owners are governed solely by the signed rental agreement — Student Home is not a party to those transactions.

8. Prohibited Conduct

You agree not to use the Platform to:

• Engage in any unlawful activity or encourage others to do so
• Post false, misleading, inaccurate, or fraudulent content or listings
• Impersonate any person, entity, or Student Home staff member
• Solicit off-platform transactions or payments intended to circumvent the Platform's protections
• Harvest, scrape, or systematically collect data from the Platform without our prior written consent
• Interfere with the security, integrity, or performance of the Platform or its underlying infrastructure
• Transmit malware, viruses, ransomware, or any other harmful or destructive code
• Send unsolicited commercial communications (spam) to other users
• Harass, threaten, abuse, or discriminate against any other user
• List accommodation that does not exist, that you do not have authority to list, or whose details are materially misrepresented

Violations of these prohibitions may result in immediate account termination without refund and may be reported to the South African Police Service (SAPS) or other relevant regulatory authorities.

9. Intellectual Property

All content on the Platform — including the Student Home name, logo, design, software, text, graphics, and data — is the property of Student Home Holdings Group (Pty) Ltd or its licensors and is protected by applicable South African and international intellectual property laws.

You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to access and use the Platform for its intended purpose. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, sublicence, or create derivative works from any Platform content without our prior written consent.

By uploading content to the Platform (photos, descriptions, documents, reviews), you grant Student Home a worldwide, royalty-free licence to use, display, and reproduce that content solely for the purpose of operating the Platform and providing the Service to you.

10. Limitation of Liability

The Platform is provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, express or implied. Student Home does not warrant that the Platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free from harmful components.

To the maximum extent permitted by South African law, Student Home is not liable for:

• Any dispute between students and property owners arising from or relating to a rental agreement
• The accuracy, completeness, or suitability of any property listing
• Loss or damage to personal property or any injury sustained at listed accommodation
• Failure of NSFAS to pay, or delays in NSFAS payment processing
• Indirect, consequential, special, incidental, or punitive damages of any kind
• Loss of data, loss of profits, or loss of business opportunities

Our total liability to any user for any claim arising out of or in connection with these Terms shall not exceed the total fees paid by that user to Student Home in the preceding 12 months. Where no fees have been paid (e.g., student accounts), our liability is limited to R500.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Student Home Holdings Group (Pty) Ltd, its directors, officers, employees, and agents from any claims, losses, damages, costs, or liabilities (including reasonable legal fees) arising from:

• Your use of the Platform in violation of these Terms or applicable law
• Any content you upload, post, or transmit through the Platform
• Your violation of the rights of any third party, including other users of the Platform
• Your misrepresentation of any information provided to Student Home or other users

12. Dispute Resolution

12.1 Between users

Disputes between students and property owners arising from rental agreements are governed by the Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999 and the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008. The Rental Housing Tribunal in the relevant province is the appropriate forum for such disputes. Student Home may provide communication logs and documentation to assist in dispute resolution but does not mediate or adjudicate such disputes.

12.2 Between users and Student Home

Any dispute between you and Student Home shall first be subject to good-faith negotiation. Either party may initiate this by sending a written notice to legal@studenthome.co.za. If unresolved within 30 days, the dispute shall be referred to mediation under the rules of the South African Mediation Association before any legal proceedings may be commenced.

12.3 Governing law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa. You consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of South Africa for any disputes that proceed to litigation.

13. Termination & Suspension

13.1 Voluntary cancellation

You may cancel your subscription or delete your account at any time from your account settings — no phone call or form required. On cancellation:

• Your listing(s) remain active and visible until the end of the current paid billing period
• No pro-rated refund is issued for any unused portion of the billing period
• No cancellation fee applies
• At the billing period end, listings are taken offline and no further charges are made
• Your account data and tenant records are preserved in line with our Privacy Policy

13.2 Suspension by Student Home

We may suspend your account if we determine that you have violated these Terms, engaged in fraudulent activity, or that continued access poses a risk to the Platform or other users. During a suspension:

• Access to the Platform is restricted and active listings are hidden from students
• Subscription billing is frozen for the duration of the suspension — no charges accrue while your account is suspended through no payment failure of your own
• Any outstanding fees that existed before the suspension remain due and payable
• Existing approved tenants and their booking records are not affected

13.3 Account restoration

If a suspended account is reinstated after the underlying issue is resolved:

• Access to the Platform and your dashboard is restored
• Your listings are reactivated (subject to verification status remaining current)
• Subscription billing resumes from the restoration date — a new billing cycle begins on that date
• The suspension period is not charged and does not count toward your billing cycle

13.4 Permanent termination

In cases of serious or repeated violations, we may permanently terminate your account without restoration. On permanent termination: all access ceases immediately; all listings are removed; any outstanding fees remain due and payable; and data retention obligations continue as described in our Privacy Policy. Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination will continue to apply.

14. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes we will:

• Update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page
• Display a notice on the Platform informing you of the changes
• Send you an email notification if the changes significantly affect your rights or obligations

Continued use of the Platform after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you must stop using the Service and may delete your account.

15. Contact Us

For questions, concerns, or notices about these Terms, please contact our legal team: