Terms of Service

1. Nature of the Platform

1.1 Marketplace Facilitator

Winda is an online marketplace facilitator that allows registered property owners or authorized managers ("Landlords") to list real estate properties, manage tenancies, and collect payments, and allows registered tenants ("Tenants") to apply for properties, communicate with Landlords, track maintenance, and remit payments.

1.2 No Real Estate Brokerage

Winda is not a real estate broker, property management company, insurer, or land agent. We do not own, buy, sell, lease, or manage the properties listed on the Platform. Any lease agreement or contractual arrangement entered into through the Platform is strictly between the Landlord and the Tenant.

2. Account Registration & Admin Approval

2.1 Account Creation

To access the dashboard and use the Platform's core functionalities, Users must create an account by providing accurate, current, and complete registration information, including full legal names, National ID or Passport numbers, phone numbers, and active email addresses.

2.2 Admin Verification

The Platform utilizes a mandatory review process to maintain system integrity:

• Account Approval: Landlord accounts must be reviewed and approved by the Platform administrator before accessing the Landlord dashboard.
• Listing & Unit Approval: No property listing or unit profile will become public until explicitly reviewed and approved by the Platform administrator.

3. Payments, Subaccounts, and Fees

3.1 Payment Processing

Winda utilizes Paystack as its third-party payment gateway. Landlords are required to connect a Paystack subaccount through the Platform dashboard to receive funds.

3.2 Platform Fee Packages

By using the Platform, Landlords authorize the automated fee mechanism applicable to their selected and eligible package:

• When a Tenant initiates a payment through the Platform, funds are routed via Paystack.
• Base package: Unless another eligible package applies, Winda deducts the configured percentage platform fee, normally three percent (3%) of the gross transaction value.
• Flat-rate package: For an eligible Landlord, Winda applies the configured monthly flat fee through a Paystack transaction-charge override on successful transactions.
• Per-building package: Winda deducts the configured monthly fee for each property from rent payments once the Landlord reaches the package's property threshold. This package does not also apply a percentage or flat-rate platform fee.
• Payout: The balance remaining after the applicable platform fee and gateway charges is settled through the Landlord's designated Paystack subaccount.

3.3 Monthly Fee Balance and Carryover

If the first successful payment in a month is less than the applicable flat-rate fee, Winda deducts the amount available from that transaction and carries the unpaid balance forward. The balance is deducted from the next successful transaction or transactions until the monthly fee is fully covered. Once fully covered, subsequent transactions in that month carry a zero platform fee under the flat-rate package.

Free months and discounted months are applied according to the package configuration. Winda may record fee state, transaction references, and carryover balances for settlement, accounting, fraud prevention, and dispute resolution.

For a property attributed to a scout, the scout earns 10% of the platform and per-building fees actually collected on that payment. No commission is earned on a fee that was not collected.

3.3 Chargebacks and Reversals

In the event that a Tenant or financial institution initiates a chargeback or disputes a payment:

• The Landlord is fully liable for the full amount of the disputed transaction.
• Winda reserves the right to instruct Paystack to claw back disputed funds from the Landlord's subaccount.

4. Taxes and Regulatory Compliance

4.1 Landlord Tax Liabilities

Landlords bear sole legal responsibility for declaring and paying all applicable local taxes to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), including Monthly Rental Income (MRI) Tax, Corporate Income Tax, or VAT. The 97% split represents gross income before individual tax obligations.

4.2 Electronic Tax Invoicing

Winda will issue eTIMS-compliant electronic invoices specifically covering its earned 3% Platform Fee. The Platform does not generate or file tax declarations on behalf of individual Landlords or Tenants.

5. Data Protection & Privacy

5.1 Compliance with the Law

All data collection and processing activities are governed strictly by the Kenya Data Protection Act, 2019 and overseen by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC). See our Privacy Policy for details.

5.2 User Data Consent

By creating an account, Users grant explicit consent to Winda to process their information for verification, onboarding, transaction facilitation, and communication purposes.

6. Maintenance Requests & Communications

6.1 Platform Communication

Winda provides a communication facility for Tenants to submit maintenance logs and messages to Landlords. The Platform acts solely as a passive delivery pipeline.

7. Intellectual Property

All content, source code, data architectures, proprietary dashboards, software codebases, graphics, logos, and UI/UX layouts found on the Platform are the exclusive intellectual property of Winda. Users are granted a limited, non-transferable, revocable license to access the dashboard solely for standard property management use. Any unauthorized scraping, reverse-engineering, duplication, or exploitation of the software is strictly prohibited.

8. Limitation of Liability and Indemnification

8.1 Exclusion of Damages

To the maximum extent permitted by Kenyan law, Winda, its directors, employees, or tech partners shall not be held liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, exemplary, incidental, special, or punitive damages arising out of your use of the Platform, fraudulent listings, tenant behavior, or network outages.

8.2 Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold Winda harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including reasonable legal fees, arising out of or in any way connected with your breach of these Terms, your property operations, or your violations of third-party rights.

9. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms shall be governed by, construed, and enforced in accordance with the Laws of the Republic of Kenya. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms shall first be subjected to amicable mutual resolution. If unresolved within thirty (30) days, the dispute shall be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration under the rules of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch).

10. Modifications and Termination

We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time. Changes become effective immediately upon posting to the website. Your continued use of the Platform following updates constitutes agreement to the modified Terms. We reserve the full right to suspend, terminate, or delete any account that violates these Terms or engages in fraudulent activity without prior notice.

11. Contact Information