Terms & Conditions.

Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using Affordable Rentals ("the Platform", "we", "us"), you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree, please do not use the platform.

These terms apply to everyone who uses the platform: landlords, caretakers, tenants, and visitors who browse public listings or send an inquiry.

Landlords agree to these terms when they register, and tenants who join through an invitation link agree when they create their account. We record the date and the version of the terms that were accepted. Tenants and caretakers whose accounts were created for them by a landlord agree by signing in and using the platform.

Description of Service

Affordable Rentals is a rental management platform. Depending on your role, it provides:

• Landlord accounts with one or more properties, organised into buildings and houses, with monthly or semester billing
• Tenant onboarding through a property invitation link or QR code, through accounts created by the landlord, or through house applications that the landlord approves
• Rent collection through M-Pesa (Safaricom) into the landlord's own Paybill or Till, and recording of cash, bank and other payments
• Deposit, deposit refund, holiday holding fee and mid-semester refund records
• Digital receipts (PDF and email), arrears tracking, rent reminders and CSV export
• Messaging between tenants and landlords, announcements, house rules and repair requests
• Caretaker accounts with limited, landlord-controlled permissions
• Expense tracking and an activity log for landlords
• Optional public property listings with photos, a map pin and an inquiry form
• A referral programme and landlord testimonials

We may improve, modify, suspend or discontinue any part of the service. Where a change materially affects how you use the platform, we will make reasonable efforts to tell you in advance.

User Accounts

To use Affordable Rentals you must have an account with accurate and complete information.

• Landlords register for themselves.
• Tenants either create their own account through the invitation link or QR code a landlord shares for a specific property, or sign in with the login details emailed to them when a landlord creates the account. A tenant can be active at only one property at a time.
• Caretakers are created by a landlord, assigned to specific properties and given only the permissions the landlord chooses. A landlord is responsible for what their caretakers do on the platform.

You are responsible for keeping your password confidential, for everything that happens under your account, for telling us immediately about unauthorised access, and for keeping your email address and phone number valid. Accounts created with a temporary password must change it on first sign-in. Sessions are time-limited and you are signed out after a period of inactivity.

An invitation link is tied to one property. Landlords should share it only with the tenants it is meant for and can revoke or replace it at any time; revoking a link does not affect tenants who have already registered.

We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms or contain false information.

Fees & Commission

Affordable Rentals has no signup fee and no subscription. Adding properties, houses, tenants and caretakers is free, and tenants never pay a platform fee. Instead, a commission applies to rent that landlords collect through the platform.

• Rate. The commission is a percentage set by Affordable Rentals. The current rate is shown in your landlord dashboard. If we change it, the change applies from then on, and the dashboard shows the new rate.
• What it is based on. Rent actually collected and recorded on the platform for a property in a calendar month (monthly billing) or in a semester (semester billing), whether paid by M-Pesa or recorded as cash, bank or other. Refunds are tracked separately and are not subtracted from it. Deposits, deposit refunds and holiday holding fees carry no commission.
• When it is due. Commission is calculated per property from the rent actually collected, and tracked separately for each month and each semester. It is not collected automatically when a month or semester ends: you start each payment yourself with the Pay Now button in your dashboard, and you may pay what has been calculated so far at any time, even before the period ends. A payment made before a period ends counts as a partial payment; rent collected afterwards adds to the balance, and the period is marked paid once it has ended and its total commission is cleared. We also send a reminder email when a closed period has commission outstanding. If nothing was collected, nothing is owed.
• If it is not paid. If commission for a closed month or semester is still unpaid 7 days after that period ended, the affected property is suspended: it is hidden from public listings and no new tenants or houses can be added to it. Recording rent and M-Pesa collection continue so that the balance can be settled. The property is restored automatically once the commission is paid.
• Credits and waivers. If a payment turns out to exceed the commission owed for a period (for example, a duplicate payment), the excess is recorded as credit and applied against future commission. A referral reward (see below) waives commission for one month; for semester billing it waives one month's share of that semester's commission, not the whole semester.
• Referral reward. A landlord who refers the required number of qualified landlords (currently 5) receives one commission-free month, once, whether they are billed monthly or by semester. A referred landlord qualifies by registering through the referral link, setting up payment credentials and having a first rent payment processed. The requirements for future rewards may change.

Accurate records are the basis of the commission. Landlords must record the rent they receive honestly and promptly.

Payments & M-Pesa

Rent payments are processed through Safaricom's M-Pesa Daraja platform. By making a payment you agree to the following:

• All payments are in Kenyan Shillings (KES)
• M-Pesa rent payments go directly to the Paybill or Till number the landlord has connected for that property. Affordable Rentals does not receive or hold tenants' rent or deposits
• Amounts due are set by your landlord and cannot be changed by Affordable Rentals. Part payments are allowed, and a payment larger than the balance is rejected
• Once Safaricom confirms a payment it is final and non-refundable unless the landlord explicitly authorises a refund
• Landlords may also record cash, bank and other payments they received outside M-Pesa. These records produce a receipt for the tenant, and the landlord is responsible for their accuracy
• Deposits and refunds are recorded by the landlord; they cannot be paid through M-Pesa on the platform
• Affordable Rentals is not responsible for failed transactions caused by insufficient M-Pesa balance, network problems or Safaricom outages
• Your M-Pesa PIN is never stored or seen by Affordable Rentals. PIN entry happens on Safaricom's secure STK Push prompt
• A landlord's M-Pesa credentials are stored encrypted; changing them requires an email one-time code and can be done only once every 30 days

Rent, Semesters, Deposits & Holidays

The platform calculates amounts from the settings and records a landlord enters. It supports the following arrangements; the tenancy agreement between landlord and tenant remains the primary contract.

• Monthly rent. A monthly tenant's rent cycle starts on the day they are assigned a house, and each cycle's rent falls due at the end of that cycle. A landlord can move the end date of the current cycle without any extra charge; the next cycle then starts on that date.
• Semester rent. For properties with semester billing the landlord sets two or three semesters per academic year, the rent and the due day. A tenant who joins more than 10 days into a semester pays a prorated amount by the day, and a landlord can adjust a period's amount. An extended stay beyond a semester's end is charged at that semester's daily rate.
• Between semesters. Rent is paused between the end of one semester and the start of the next. The landlord can charge a holding fee for the break (the property default, a custom amount, or none), or the property can apply a rule automatically. The tenant is notified.
• Holidays. A landlord can record that a tenant is away but keeping the room. Rent for any cycle or semester that starts during the absence is paused, and a holding fee of the days away multiplied by the monthly fee, divided by 30 and rounded up, applies instead. Returning earlier or later adjusts the fee to the days actually away.
• Deposits. A property can require a fixed deposit, paid in full, before a house is assigned. Deposits and refunds are recorded by the landlord. A refunded deposit means a new deposit is needed on reassignment.
• Moving out and transfers. When a tenant moves out, their account and payment history stay available to them. For semester tenants who leave mid-semester, the landlord may issue a prorated refund. A tenant can be transferred to another house in the same property without losing payment history.

Landlords are responsible for setting these rules correctly and for explaining them to their tenants.

Tenant Responsibilities

As a tenant using Affordable Rentals, you agree to:

• Pay rent on or before the due date shown for your period
• Use an invitation link only for the property you actually intend to rent, and apply only for houses you intend to take
• Use messaging and repair requests respectfully, with accurate descriptions
• Report payment errors to your landlord promptly
• Keep your registered phone number active for M-Pesa payments
• Not share your login details with anyone
• Not manipulate or falsify payment records

Landlord Responsibilities

Landlords using Affordable Rentals agree to:

• Provide accurate property, rent, semester, deposit and holiday information, and record every payment accurately and promptly
• Pay the commission described in these terms
• Treat tenants fairly and without discrimination, and not use the platform to harass or intimidate anyone
• Share invitation links only with intended tenants, and revoke a link that has been shared more widely than intended
• Manage caretaker accounts responsibly and remove access that is no longer needed
• Configure M-Pesa credentials correctly so that rent reaches the right account
• Respond to tenant messages and repair requests within a reasonable time
• Handle tenants' personal data lawfully, including under Kenya's Data Protection Act, 2019
• Make sure listed properties and tenancy practices comply with Kenyan housing law

Public Listings, Inquiries & Testimonials

• Listings are optional and reviewed. A landlord chooses whether a property appears publicly. A listing goes live only after approval by Affordable Rentals, which may decline or remove a listing at any time. Listings can include a description, up to five photos and a map location; landlords must have the right to use what they upload and must keep it accurate.
• Inquiries. Anyone can send an inquiry about a listed property without an account. The details are sent to that property's landlord, and to caretakers the landlord has assigned, who may contact the sender. We do not verify the people or properties involved and are not a party to any tenancy.
• Testimonials. A landlord can submit a short testimonial from their dashboard. It is published on our public pages, with the name and description the landlord provided, only after review and approval by Affordable Rentals. By submitting it the landlord confirms it is genuine and gives permission for us to display it. We show a limited number at a time and rotate them, and a landlord can ask for theirs to be removed.

Data & Privacy

To provide the service we collect and store the following:

• Names, email addresses and phone numbers
• Rent, deposit, holiday-fee and refund records and receipts
• Messages, announcements and repair requests
• Property, house, building and billing settings entered by landlords, including map locations of listed properties
• Inquiries sent through public listings, and testimonials landlords submit
• Records of when and which version of these terms you accepted, and an activity log of actions taken in landlord accounts

We do not sell your personal data. Passwords are hashed with bcrypt and M-Pesa credentials are stored with AES-256 encryption. For full details, please read our Privacy Policy.

Prohibited Conduct

The following are strictly prohibited:

• Attempting to hack, reverse-engineer, scrape or exploit the platform
• Creating fake accounts or impersonating others
• Submitting fraudulent payment claims, or deliberately under-recording rent to reduce commission
• Posting false or misleading listings, photos, locations, inquiries or testimonials
• Using messaging, inquiries or testimonials for spam, harassment or abusive content
• Accessing another user's account or data without authorisation, or sharing an invitation link to enrol people who are not your tenants
• Any activity that violates Kenyan law

Violations may lead to suspension or termination of the account and may be reported to the relevant authorities.

Limitation of Liability

Affordable Rentals is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind. We are not liable for:

• Payment failures caused by Safaricom, banks or network problems
• Calculations that are wrong because the rent, semester, deposit, holiday or payment information entered by a landlord was wrong
• Data loss caused by unforeseen technical failures
• Disputes between tenants and landlords, or the content of listings, inquiries and tenancy agreements
• Any indirect, incidental or consequential damages

Our total liability to any user shall not exceed the amount that user paid to Affordable Rentals (for example, commission) in the preceding 30 days. Nothing in these terms limits any liability that cannot be limited under Kenyan law.

Suspension & Termination

We may suspend or terminate an account at any time if these terms are violated. A property can also be suspended for unpaid commission, as described in the Fees & Commission section, and is restored once the balance is settled.

You may ask us to delete your account at any time by contacting support. A tenant who moves out keeps access to their history and receipts. After termination, access is revoked, but payment history, receipts and commission records may be retained for legal and audit purposes in line with Kenyan law.

Changes & Governing Law

We may update these terms as the platform changes. The date at the top of this page shows when they were last updated. When a change is material we will notify users, and continuing to use the platform after the change means you accept the updated terms.

These terms are governed by the laws of Kenya.

Contact

If you have any questions about these Terms and Conditions, please reach us through any of the following:

• Email: alexanderbosire60@gmail.com
• Support Email: support@affordablerentals.site
• WhatsApp: +254 702 276 609