Terms of Service

Homeroom is a marketplace that connects people looking for apartments and roommates. Our model works like this: current tenants (“Listers”) post the apartments they plan to move out of. Prospective tenants (“Applicants”) apply and, when matched, pay a finder's fee that is shared between the Lister and Homeroom. This fee structure is what sustains and incentivizes our marketplace. All community activity takes place through our Slack workspace.

To use Homeroom, you must:

• Be at least 18 years of age
• Be a real, individual human being (no bots, automated accounts, or fictitious identities)
• Provide accurate, truthful, and complete information during registration and throughout your use of the platform
• Successfully complete our manual identity verification process
• Agree to and comply with these Terms

Every Homeroom member is manually reviewed and verified by our team before gaining full access to the platform and our Slack community. This process is essential to maintaining the safety and integrity of our marketplace. We reserve the right to deny or revoke access to any person who does not pass verification or who we reasonably believe has misrepresented themselves.

When an Applicant is matched with a listing found through Homeroom and executes a lease for that unit, a finder's fee becomes due. The specific fee amount will be clearly disclosed at the time of your match. All finder's fees are processed through Stripe. By using Homeroom, you agree to Stripe's Terms of Service.

You may not use Homeroom to identify an apartment and then arrange a lease outside of our platform to avoid paying the finder's fee. Any attempt to circumvent the finder's fee by transacting off-platform — whether by contacting a Lister's landlord directly, by re-listing an apartment found through Homeroom elsewhere, or by any other means — is a material breach of these Terms and will result in immediate removal from the platform. Homeroom reserves the right to pursue legal remedies in such cases.

This prohibition applies only to apartment leasing transactions. Once an introduction has been made through Homeroom, you are free to communicate with potential roommates outside of the platform.

You agree to provide only truthful, accurate, and complete information at all times. This includes your identity, contact details, employment and income information, and anything you represent to potential roommates or landlords through the platform.

The following are violations of these Terms and grounds for immediate removal:

• Misrepresenting your identity, income, employment, or any other material information
• Providing false, fabricated, or misleading information on your profile or in any communications
• Impersonating another person
• Using automated tools, bots, or scripts to create an account or interact with the platform

Homeroom's community is hosted on Slack. By joining our workspace, you also agree to Slack's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. In addition, the following rules apply to all members:

• Public channels may only be used for purposes directly related to finding roommates or apartments through Homeroom
• Direct messaging (DMs) other members is only permitted in connection with a genuine roommate or apartment search
• Harassment, solicitation, spam, self-promotion, or any abusive behavior is strictly prohibited
• Do not share other members' personal information outside the platform

These rules exist to protect everyone on the platform. Violations will result in immediate removal from the Slack workspace and a permanent ban from Homeroom.

In addition to the above, you agree not to:

• Create multiple Homeroom accounts
• Post false, misleading, or fraudulent listings
• Attempt to circumvent or manipulate our verification process
• Use the platform for any commercial purpose not expressly permitted by Homeroom
• Violate any applicable local, state, or federal law or regulation, including fair housing laws

Violations of these Terms may result in any or all of the following, at Homeroom's sole discretion:

• Immediate removal from the Homeroom Slack workspace
• Permanent ban from the Homeroom platform
• Forfeiture of any pending matches or account credits
• Legal action, including claims for damages where applicable

Homeroom operates through the following third-party services. Your use of these services within Homeroom is also subject to their respective terms:

• Slack — Community and communication (Terms)
• Stripe — Payment processing (Terms)
• Supabase — Data storage (Terms)
• Vercel — Web hosting and infrastructure (Terms)

Homeroom is a marketplace platform. We do not guarantee the accuracy of any listing, the outcome of any match, or the conduct of any user. We are not a party to any lease agreement entered into between users. Homeroom is not a real estate broker, agent, or landlord.

The platform is provided “as is” without warranties of any kind, express or implied, to the fullest extent permitted by California law.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Homeroom and its officers, employees, and agents shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from or related to your use of the platform, including but not limited to damages for lost profits, lost data, or loss of goodwill.

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Homeroom and its officers, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to your use of the platform, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any rights of another.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any dispute arising under or relating to these Terms shall be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in California, and you consent to personal jurisdiction in those courts.

For California residents: You may have additional rights under California law, including the right to seek resolution through the California Department of Consumer Affairs.

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. We will notify you of material changes via email or through the platform. Your continued use of Homeroom after receiving notice constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you must stop using the platform.

Questions about these Terms? Reach us at hi@withhomeroom.com.