Terms & Conditions
EXAMPLE TEXT ONLY - THIS SITE DOES NOT SELL ESTATE AGENCY SERVICES
These terms and conditions cover Property Lane customers in England and Wales. These terms and conditions, set out the terms of the agreement between you and Property Lane under which Property Lane will provide its services to you and you may make use of our website, www.property-lane.co.uk ('Our Site’) and Services (as defined below). When instructing Property Lane as agents to sell your property it is a requirement under the Estate Agents Act 1979 that you understand and accept these terms and conditions.
Please read these terms and conditions carefully before you accept and agree to be bound by them. These terms and conditions can be saved or printed for you to keep. By authorising payment for the Services (as defined below) over the telephone or online, you agree to these terms and conditions. Once you agree to the terms and conditions or authorise payment for the Services over the telephone or online your order will be placed with Property Lane.
However, if you have any concerns or questions regarding these terms and conditions then please do not authorise payment and instead, please contact Property Lane in writing via the contact email address specified in these terms and conditions.
INFORMATION ABOUT PROPERTY LANE
Property Lane provides estate agency services to individuals and businesses to facilitate property sales in the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland).
Our Site is owned and operated by Property Lane. We are a company registered in United Kingdom under company number ***** and our registered address is at ***
Property Lane is a member of The Property Ombudsman scheme and follows The Property Ombudsman’s Code of Practice for Residential Estate Agents, which is available to view at www.tpos.co.uk. Property Lane is also registered with The Property Ombudsman’s Approved Estate Agents Redress Scheme.
DEFINITIONS
In these terms and conditions the following words and phrases shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the following meanings:
'Associates’
Means directors, employees, sub-contractors and agents of Property Lane;
'Bolt-on Products’
Means any products offered and provided by Property Lane and/or a Property Lane Agent (or another designated third party) which are additional to the Property Lane Bundle;
'Bolt-on Services’
Means any services offered and provided by Property Lane and/or a Property Lane Agent (or another designated third party) which are additional to the Property Lane Bundle;
'Central Property Manager’
Means a Property Lane employee who is available to assist you over the telephone in administering the Services in respect of the Property;
‘Completion’
Means the date on which the legal transaction of the sale of the Property is complete;
‘Property Lane Agent’
Means the person(s) licensed by Property Lane to conduct Market Appraisals, Accompanied Viewings (as more specifically set out in the section headed ‘Bolt-on Services and Bolt-on Products’) and other related services in respect of the Property;
'Market’
Means the Property is listed for sale on Our Site and/or is listed on any Partner Sites by Property Lane;
'Market Appraisal’
Means the market appraisal service provided by the Property Lane Agent attending the Property and recommending a guide price for the sale of the Property;
'Marketing Period’
Means the period of 10 months from the date that Property Lane commences the marketing of the Property on Our Site or Partner Sites or until such time as the Property advert is removed or withdrawn by Property Lane on Our Site or such Partner Sites. The Marketing Period may be extended in Property Lane’s sole discretion;
‘Memorandum of Sale’
Means the document confirming the terms of an offer for the purchase of the Property, which has been accepted, where both parties agree to proceed with the formal aspect of the sale.
'Partner Sites’
Means Rightmove, Zoopla and any other website that Property Lane decides to partner with to promote the Property from time to time;
'Property’
Means the residential property in the United Kingdom (Excluding Northern Ireland) that you have asked a Property Lane Agent to appraise or have instructed Property Lane to advertise for sale;
'Purchaser’
Means the person(s) purchasing the Property;
'Rightmove’
Means the website at www.rightmove.co.uk, owned and operated by Rightmove Plc., a company registered in England under company number 6426485 and having its registered office at Turnberry House, 30 Caldecotte Lake Drive, Caldecotte, Milton Keynes, MK7 8LE;
'Seller’
Means the owner of the Property or the person who is entitled to sell the Property;
'Services’
Means the estate agency services provided by Property Lane and/or a Property Lane Agent, as set out in these terms and conditions;
'VAT’
Means value added tax chargeable under the Value Added Tax Act 1994;
'Property Lane Bundle’
Means the package of Services provided by Property Lane for a fixed fee (as advertised on Our Site);
'Zoopla’
Means the website at www.zoopla.co.uk owned and operated by Zoopla Property Group Plc., a company registered in England under company number 09005884 and having its registered office at Harlequin Building, 65 Southwark Street, London SE1 0HR.
TERMS OF USE
This section sets out the rules and standards that you must follow when using our services. If you do not agree to these terms, you must not use our services. If any future changes to these terms of use are necessary, an updated version of these terms and conditions will be posted on Our Site. You should check Our Site frequently for any changes. By continuing to use Our Services you agree to any such updated terms and conditions.
OUR SITE CONTENT
We may update Our Site from time to time, and may change the content at any time. However, please note that any of the content on Our Site may be out of date at any given time, and we are under no obligation to update it.
We do not guarantee that Our Site, or any content on it, will be free from errors or omissions.
REGISTRATION PROCESS
To register with Property Lane you must be over eighteen years of age.
When you register we ask you to provide information about yourself and you agree that Property Lane and/or our agents may use such information as part of our verification process. This process may include (without limitation) bankruptcy and CCJ identity verification checks (which will not affect your credit rating), as well as Land Registry searches relating to your Property (as applicable). The information you provide must be true, accurate and up-to-date, and by submitting the information, you agree to Property Lane or our agents carrying out any such checks. Should any of your registration details change, please notify Property Lane as soon as possible.
ACCESSING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION AND CONTENT
You acknowledge and agree that Property Lane may, without liability to you, access, use, preserve and/or disclose your account information to law enforcement authorities, government officials, and/or third parties, as Property Lane believes is reasonably necessary or appropriate, if legally required to do so or if Property Lane believes that such access, use, preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with legal process, or protect Property Lane, its customers or any third party, as permitted by law.
DISCLAIMER
You agree that your use of Our Services shall be at your sole risk and that Property Lane will not be liable to you for any loss or damage, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, even if foreseeable, arising under or in connection with:
use of, or inability to use, Our Services; or
use of or reliance on any content displayed on Our Site. Nothing in these terms of use excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury arising from our negligence, or our fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited by English law.
To the extent permitted by law, we exclude all conditions, warranties, representations or other terms which may apply to Our Site, whether express or implied.
Property Lane will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a virus, distributed denial-of-service attack, or other technologically harmful material that may infect your computer equipment, computer programs, data or other proprietary material due to your use of Our Site or to your downloading of any content from it, or any website linked to it.
Property Lane assumes no responsibility for the content of Partner Sites or any websites linked on Our Site. Such links should not be interpreted as endorsement by us of those linked websites. Property Lane will not be liable for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them.
PROPERTY LANE PROPRIETARY RIGHTS
You acknowledge and agree that Property Lane own all legal right title and interest in and to Our Site.
TERMS OF SERVICE
This section sets out the terms upon which we agree to offer and provide you with the Services.
We may amend or revise these terms from time to time and an updated version of these terms and conditions will be posted on Our Site. You should check Our Site frequently for any changes. By continuing to use Our Site and the Services you agree to any such updated terms and conditions.
INSTRUCTING PROPERTY LANE
After you register with Property Lane, depending on the package you have purchased you can book an appointment with a Property Lane Agent. Your Property Lane Agent will visit the Property you are considering putting on the Market and will conduct a Market Appraisal in relation to the Property.
When you order the Services via Our Site or over the telephone, you must confirm that you accept these terms and conditions. Property Lane’s acceptance of your instruction is subject to receiving satisfactory verification of your identity and details of your Property.
As a Seller, when you instruct Property Lane, you confirm that you do so with the knowledge, consent and agreement of each and all of the legal owners and occupiers and those who have an interest in the marketing and/or sale of the Property.
Property Lane reserves the right to cancel our agreement with you at any time in accordance with its Cancellation and Refund Policy set out below.
MARKET APPRAISAL
Any recommended guide price for the Property provided to you as part of a Market Appraisal conducted by a Property Lane Agent in respect of the Property is based on data obtained from various sources including but not limited to Partner Sites and the Land Registry. In addition, the Market Appraisal takes into account national and regional trends in the Market. Ultimately, it will be your decision (as a Seller) as to the guide price at which you wish to market and sell your Property and you will be allowed to amend this by notifying Property Lane, at any time during the Marketing Period.
If you decide to instruct Property Lane for the sale of your Property and your Property Lane Agent receives consistent feedback from prospective Purchasers that suggests that the guide price of the Property is too high or the Property receives little interest from Purchasers, your Property Lane Agent will contact you to discuss a review of the guide price of the Property.
OUR SERVICES
Property Lane’s Services are comprised of the Property Lane Bundle that may include a collection of Services to facilitate the marketing of the Property on Our Site and Partner Sites for a fixed fee. Property Lane may offer you Bolt-on Services or Bolt-on Products.
Payment for all Services must be made in advance through one of the payment methods outlined in these terms and conditions. Details of the fee can be found on Our Site. Due to the nature of the Services, Property Lane cannot guarantee the time it will take to sell your property. You are advised to heed the advice of your Property Lane Agent with regards to selling your property.
Property Lane will carry out the Services, and make reasonable endeavours to ensure that your Property Lane Agent carries out the Services, with reasonable care and skill. There may be different Services included in the Bundle depending on your location and payment type. Property Lane reserves the right to decide what products are offered to you at any time.
Third party websites such as Partner Sites are subject to change and we do not guarantee the continued presence of the Property on these websites.
PROPERTY LANE BUNDLE
To instruct Property Lane you may purchase a Property Lane Bundle through Our Site or over the telephone with a Property Lane Central Property Manager at any point. Our £99 Property Lane Bundle include the following services: Marketing of your Property on Our Site and selected Partner Sites. If you choose to purchase our £199 Property Lane bundle, you will receive the above in addition to the following: Your Property Lane Agent, the Central Property Management and Sales Support teams are available to assist with the process of selling the Property, through to Completion.
DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY AND PHOTOGRAPHS
As part of the £199 Property Lane Bundle, your Property Lane Agent will compile the description, photographs, floor plans and other information and upload it to Our Site and Partner Sites as part of the advertisement of your Property. You will have the opportunity to edit or suggest amendments to the description.
You are responsible for ensuring that all descriptions, photographs, floor plans and any other information relating to the Property are accurate, current and in no way misleading (please refer to the section headed ‘Description of the Property’ in these terms and conditions, below).
OFFERS
Property Lane will provide you with written confirmation of all offers received from prospective Purchasers by email as soon as an offer is made (unless you instruct us not to do this).
Once Property Lane receives confirmation that an offer for the sale of the Property has been accepted and the Memorandum of Sale has been signed by both parties, we will automatically forward your details to the conveyancer or solicitor who you have instructed.
SALES SUPPORT
Dependent on the package you have purchased, if you are a Seller who has accepted an offer from a Purchaser, you will have access to Property Lane Sales Support who will liaise with solicitors, mortgage brokers, and estate agents in order to assist you up to the Completion of the sale of the Property. Property Lane shall have no liability in respect of any aborted purchases and any associated costs. In the event that a sale of your Property does not complete, Property Lane will resume marketing the Property at your request for the remainder of the Marketing Period. Property Lane will take reasonable steps to ensure that all parties are informed of any changes or developments in the sale of the Property, however you are ultimately responsible for ensuring all parties are aware of any changes or developments. Property Lane accepts no liability for any loss arising as a result of such communications between the parties.
If you, as the Seller, exchange contracts on the Property with a Purchaser you agree to notify Property Lane immediately of such an exchange of contracts. Upon receiving notification of the exchange of contracts on your Property, Property Lane has the right to remove the Property from Our Site and all Partner Sites.
VIEWINGS
If you are the Seller it will be your sole responsibility to conduct viewings for prospective Purchasers and Property Lane assumes no further responsibility in this respect unless you have elected to use the services of a Property Lane Agent to conduct viewings of your Property (as outlined in ‘Accompanied Viewings’ below). You should ensure that you record your availability accurately during the registration process.
BOLT-ON SERVICES AND BOLT-ON PRODUCTS
Once you have instructed Property Lane by purchasing the Property Lane Bundle, you can select Bolt-on Services and/or Bolt-on Products relating to the marketing of the Property.
Additional fees for any selected Bolt-on Services and/or Bolt-on Products are to be paid in advance and may be subject to additional terms and conditions. You can purchase additional Bolt-on Services and/or Bolt-on Products at any time during the Marketing Period. Once the provision of any Bolt-on Service has commenced, by Property Lane, or any third party, there are limited circumstances in which the fees for such Bolt-on Service or Bolt-on Products can be refunded. Please refer to the Property Lane Cancellation and Refunds policy below.
‘Premium Photos’
Premium Photos will be included as part of your Property Lane Bundle if you have selected our £199 package. You acknowledge and agree that in purchasing this Bolt-On Service, Property Lane will share your personal data (including your contact details) with such third party provider.
Energy Performance Certificate (‘EPC’)
It is a legal requirement for you to have a valid EPC for the Property before we can Market the Property, and this must have been produced in the past 7 years. You are responsible for ensuring that you have a valid and up to date EPC prior to the advertisement for the Property going live.
You can purchase the compilation of an EPC as a Bolt-on Service. This Bolt-on Service is fulfilled by our nominated provider who may change from time to time. You acknowledge and agree that in purchasing this Bolt-On Service, Property Lane will share your personal data (including your contact details) with such third party provider. Property Lane will place an order with the provider who will liaise directly to arrange a suitable time to carry out the survey. You must notify the provider if you are not available at the agreed time. If the provider attends the appointment but is unable to enter the property at the agreed time, you will be liable for the cost of any subsequent visit by the provider.
'For Sale' Boards
You can purchase a For Sale board from Property Lane, Property Lane will arrange for a ‘For Sale’ board provider to erect one 'For Sale’ board at the Property (unless the Property already has a 'For Sale’ board of any other estate agency). The 'For Sale’ board shall belong to Property Lane and we will arrange for the board to be collected at such time when the Property is withdrawn from the Market, or at the end of the agreed Marketing Period, whichever is the sooner.
It is your responsibility to ensure that the 'For Sale’ board is removed from public display no later than 14 calendar days after the sale of the Property, and kept safe and secure for collection by Property Lane or the provider.
Accompanied Viewings
If you are the Seller and would like your Property Lane Agent to conduct viewings at the Property you may purchase the Accompanied Viewings Bolt-on Service. It is your responsibility to provide sets of keys to your Property Lane Agent for all lockable doors within the Property. You must ensure that your Property Lane Agent has access to the Property at the date and time of any arranged viewings. You must ensure that the Property is in a safe condition and prepared for any and all viewings. This is a Bolt-on Service that is fulfilled by your Property Lane agent and must be paid for in advance.
Rightmove Premium Listing
A Rightmove Premium Listing is a Bolt-on Product fulfilled by Property Lane’s Partner Site, Rightmove. You should refer to Rightmove for more information about the product. This Bolt-On Product is non-refundable, save in accordance with the Cancellation and Refunds policy.
Zoopla Premium Listing
A Zoopla Premium Listing is a Bolt-on Product fulfilled by Property Lane’s Partner Site, Zoopla. You should refer to Zoopla for more information about the Product. This Bolt-on Product is non-refundable, save in accordance with the Cancellation and Refunds policy.
FEES AND PAYMENT
The fee for the Property Lane Bundle will vary depending on the package you have chosen. The fee for the relevant Property Lane Bundle is as advertised on Our Site and the fees for Bolt-on Services and Bolt-on Products offered by Property Lane will be charged at the rates detailed on Our Site. The total amount which will be payable by you will be calculated depending on the Bolt-on Services and Bolt-on Products (if any) you have selected. Property Lane Bundle is based on the marketing and promotion of one property and if you want Property Lane to market multiple properties, additional fees (available on request) will be payable.
You must pay for the Services in advance by providing us with your credit or debit card details and authorising payment for the Services, either online or over the telephone with one of our Property Lane Central Property Managers (the “Pay Now” option).
“Pay Now”
By electing to use this payment option, you agree to pay Property Lane in advance for the Property Lane Bundle and any Bolt-on Services and/or Bolt-on Products selected. Payment can be made through Our Site or over the telephone with one of our Property Lane Central Property Managers, using a credit or debit card. Payments are processed by Property Lane’s nominated partner that may change time to time.
MARKETING
Property Lane will advertise the Property on Our Site and any Partner Sites that we consider to be the most effective at securing interest in the Property from prospective Purchasers for the duration of the Marketing Period. We reserve the right to withdraw the advertisement and marketing of the Property from Our Site and/or Partner Sites at our absolute discretion, and such circumstances will terminate the Marketing Period.
ADDITIONAL SERVICES
Property Lane may offer Sellers and prospective Purchasers additional services such as insurance, mortgages, surveys and conveyancing via trusted third party suppliers from whom we may receive commission. You acknowledge and agree that any relationship between you and a third party supplier is separate from this arrangement with Property Lane.
MULTIPLE AGENCY
When you instruct Property Lane to advertise the Property, you do so on a 'multiple-agency’ basis. A 'multiple agency’ basis means you can use two or more estate agencies to promote the Property for sale.
If the Property is being advertised by another estate agency, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are allowed to advertise with Property Lane at the same time. If you instruct Property Lane to advertise the Property and subsequently find that this puts you in breach of your other agent’s terms of contract then your listing can be stopped provided you give us at least 48 hours’ notice in writing.
In the event of cancellation for this reason you shall not be entitled to a refund unless notification is given to Property lane prior to the Property going live on Our Site and Partner Sites or in accordance with the section Cancellation and Refunds below. If you are using more than one estate agency to sell the Property you agree to pay our fees for the Services and also any other agency fee (subject to the terms that you agree with the other agency). You must make such payment in accordance with Pay Now option set out in these terms and conditions.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPERTY
The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, as amended by the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Regulations 2014 (‘CPUTR’) require you to disclose any information you are aware of that relates to the Property in a clear, intelligible and timely manner. All information you provide must be accurate and must not be misleading. You are wholly responsible for the accuracy of all information supplied to Property Lane in relation to the Property.
If you are a Seller, you acknowledge and agree that it is your responsibility to check your listing including the description and photographs and notify Property Lane of any incorrect or missing information prior to the Property being listed on the Market. If at any time you become aware of any such incorrect or missing information while the Property is listed on the Market you must notify Property Lane immediately.
If Property Lane is notified or made aware of information or material provided by you that infringes a third party’s intellectual property rights Property Lane has the right to remove the Property from Our Site and Partner Sites immediately.
Dependent on the package you have chosen, if you are a Seller we will arrange for a Property Lane Agent to visit the Property to check the accuracy of the information or material provided by you, and to write a professional description of the Property. You will have the opportunity to edit the description of the Property produced by the Property Lane Agent but any and all amendments will need to be approved by the Property Lane Agent before the listing goes live on Our Site or any Partner Sites.
COVERAGE OF SERVICES
Property Lane covers most areas in the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland).
YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
Your privacy is very important and Property Lane is committed to protecting your privacy. All personal information given to Property Lane will be handled in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. For further information, please see our privacy policy.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
Property Lane is the owner or licensee of all intellectual property rights relating to the Services, Our Site, and the material published on it.
YOUR OBLIGATIONS:
You warrant and undertake that you:
- Have the necessary authority, power and capacity to instruct Property Lane to list the Property for sale;
- Will on request provide Property Lane with all identity documents required for compliance with the Money Laundering Regulations 2007;
- Will provide an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) or proof that an EPC has been commissioned for the Property (unless you have selected this as a Bolt-on Service via Property Lane);
- All information and material provided by you for listing the Property will comply with the CPUTR, and you will notify Property Lane immediately of any incorrect or misleading information within the sales particulars of the Property;
- Will provide third parties with access to your Property as reasonably required by Property Lane and your Property Lane Agent;
- Will co-operate with Property Lane and your Property Lane Agent in all matters relating to the Services;
- Will provide Property Lane and your Property Lane Agent with such information and materials as Property Lane and your Property Lane Agent may reasonably require in order to provide the Services, and ensure that such information is accurate;
- Own or are licensed to use any and all intellectual property rights in any content uploaded onto Our Site and that any such content does not infringe any third party’s intellectual property rights; and
- Will co-operate with any reasonable security checks or requests for information made by Property Lane or your Property Lane Agent from time to time.
- You will notify the Property Lane Agent if you are not the beneficial owner of the property you have instructed Property Lane to sell or if you are acting on behalf of a company or trust
You agree that you will indemnify Property Lane and/or its Associates, and keep Property Lane and/or its Associates indemnified, from and against all direct costs, expenses, damages and losses, which may be suffered or incurred by Property Lane in connection with any claim made against Property Lane for infringement of a third party's intellectual property rights in respect of the information provided about the Property, or any breach of the CPUTR.
Property Lane must carry out due diligence on all customers and you agree to provide Property Lane with any documentation that it may require for these purposes. In the event that Property Lane is unable to verify your identity and cannot comply with its obligations under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, Property Lane shall be entitled to terminate its agreement with you immediately, without notice to you, and cease to provide the Services with immediate effect.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
Property Lane does not exclude or limit in any way its liability for death or personal injury caused by its negligence or the negligence of its Associates, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or breach of any terms implied by the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982.
If Property Lane fails to comply with these terms and conditions, Property Lane will reimburse you for any losses that you suffer that are a foreseeable consequence to both you and Property Lane at the time you accepted these terms and conditions. However, Property Lane’s liability to you shall not exceed the price you have paid for the Services (including the Property Lane Bundle and/or any Bolt-on Services or Bolt-on Products). Property Lane’s liability shall not in any event include business losses such as loss of data, loss of profits, loss of contracts or business interruption.
Property Lane will not accept any responsibility for any damage or loss suffered as a result or in connection with the placing and erection of the 'For Sale’ board on your Property. In order to meet the requirements of The Town and County Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007 and The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (Amendment) (Wales) which permit the display of only one 'For Sale’ board, it is your responsibility that whilst a Property Lane ‘For Sale’ board is displayed, no other boards are erected for the Property. You shall also be responsible for removing the 'For Sale’ board from public display no later than 14 calendar days after the sale of your Property has completed.
Property Lane does not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage caused by a prospective Purchaser visiting the Property.
You agree that it is your responsibility to ensure the safety of any prospective Purchaser visiting your Property, and Property Lane does not accept any liability in this respect.
CANCELLATION
Property Lane instigates various costs at the outset of a property being instructed to it. Therefore, refunds will not be entertained where a customer changes their mind or is subject to a change of circumstances notwithstanding prevailing legislation including the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 whereby commencement of performance of the contract is deemed to have started once our assessors have visited you and have conducted our home visit.
In the event that you cancel within 14 days of payment but before 24 hours prior to the home visit, a refund will be made assuming that Property Lane has incurred no costs. Should you cancel after this period but prior to the home visit, we will charge a fee of £72 incl. vat owing to loss of business. By proceeding with payment you accept that you have given Property Lane express consent to incur immediate costs however.
COMPLAINTS
Any complaints about the Services must be made in writing and sent to Property Lane via email at info@property-lane.co.uk.
Any such complaints will be dealt with swiftly and professionally.
In the event that any complaint cannot be resolved with Property Lane directly, please be aware that Property Lane is registered with the Property Ombudsman Scheme which provides consumers with a free, impartial and independent alternative dispute resolution service.
APPLICABLE LAW
English law governs these terms and conditions, and you and Property Lane agrees to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.