Terms and Conditions

1. What Settlla does

Settlla is an online rental platform for residential property in Nigeria. It connects tenants with verified agents and homeowners who list properties on behalf of landlords, and provides tools for inspections, applications, tenancy agreements, payments and tenancy management.

Unless we say otherwise in writing, Settlla is not the landlord, the tenant or the agent in any letting. A tenancy is a contract between the landlord and the tenant; the agent acts for the landlord. We review listings and verify users to make the Platform safer, but we do not own, manage or inspect the properties listed.

2. Who can use Settlla

• You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter into a binding contract under Nigerian law.
• You must give accurate, current and complete information and keep it up to date.
• You may only hold one account per person, and you may not create an account for someone else without their authority.

3. Your account

You can use Settlla as a tenant, or as an agent or homeowner who lists properties. Some features depend on your role.

You are responsible for everything that happens under your account. Keep your password secure and tell us immediately at the address in section 20 if you think someone else has accessed your account.

4. Identity and professional verification

To keep the Platform safe, we ask users to verify their identity by uploading their NIN slip or card and taking a live selfie. Agents must also complete professional verification (for example CAC or RC registration, NBA licence or NIESV membership) before their listings go live.

You confirm that every document you upload is genuine, belongs to you (or you are authorised to submit it) and is not altered. We may approve, reject or ask you to resubmit a verification, and we may restrict features until verification is complete.

Verification reduces risk but does not guarantee the identity, conduct or reliability of any user. Always use your own judgement.

5. Listings (agents and homeowners)

If you list a property, you promise that:

• you are the owner or have the landlord's written authority to market and let the property, and you can show that authority when asked;
• all listing details, photos, videos, prices and documents are accurate, current and not misleading, and the property is available to let;
• the landlord's details you provide are correct and you have their permission to share them with Settlla;
• the payout bank account for the landlord belongs to the landlord named in the letter of authority; and
• the property and the letting comply with applicable laws, including tenancy, planning and safety laws.

Listings are reviewed by Settlla before they go live. We may reject, pause, edit for formatting or remove any listing, and a listing's landlord can only be changed while it is still a draft.

6. Inspections and tours

Tenants can book physical or virtual inspections in the time slots a listing offers. Agents may approve, decline, reschedule or cancel bookings, and tenants may reschedule or cancel them, through the Platform.

Please arrive on time, behave respectfully and follow any access instructions. Settlla does not attend inspections and is not responsible for what happens during them. Report any safety concern to us and, where needed, to the police.

7. Applications and tenancy agreements

Tenants can apply for a listing through the Platform. The agent or landlord decides whether to accept an application.

Tenancies are documented with the Settlla tenancy agreement, which the parties sign electronically on the Platform. You agree that electronic signatures made on the Platform are binding and have the same effect as handwritten signatures, to the extent Nigerian law allows.

Read the agreement carefully before you sign. Settlla provides the template and the signing tools but is not a party to the agreement and does not give legal advice.

8. Fees and payments

When a tenant pays for a tenancy through Settlla, the amount due is the annual rent plus a service fee. The service fee is currently 15% of the annual rent and covers the agent's fee and Settlla's platform fee. The full breakdown is shown before you pay.

Payments are processed by our third-party payment processors, and their terms also apply. Rent is paid out to the landlord's verified payout account and fees to the agent and Settlla, as shown in the app.

Agents and landlords must keep their payout details accurate. We are not responsible for delays or losses caused by incorrect payout details you provide or by a processor or bank outside our control.

To protect everyone, pay only through the Platform for tenancies arranged on Settlla. We cannot help with, and are not responsible for, payments made outside it.

9. Refunds and early move-out

If a tenant leaves before the end of the lease using the early move-out process, the property is re-listed. Any refund of remaining rent is calculated and paid only after a new tenant is found and pays, and the landlord receives the balance after the refund is calculated. The app shows the estimated amount and progress.

The service fee is not refundable once a tenancy has started, except where the law requires otherwise or where a payment was taken in error. Caution deposits are handled as set out in the tenancy agreement.

If you think a payment was taken in error, contact us promptly so we can investigate.

10. Tenancy notices

Agents may send formal notices on a tenancy through the Platform, such as rent increase, renewal, non-renewal, payment reminder or inspection notices. Notices must be accurate, lawful and consistent with the tenancy agreement. Sending a notice through Settlla does not replace any notice period or procedure the law requires.

11. What you must not do

• Post fake, duplicate or misleading listings, or advertise a property you are not authorised to let.
• Impersonate anyone, submit forged or someone else's documents, or create accounts to get around a suspension.
• Ask for or take payments, deposits or 'inspection fees' outside the Platform for tenancies arranged on Settlla.
• Harass, threaten or discriminate against anyone, including on the basis of ethnicity, religion, gender, disability or marital status.
• Use other users' personal data for anything other than the letting it was shared for.
• Scrape, copy or resell data from the Platform, or interfere with its security or normal operation.
• Break any law or help anyone else do so.

12. Your content and our intellectual property

You keep ownership of the photos, videos, documents and other content you upload. You give Settlla a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, store, display, adapt for formatting and share that content as needed to run and promote the Platform and the relevant listing, for as long as it is on the Platform and for a reasonable time after for backups and legal records.

You confirm you have the rights to upload your content and that it does not infringe anyone else's rights.

The Platform, the Settlla name, logo, design, software and the Settlla tenancy agreement template belong to Settlla or its licensors. You may use them only as needed to use the Platform.

13. Third-party services

The Platform relies on services from third parties such as payment processors, identity verification providers, maps, video meeting tools and Google sign-in. Their own terms and privacy policies apply to your use of them, and we are not responsible for their services.

14. Disclaimers

The Platform is provided on an 'as is' and 'as available' basis. We work to keep it accurate, secure and available, but we do not guarantee that it will be uninterrupted or error-free.

Listing information comes from agents and homeowners. We do not guarantee the condition, legality, title, value or suitability of any property, or that any user will complete a letting. Tenants should inspect a property and review documents before paying.

15. Limitation of liability

Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under Nigerian law, including liability for fraud or for death or personal injury caused by negligence.

Subject to that, Settlla is not liable for indirect or consequential losses, loss of profit or opportunity, or losses caused by other users, properties, third-party services or events beyond our reasonable control. Our total liability to you for any claim relating to the Platform is limited to the fees you paid to Settlla in the 12 months before the claim arose.

16. Indemnity

You agree to compensate Settlla for reasonable losses, costs and claims that arise because you broke these Terms, broke the law, or uploaded content or listings you were not entitled to.

17. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or close an account, remove content or pause listings if we reasonably believe you have broken these Terms, put other users at risk, or where the law requires it. Where appropriate we will tell you why and give you a chance to respond.

You can stop using Settlla and delete your account at any time from your account settings. Closing an account does not cancel tenancy agreements already signed or payments already due, and the sections of these Terms that by their nature should continue (including fees owed, content licences, disclaimers, liability and disputes) continue to apply.

18. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

If you have a complaint, contact us first at support@settlla.com and we will try to resolve it. If we cannot resolve a dispute within 30 days, either party may refer it to mediation. If mediation fails, the courts of Nigeria with competent jurisdiction will decide it. Disputes between tenants, landlords and agents about a tenancy are for those parties to resolve, although we may help where we can.

19. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will post the new version on this page with a new effective date and, for significant changes, let you know by email or in the app before they take effect. If you keep using the Platform after the changes take effect, you accept the updated Terms.

20. Contact us

Questions about these Terms? Email support@settlla.com.