Terms and conditions

Definitions:

  • Account: the personal online environment that is made available to the User by iKot for the purpose of using the Websites and Services.
  • Advertisement: the advertisement in which the propery is offered by the User on the Websites.
  • Services: the possibility to search for a property and/or to place an Advertisement on the Websites and/or to put the User in contact with another User.
  • User: the person with whom iKot enters into a User Agreement with regard to the use of the Websites and Services.
  • User Agreement: the agreement between iKot and the User.
  • Terms of use: the provisions of this document.
  • iKot: part of VerticonOnline.nl, with address Weteringkade 13, 2515 AK, The Hague, the Netherlands, registered with the Chamber of Commerce under number 54717213.
  • Personal data: any information that can be traced back to a natural person.
  • Websites: ikot.be , www.allekoten.be, as well as other domains and subdomains.

Article 1 Acceptance of the terms of use

VerticonOnline.nl, with address Weteringkade 13 2515 AK The Hague, the Netherlands, registered with the Chamber of Commerce under number 54717213 (hereinafter "iKot") 

offers a number of websites, including, but not limited to, https://www.allekoten.be/ and https://ikot.be/ (hereinafter "Websites") and provides related services (hereinafter "Services") to you (hereinafter the "User") subject to your compliance with the terms and conditions (hereinafter the "Terms of Use").

The Terms of Use relate to the use of the Websites and Services and represent a binding agreement between iKot and the Users. The terms of use apply to Users using the Websites. There are users who are looking for a property (hereinafter: "Potential Tenant"), and there are also Users who want to offer a property (hereinafter "Landlord"). The Potential Tenant uses the Websites to find a suitable property, the Landlord uses the Websites to offer his/her property for rent (hereinafter: "Advertisement"). In both situations, this is done with the intervention of iKot, and by creating a profile on the Websites, as well as placing an ad on the Websites.

By using the Websites and Services, the User agrees to the Terms of Use.

iKot reserves the right to adjust the Websites, the Services, and the Terms of Use at any time and without prior notice, in order to fulfill its legal obligations or to optimize its Services and Websites. Whenever the Terms of Use change, they will take effect immediately upon posting.

Article 2 - Ownership of Websites and Services

All parts of the Websites and the Services, such as texts, images, software, programming, code, layout, logos, databases, names, etc. are protected by copyright and intellectual property law. 

No part of the Websites and/or the Services, or data, or contact information provided on the Websites and/or in the Services may be stored, modified, disclosed, distributed, rented, sold, transferred to third parties without the prior written consent of iKot.

iKot grants the User a revocable, non-exclusive and non-transferable right to use Websites and Services, provided that this is done in accordance with these Terms of Use.

iKot is entitled to use all parts of the Websites and Services for promotional purposes.

Article 3 Description of the Websites and Services

iKot offers various websites where tenants and landlords can get in touch with each other. For example, Landlords can offer their accommodation on the Websites and Potential Tenants can consult the various accommodation options. The living quarters on the Websites come in all kinds of forms, student rooms, student rooms in larger complexes, student rooms in a house, studios, apartments. Residential properties are offered on the Websites by both private landlords and business companies.

In addition to the Websites, iKot also offers various Services. Services for the Landlord are so-called spotlight positions with which the Landlord can offer his/her living space to a larger audience against payment. Services for the Potential Tenant are available in the form of response points, in order to be able to respond to all living spaces in this way.

iKot reserves the right to unilaterally adjust or replace all parts of the Websites as well as all parts and prices of the said Services for other parts or Services. iKot tries to inform all Users of the most important changes via the news section on the Websites, but is not obliged to do so. Any modifications also automatically become part of these Terms of Use.

Article 4 Prevention of fraud

iKot makes every effort to prevent fraudulent advertisements from being placed on the Websites. We do this with certain algorithms that estimate the chance of fraud, as well as a manual check by our moderation team. If there is any doubt about the intentions of the Landlord, the Advertisement can be removed and the User blocked from the Websites.

Article 5 Use of Websites and Services by User

The User is always responsible for using the Websites. Also if User uses, downloads or shares the content of Websites. The User is also responsible for all possible rights attached to information (texts, images) placed on Websites. User fully indemnifies iKot against all potential claims as a result of potential infringement of the aforementioned rights.

By using Websites, the User grants all rights to use the texts and images on Websites or in commercial communications.

A User can create an account on the Websites free of charge. This account can be used as both a Potential Tenant and Landlord. It is the User's responsibility to keep and protect his/her login details. iKot can never be held liable for possible fraudulent use of passwords.

Creating an account is free of charge. Filtering on search results and viewing the various accommodations (Advertisements) is also free of charge. A Potential Tenant can also respond free of charge to an Advertisement for which a Landlord has purchased a Spotlight. Reaction points are required for all other Ads. A Landlord can always place its Advertisements for free, and has the option to purchase a spotlight. The current rates for the Potential Tenant are always available on ikot.be/upgrade.

Article 6 Block the usage of Websites

iKot reserves the right to block Users from using Websites and Services. This without prior notice and without any refund of paid spotlight positions and or reaction points.

Users can be blocked, among other things, if we suspect that there are fraudulent advertisements that demand payment without actually offering a living space for rent. In addition, Users can be blocked if the Websites are used for commercial purposes other than offering or looking for accommodation. It is also not allowed to place advertisements to offer another (competitive) service. Finally, Users who place Advertisements with offensive or inappropriate texts and/or images are banned:

  • that violate Terms of Use;
  • that are abusive, hateful, abusive or racist;
  • that refer to things other than what is rented;
  • that refer to competitive services;
  • that put iKot, Websites or Services in a bad light or may result in other reputational damage.

The Landlord declares that the accommodation he offers meets all legal (and if applicable) municipal obligations. The Landlord adjusts the status of his Listing if the accommodation is rented to "inactive".

Article 7 Right of withdrawal

The user has a right of withdrawal of 14 days after the moment of payment. The moment the User buys reaction points or a spotlight, he expressly gives iKot permission to start this service immediately and waives the right of withdrawal and also waives (partial) reimbursement of the costs of the reaction points or spotlight. Also, earlier withdrawal of the Advertisement does not lead to a (partial) refund of the costs. Also, finding a room via a route other than via Websites does not lead to a (partial) reimbursement of the costs.

Article 8 Privacy & Personal Data

iKot offers an extensive privacy statement , the User agrees to the privacy statement and the processing of his personal data.

The following personal data is processed on Websites:

  • First name. This data is processed in e-mails that we send via our mail server at Amazon SES (data center in Ireland (eu-west-1)). If you send a reaction via the reaction form, we will share your first name with the placer of the room advertisement.
  • E-mail address. This data is processed in e-mails that we send via Amazon SES. If you send a reaction via the reaction form, we will share your e-mail address with the placer of the room advertisement. We also share your email address with our administration program Acumulus if you make a payment on our platform. your email address is shared in encrypted form with the Gravatar service to retrieve a personal avatar image if you have set up such an image with this service. If you have not set an image, gravatar will automatically return a randomly generated image based on your encrypted email address.
  • Phone number. This data is linked to a room advertisement and is not shared with other authorities.
  • IP address of the last login moment and of a transaction. This information is not shared with other authorities.
  • Transaction data. If you make a payment on the Website, this payment will be made via Pay.nl and/or Paypal (if you opt for the latter method, your payment will be made via both Pay.nl and Paypal). During the payment, all data that you enter in the payment form (for example your account or credit card number, your full name, your e-mail address) are processed by Pay.nl and stored with this body (often partly anonymised). iKot.be does not store this data itself. We do store a transaction ID, payment method, the type of units you buy on our website, the amount and any start and end date of a payment. The transaction data is also shared with our administration program Acumulus, but this shared transaction data does not contain any personal data.
  • Street, zip code and house number in case you place an Advertisement on Website. This data is sometimes shared with other websites through a public feed that iKot.be offers. Apart from a street name, this feed does not contain any personal data, unless you state traceable personal data in the descriptive text for your room. The house number is not shared in this feed. If you do not want this information to be shared with third parties, you can make this known via our web form and we will exclude your advertisement(s).
  • Messages from Potential Tenants looking for a room to Landlords may also contain personal data. This data is not shared with other parties.

For more information about privacy and processing personal data, refer to the privacy statement

Article 9 Service team & support

iKot offers online support during the working days (Monday to Friday) via the contact form .

Article 10 Liability

iKot makes every effort to ensure that the information shown on Websites and Services is as accurate as possible. However, iKot can never guarantee that all information is complete and correct, and cannot be held liable for this. This applies to all texts, images and other information on the Websites and Services.

iKot is not liable for links to other websites that are mentioned on the Websites. 

iKot is not liable for decisions that the User takes based on the information provided on the Websites and Services. Not even if it turns out that living quarters do not meet all the requirements.

iKot can also not be held liable for damage caused by paying amounts to Landlords, even if it turns out that there is no accommodation and that it concerns an attempted fraud. iKot can also not be held liable for the loss of income in any form whatsoever.

iKot acts as an intermediary between Potential Tenant and Landlord and makes it possible with its Websites to bring Potential Tenant and Landlord into contact with each other. However, iKot is never part of the agreement to be concluded between Potential Tenant and Landlord regarding the rental of a living space. iKot cannot be held liable for any damage resulting from such agreements.

The cumulative liability of iKot can never exceed the total that the User has paid for Services in the past 24 months.

Article 11 Complaints procedure

  • iKot has a sufficiently publicized complaints procedure and handles the complaint in accordance with this complaints procedure.
  • Complaints about the implementation of the agreement must be submitted fully and clearly described to iKot within a reasonable time after the consumer has discovered the defects.
  • Complaints submitted to iKot will be answered within a period of 14 days from the date of receipt. If a complaint requires a foreseeable longer processing time, iKot will respond within the period of 14 days with a notice of receipt and an indication when the consumer can expect a more detailed answer.

Article 12 Applicable law

These Terms of Use and all Agreements are governed by Dutch law. Insofar as not dictated otherwise by mandatory law, all disputes in connection with the Agreement will be submitted to the competent Dutch court for the district of The Hague where iKot is located.