General Terms and Conditions of Use of the immobilier.ch Portal and Application

1. Definitions

Advertisers: refers to specialised professional real estate agencies that publish advertisements on the Portal.

GTCU: refers to these General Terms and Conditions of Use governing the use of the Portal.

Interested Parties: refers to persons who show an interest in the offers of Advertisers and/or Partners, whether or not these persons have created a user account.

Partners: designates the companies Firstcaution SA (CHE-114.631.609) and SmartCaution SA (CHE-152.191.681) which offer rental guarantee services, Fahrländer Partner AG (CHE-112.719.529) which offers property pre-appraisal services and Smarthypothèque SA (CHE-154.255.470) which offers property financing advice services.

Portal: refers not only to the ‘immobilier.ch’ real estate portal accessible at www.immobilier.ch but also to the associated immobilier.ch application (hereinafter the ‘Application’) which can be downloaded free of charge from the AppStore or GooglePlay Store.

Services: refers to all the services provided by the Company and made available to the Portal User as described in art. 3 of the GTCU.

Company: refers to immobilier.ch SA, a limited company under Swiss law with capital of CHF 2,200,000, registered with the Geneva Trade Register under number CHE-215.073.279, whose registered office is at Rue de la Terrassière 58, 1207 Geneva, Switzerland.

User: refers to any natural or legal person browsing the Portal and using the Services offered therein, in particular Advertisers, Partners and Interested Parties.

2. Scope, acceptance and modification of the GTCU

These GTCU apply to all use of the Portal. Their purpose is to define the conditions under which the User benefits from the Services provided by the Company via its Portal.

The use of Portal services that do not require the creation of an account or the sending of a no-obligation quotation request form to the Partners implies full and complete acceptance, without reservation, of the GTCU and, as a result, the waiver by the User of any contradictory document or condition. Consequently, if You do not accept these GTCU, in whole or in part, You must refrain from using these services and leave the Portal.

The use of the Portal services requiring the creation of a user account or the sending of your e-tenant applications, or the sending of personalized advice request forms to our Partners or Advertisers is subject to your consent (express or tacit). Without your consent (express or tacit), you cannot benefit from these services.

The Company reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify the GTCU at any time. It invites the User to consult them regularly. The GTCU come into force as soon as they are published on the Portal. In the event of modifications, the applicable GTCU are those in force and accessible on the Portal on the date of access to the Portal by the User.

All the Services provided by the Company and made available to the User are detailed on the Portal and on the Application.

3. Description of the Portal Services

The Portal offers Users the opportunity to consult online advertisements for properties for rent or sale, such as plots of land, houses, furnished or unfurnished flats, parking spaces, etc., in Switzerland or abroad. The offers come solely from Advertisers.

The Services provided to Users on the Portal are designed to facilitate and optimise their search for a property to rent and/or buy or to provide them with the best possible support in their property project, in particular by enabling them to benefit free of charge and without obligation from the following services:

• The possibility of creating a personalised search space through which the User will be able to access property rental/sale offers corresponding to specific search criteria selected in advance. This service also enables the User to receive by email and/or by push notification on the Application (hereinafter referred to as ‘Alerts’) new property rental/sale offers corresponding to the criteria selected. Receipt of emails may be cancelled at any time by clicking on the corresponding links in the body of the emails or in the ‘My account’ / ‘My alerts’ section on the Portal (while logged in). Receipt of push notifications on the immobilier.ch Application can be deactivated in the mobile phone settings, in the ‘Notifications’ section.
  
  
• The possibility or necessity of creating a user account on the Portal to facilitate a property search or to benefit from certain Services offered by the Portal. The account can be deleted at any time by clicking on the corresponding link in the ‘My Account’ menu on the Portal.

• By creating a user account, the User will be able to compile an application file with a view to renting a property, consisting of a registration form and the documents required for such applications. The file will be stored on the Portal server and may be sent, at the User's request, to the agency responsible for managing the property for which the User wishes to apply. The file can be deleted on the Portal under the heading ‘e-tenant’/My files and/or My applications. Deletion of the file(s) and/or application(s) from the Portal results in the deletion from the server of all the data that the User has saved. 10 months after the file has been created, an e-mail will be sent to the User to find out whether or not he/she wishes to keep the file.

• Contact the Advertisers of the items displayed on the Portal that interest them and/or the Company's various Partners;

• The possibility of having the value of a property pre-estimated online and of being put in contact with Advertisers to assist with a sale project; Pre-estimates can be deleted from ‘My Account’ / ‘My Pre-estimates’ on the Portal (while logged in).

• A service for calculating and putting the User in contact with Firstcaution and Smartcaution Partners to benefit from a no-obligation Rent Guarantee offer;

• A service providing access to practical advice to help Users with their property plans;

The Portal also offers a free subscription service for a personalised newsletter, E-Paper publications and press articles (News immobilier.ch, le magazine immobilier.ch, Prestige magazine). Subscriptions or email alerts can be cancelled at any time by clicking on the ‘Unsubscribe’ link at the bottom of emails received for newsletters or in the ‘My account’ section on the Portal by unchecking the relevant box or, for press alerts, from ‘My account’ / ‘alerts for new articles’ on the Portal (while logged in).

All the Services provided by the Company and made available to the User are detailed on the Portal.

4. Rules and principles applicable to use of the Portal

4.1 Access to the Portal is public. The User's technical access to the Portal is via his/her Internet provider and under the responsibility of the latter.

4.2 Use of the Portal is free of charge. It is reserved for individuals aged 18 or over.

4.3 The content and information available on the Portal do not constitute an offer within the meaning of the Swiss Code of Obligations, nor an invitation to submit an offer. Nor does it constitute any recommendation whatsoever by the Company for a pre-evaluation of the property, a rental guarantee or financing.

4.4 Any legal, tax or other issues relating to the proposed transactions should be examined with the assistance of a specialist third party.

4.5 Transactions that may be carried out via the Portal are subject without restriction to all applicable legal provisions. The same applies to the legal requirements applicable to any commercial transaction carried out off the Internet, such as the requirement to be of legal age and to be able to exercise civil rights in order to enter into a contractual commitment. Users who do not meet these requirements must refrain from carrying out a transaction via the Portal.

4.6 User account

4.6.1 When creating an account, the User is given a unique identifier (his/her email address) and a password, both of which are strictly personal and which he/she undertakes to keep confidential and not to pass on to third parties.

Only the User is authorised to access his/her account and use the Services using his/her unique identifier and password. Any access to the User's account using his/her unique identifier and password is automatically deemed to have been made by the User. The User is solely responsible for accessing the Services using his/her login and password.

In the event of loss, theft or any fraudulent act with regard to his/her unique identifier and password, the User must inform the Company by e-mail to the address mentioned in art. 9 as soon as possible and provide proof of his/her identity by any means. On receipt of duly substantiated notification, the Company will send the User a new password associated with his/her unique identifier (or new unique identifier).

The Company shall not be liable for any misuse of access data or for any damage resulting from improper access by unauthorised third parties.

4.6.2 The personal information that the User transmits when creating his/her account (including his/her fixed or mobile telephone number and email address) with a view to receiving Alerts, the immobilier.ch Newsletter, new articles corresponding to his/her criteria, subscriptions to E-papers, pre-estimates of a property or personalised advice from the Partners) is managed in accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Policy accessible via this link. Users are solely responsible for the content of their registration and the personal information they provide to the Company in connection therewith. Where applicable, the User undertakes to provide the required information in a complete and accurate manner and to make any changes to his/her personal information immediately.

4.7 It is not possible to object to generic advertising on the Portal. This is the same type of advertising offered in a newspaper or paper magazine.

5. Interruption, modification and deactivation of the Portal or a user account

Although the Company takes the technical and organisational measures required to ensure that the Portal operates correctly, it does not guarantee that the Portal will operate uninterruptedly. An interruption in operation may result, in particular but not exclusively, from technical problems, updates or maintenance of the Portal. The Company is not liable for any damage or loss suffered by the User as a result of any breakdown or interruption of the Portal and/or suspension of the User's access to the Portal or to his/her user account.

Nor does the Company guarantee that the Portal will operate without error. It is therefore not liable, in particular but not exclusively, for any transmission error or malfunction of the Portal. Any claim by the User against the Company or its employees and agents in this respect is excluded, including in the event of direct or indirect damage arising from use of the Portal, in particular loss of earnings or claims by third parties.

The Company reserves the right at any time and without notice, at its sole and absolute discretion and without compensation, to:

a. Modify or delete content, information and advertisements appearing on the Portal;

b. Modify both the content and the form of its Services, or delete some of them;

c. Modify the technical characteristics of the Portal;

d. Restrict access to the Portal, in whole or in part;

e. Refuse a specific User access to the Portal;

f. Restrict a User from all or part of the Services;

g. Deactivate a User account.

6. Intellectual property rights

immobilier.ch ® is a registered trademark of the Company. https://www.immobilier.ch is a domain name owned by the Company. The immobilier.ch application is the property of the Company.

The User may not use the Company's trademark, such as its domain name, in connection with any product or service in a manner that is likely to cause confusion or create the impression that the Company endorses said product or service.

All content (names, logos, information, documents, images, tools and analyses) published on the Portal are and remain the property of the Company, the Advertisers or any other person with specific rights to this content.

Generally speaking, no rights are conferred on the User in respect of these elements, with the exception of the use expressly authorized under the present provisions.

The content is made available to Users, where applicable, solely for private purposes, in accordance with the purpose of the Portal. None of this content may be exploited, reproduced, modified, distributed (electronically, on paper or by any other means) or used in any other way for commercial purposes without the prior written authorization of the Company. All requests must be sent to the address mentioned in art. 9.

To create a hyperlink from a third-party website to the Portal, the Company's prior written consent must be obtained. All requests must be sent to the address given in art. 9.

7. Exclusion of responsibility

7.1       Users are responsible for their behavior when using the Portal. They are liable to the Company, its bodies, employees and agents for any damage caused by improper or inappropriate use of the Portal. In the event that the Company, its bodies, employees or agents are subject to legal action by third parties or authorities as a result of the User's conduct, the User releases the Company, its bodies, employees or agents from any claims by third parties and will bear any legal and out-of-court costs incurred. The User is obliged to take part in the proceedings in the event of an appeal.

7.2       The Company acts solely as an intermediary service provider, offering a platform for the online publication of property advertisements and associated services linked to property sale, purchase or rental projects. The User acknowledges that the Portal's activity is limited to facilitating real estate procedures and projects as well as putting Users in contact with Advertisers and/or Partners, and that the Company is not involved in sales, purchases, rentals or other transactions relating to real estate posted online by Advertisers or by the Company's Partners. The Company may not be held liable in any way whatsoever for any relations, agreements or discussions that may take place between Users and Advertisers and/or Partners.

7.3       Use of the Portal is the sole responsibility of the User. He hereby irrevocably releases the Company from any liability for any damage he may suffer in connection with the use of the Portal.

7.4       By clicking on the links (including banners) found on the Portal, the User may be leaving the Portal and accessing third-party sites, including Partners' sites, which are beyond the Company's control. As the Company is unable to check all the sites linked by a hypertext link, it declines all responsibility for the content, products or services or offers published on these sites. The elements contained on the said sites are provided solely for the User's convenience and information. Where applicable, they are subject to the general conditions and confidentiality policies of the third-party sites concerned.

7.5       The Company is not in a position to check the content of the advertisements published on the Portal by Advertisers. It therefore offers no guarantee as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. It is therefore the User's responsibility to carry out all necessary checks, by contacting the corresponding Advertisers or by any other means at his/her disposal.

7.6       The property pre-estimates offered by the Portal are automated pre-estimates calculated using algorithms owned and managed by the Partner Fahrländer Partner AG. The Company accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided in this context. In general, the use of these services is subject to the general terms and conditions of Fahrländer Partner AG.

7.7       With regard to security, the Company instructs third-party specialists to take all necessary measures in accordance with the state of the art to prevent intrusion, the introduction of viruses or other harmful unlawful technical processes. As absolute security on the Internet cannot be guaranteed, Users use the Portal and the Application at their own risk.

8. Protection of personal data

The Company collects and processes Users' data, whether when using the Portal and its Services or when creating a user account. It also uses cookies.

The processing of personal data in connection with the use of the Portal is subject to the Company's data confidentiality policy. This policy sets out in particular how the Company processes personal data, the reasons why personal data is processed, how it is transmitted to third parties and the rights of the persons concerned in relation to their personal data.

It can be consulted online here.

The Privacy Policy relating to Cookies can be consulted here.

9. Contacting the Company

The User may contact the Company at any time:

• by letter to the address given in article 1 above ;
• by e-mail to the following address: info@immobilier.ch;
• by telephone on +41(0) 22 307 02 20 from Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 12.30pm and between 1.30pm and 5.30pm ( free call).

 

10. Final provisions

10.1    Invalidity of certain provisions

If any provision of the GCU should be invalid or unenforceable, the other provisions shall nonetheless remain enforceable. In such a case, the invalid or unenforceable provision will be interpreted as closely as possible to what was originally intended.

10.2    Foreign law

The User understands that use of the Portal and transactions with Advertisers arising therefrom may, depending on the circumstances, be subject to law other than Swiss law. It is therefore the User's responsibility to obtain information in this regard. The Company accepts no liability in this respect.

10.3    No renunciation

The Company's failure to enforce any provision of these TOU does not constitute a waiver of its right to do so in the future with respect to that provision, any other provision or these TOU as a whole.

10.4    Transfers

The User may not assign any of its rights or obligations arising from these GTCU. The Company may assign its rights, licences and obligations under these TOU without limitation.

10.5    Applicable law and litigation (place of jurisdiction)

These General Terms and Conditions are governed by Swiss law, to the exclusion of any conflict of laws rules. The exclusive place of jurisdiction for any proceedings arising from them shall be the Company's registered office.

 

Geneva, 14 May 2024