General terms and conditions Haus & Huis Makelaardij
Article 1 - Definitions
In these general terms and conditions, the following definitions shall apply:
- Haus&Huis: the one-man business called Haus & Huis Makelaardij, established at 6444 XM Brunssum at Schildstraat 8A.
- Client: the natural or legal person, or a partnership, for whom services are performed by or on behalf of Haus&Huis, goods are supplied.
- Consumer: A natural person acting for purposes outside his professional or business activity.
- Website: Haus&Huis website: http://hausenhuis.com/
- Parties: Client and Haus&Huis together
- Services: all services performed by Haus&Huis for the Client in the context of the performance of the Agreement(s), as further described in the offer and/or the Agreement(s).
- Excl: exclusive.
Article 2 - Application
- These General Conditions are applicable to all assignments and/or agreements which the Client enters into with Haus&Huis as well as offers and/or quotations and all agreements, on behalf of or with Haus&Huis, even after termination of an assignment and/or agreement.
- These general conditions shall at all times prevail over any conditions applied by the Client. To the extent necessary, Haus&Huis hereby expressly rejects the applicability of those general conditions of the Client.
- If any provision of these general terms and conditions is annulled or proves to be void or otherwise unenforceable, any legally valid part of it shall remain in force. The nullified, void or unenforceable part will be replaced by a provision that reflects the intentions of that original provision to the maximum extent permitted by law.
- Haus&Huis reserves the right to amend these General Conditions at any time. The Client shall be notified of such amendment, whereupon the amended conditions shall form part of the agreement between the Parties.
- If Haus&Huis does not always require strict compliance with these Terms and Conditions, this does not mean that the provisions thereof do not apply, or that Haus&Huis releases to any extent the right to require strict compliance with (the provisions of) these Terms and Conditions by the Client.
Article 3 - Offers and tenders
- Haus&Huis concludes an assignment contract with Client. The contract is concluded by written order confirmation by Haus&Huis or by acceptance of Haus&Huis' offer by the Client.
- In case of multiple clients, each client is jointly and severally liable for the clients' obligations under this agreement and the law.
- If the nature of the offer or quotation does not indicate a deadline for acceptance, the offer or quotation is valid for fourteen (14) days from the date of the offer.
- Haus&Huis shall record the assignment in writing.
- Haus&Huis is not bound and is not liable for obvious errors and mistakes in the offer.
- For work for which, due to its nature and scope, no quotation or order confirmation is sent, the invoice shall be regarded as the order confirmation, which shall be deemed to reflect the agreement correctly and in full.
- The contract between Haus&Huis and the Client is for an indefinite period of time. The prices and rates charged by Haus&Huis are exclusive of VAT, fees and advances and are payable in Euros.
- Haus&Huis is at all times entitled to unilaterally amend its prices and rates. The new prices/rates shall apply from the time of amendment and/or to all agreements entered into after the amendment.
- The brokerage fee in case of sale or purchase is calculated on the purchase price per (part of the) property subject to the contract with Haus&Huis, plus applicable VAT, excluding costs and duties such as, but not limited to, Land Registry costs and third party costs.
- The ongoing brokerage fee in case of letting is calculated over the rent per year (12 months), plus applicable VAT, excluding (other) costs.
- The commission on the sale of a private property is 1.85% excluding 21% VAT, with a minimum of €2,800 excluding VAT, unless otherwise agreed in writing.
- The brokerage fee for the purchase of a private property is 1.85% excl. 21% VAT, with a minimum of 2,500.00 excl. VAT, unless otherwise agreed in writing.
- The one-off brokerage fee for letting a residential and/or commercial property is 16% excl. 21% VAT with a minimum of €2,500.00 excl. VAT, unless otherwise agreed in writing.
- The sales commission when selling a house/commercial property or buying a house/commercial property in Germany is 3% excl. VAT for the seller and 3% for the buyer, all in accordance with German laws and regulations.
- The client owes Haus&Huis the brokerage fee if during the term of the agreement with Haus&Huis, an agreement is concluded between the client and a third party in respect of the property, the buyer does not dissolve the agreement on the basis of Article 7:2 of the Civil Code and the resolutive condition included in the agreement is fulfilled and/or the suspensive condition is not fulfilled, irrespective of whether this is the result of services rendered by Haus&Huis.
- The client owes Haus&Huis, upon first request, the agreed brokerage fee in case an agreement in respect of the property is concluded between the client and a third party, within twelve (12) months after termination of the agreement with Haus&Huis and the conclusion is directly or indirectly a result of the mediation of Haus&Huis, or in case Haus&Huis has had contact with the purchaser in the aforementioned period about the property in question.
- Insofar as several contracts are concluded with regard to one immovable property, the Client shall owe the brokerage fee described in this article for each contract concluded; unless otherwise agreed in writing
Article 4 - Prices and invoices
12. The Client owes Haus&Huis monthly advertising and/or (social)media costs in the amount of € 69.00 per month excluding VAT, unless the Parties agree otherwise in writing. Haus&Huis shall determine how advertising and (social) media are to be deployed.
13. Withdrawal costs for the Client amount to €625,00 excl. 21% VAT and are due immediately at the moment of termination of the agreement by the Client. The advertising costs on Funda or other market places and the costs of third parties (such as photographers) will be charged to the Client separately.
14. Other work for which the Client instructs Haus&Huis to carry out will be carried out at an hourly rate of € 125.00 excluding VAT. These costs will be charged to the Client separately. Haus&Huis is entitled to increase the agreed price if and to the extent that unforeseen cost price increasing circumstances arise after entering into the agreement or after sending the offer.
1. Haus&Huis is entitled to require the payment of an advance payment from the Client if it so wishes, and not to provide the services until Haus&Huis has received full payment of this advance payment. Unless otherwise specified in writing, the payment term of the advance payment is fourteen (14) days after the date of dispatch of the advance invoice.
2. If the requested advance payment is not paid, not paid on time or not paid in full, Haus&Huis is entitled to dissolve the contract in whole or in part without judicial intervention, without prejudice to Haus&Huis's entitlement to payment of what is due on termination of the contract in respect of services rendered, deliveries made and costs incurred by Haus&Huis and without prejudice to the entitlement to compensation for loss of profit.
1. The term of payment of invoices of Haus&Huis is fourteen (14) days from invoice date. The client is not entitled to suspend the obligation to pay invoices and/or to claim set-off.
2. If the payment term is exceeded, the Client shall be in default by operation of law without any notice of default being necessary. From that moment, the Client shall owe default interest equal to the applicable statutory commercial interest rate with 2% surcharge. For consumers, the statutory regulation applies. If the payment term is exceeded, Haus&Huis is entitled to suspend the work immediately. Haus&Huis is not liable for damages arising from the suspension of the work.
3. If the Client is in default, the costs of extrajudicial collection shall be borne by the Client. The collection costs amount to fifteen (15) % of the invoice amount (excluding VAT and other levies) with a minimum of € 250.00 (in words: two hundred and fifty euro). If the Client is a consumer, these costs will be calculated over the invoice amount in accordance with the Decree on compensation for extrajudicial collection costs.
4. If the Client does not, not timely, not fully or not properly fulfil any (payment) obligation, arising from any agreement entered into with Haus&Huis and/or from these General Conditions, Haus&Huis may without notice of default and without judicial intervention immediately terminate the agreement in whole or in part.
5. Payments made by the Client shall first serve to reduce the (collection) costs, then the default interest and finally the principal sum, in accordance with Article 6:44 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Article 5 - Advance payment
Article 6 - Payment
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- 8. Insofar as the Client acts in the exercise of a profession or business, the right of suspension on the basis of Article 6:52 ff. of the Civil Code and the right of set-off on the basis of Article 6:127 of the Civil Code on the part of the Client is excluded.
Article 7 - Modification of the assignment
- If the Client requires Haus&Huis to undertake (further) work or other performance or services beyond the content or scope of the agreed work and/or performance, such work shall be reimbursed by the Client in accordance with the agreed rates and in the absence thereof in accordance with Haus&Huis' usual rates. These costs are considered additional work and the Client undertakes to reimburse the costs involved as additional work.
- Haus&Huis is not obliged to comply with such a request and Haus&Huis is entitled to require a separate written agreement.
Article 8 - Execution of the assignment
- Haus&Huis makes every effort to carry out the assignment. There is no obligation to achieve a result.
- Haus&Huis performs the assignment at its own discretion and is entitled to engage an unnamed third person. When engaging a third party, due care will always be observed. Haus&Huis is not liable for shortcomings of these third parties.
3. A delivery time or other period stated by Haus&Huis is not a firm deadline as defined in Section 6:83 (a) of the Civil Code, but a non-binding deadline, to be viewed as a target date for which Haus&Huis is only obliged to use its best endeavours.
4. Haus&Huis is not obliged in the performance of its services to follow instructions of the Client, of which Haus&Huis is of the opinion, based on the knowledge and experience present, that such instructions are not realistic and are not serviceable to the assignment. In such a case, Haus&Huis may warn the Client of the possible consequences of such instructions.
5. Haus&Huis is not obliged to follow any instructions of the Client in the performance of its services, in particular if such instructions change or supplement the content or scope of the agreed services. However, if such instructions are followed, the work in question will be remunerated in accordance with the agreed or customary rates of Haus&Huis.
Article 9 - Termination of assignment
- The agreement ends by notice of termination by the Client (to Haus&Huis) or Haus&Huis to the Client, subject to one (1) month's notice, before the end of the month.
- Notice of termination must be given by registered letter.
- In case of termination Haus&Huis is entitled to reimbursement of the costs incurred up to that time. These are to be reimbursed by the Client without giving rise to any claim for compensation by the Client against Haus&Huis.
- If the Client terminates, the Client is obliged to reimburse all costs incurred by Haus&Huis under the assignment up to that point. Article 4 paragraph 13 is applicable.
- The client is obliged to compensate Haus&Huis for any damage suffered by Haus&Huis due to withdrawal of the assignment.
- In case of termination, regardless by whom, payments already made by the Client to Haus&Huis will not be refunded.
Article 10 - Advice and information provided
- Client cannot derive any rights from advice and information received from Haus&Huis if these do not relate to the assignment and/or work.
- If the Client provides Haus&Huis with information, Haus&Huis may assume the accuracy and completeness thereof in the performance of the contract. The Client indemnifies Haus&Huis against any claim by third parties relating to the use of advice, documentation and information provided by or on behalf of the Client.
- The Client is obliged to provide Haus&Huis with all information, data and/or documentation required by Haus&Huis for proper performance of the contract, on Haus&Huis' first request. The Client guarantees the accuracy and completeness of the information, data and/or documentation provided by the Client.
Article 11 - Force majeure
- Haus&Huis is not liable for any failure to fulfil its obligations due to force majeure or failure to fulfil them on time.
- Force majeure on the part of Haus&Huis, apart from what is understood in law and jurisprudence, shall include: all external causes, foreseen or unforeseen, over which Haus&Huis has no control and is unable to comply with its obligations. This shall in any case include weather conditions, internet failure, illness, staff sickness, strikes, traffic jams, cancellations by engaged third parties, breakdown of means of transport and/or equipment, damage to the property subject to the contract, epidemics (such as Covid), government measures etc.
- In case of force majeure, Haus&Huis is entitled to have the assignment carried out by another estate agent.
- Haus&Huis may also invoke a force majeure situation if the situation preventing performance due to force majeure occurs after Haus&Huis should have fulfilled the agreement.
- If the force majeure situation lasts longer than 2 months, Haus&Huis may terminate the contract, only that part of the contract which has not yet been performed, without Haus&Huis being liable to pay damages to the Client. The Client shall reimburse the costs incurred by Haus&Huis up to the time of termination. Payments already made to Haus&Huis shall not be refunded, to the extent those payments have already been spent on the performance of the Agreement at the time of termination.
Article 12 - Intellectual property rights
- Haus&Huis owns all intellectual property rights to works developed by it, in the broadest sense of the word. If a written act is required for the transfer to Haus&Huis of the intellectual property rights, the Client grants his full cooperation at the first request of Haus&Huis, free of charge.
- By making works available by Haus&Huis to the client, no (intellectual) property rights are transferred.
- Client is not entitled to modify and/or use for his own gain, disclose and/or reproduce and/or distribute works produced by Haus&Huis.
- Haus&Huis is at all times entitled to use works it has produced in the context of the Client, free of charge, in the performance of other assignments/agreements with other Clients.
Article 13 - Dissolution
1. If the Client does not, does not properly or does not timely meet any obligation under the agreement entered into with Haus&Huis or arising from these General Conditions, as well as in case of bankruptcy, suspension of payments or receivership of the Client or closing down or liquidation of his business, as well as from conduct/reporting that the Client is no longer able/willing to pay, as well as if the Client may damage the good name/reputation of Haus&Huis, Haus&Huis is entitled to dissolve the agreement in whole or in part, or to suspend (further) performance of the agreement. In such cases, Haus&Huis is further entitled to claim immediate payment of the amount due to it.
2. In case of dissolution as referred to in the first paragraph, Haus&Huis shall never be obliged to compensate any damage to the Client.
3. In case the cause of dissolution of the contract lies with the Client, the Client should indemnify Haus&Huis by reimbursing all costs incurred by Haus&Huis in the context of the contract up to the moment of dissolution, without prejudice to Haus&Huis' rights under section book 6.5.5 of the Civil Code.
Article 14 - Limitation period and complaints
1. Complaints should be made in writing (by e-mail; info@hausenhuis.com) and as soon as possible, but at the latest within 7 days after the work, carried out under the agreement, to which the complaint relates, or at least within 7 days after the defects could reasonably be detected. A complaint only relates to the work in question. Other and more work shall not be affected by the complaint.
- 2. Haus&Huis will not consider complaints that have not been reported on time and/or in the correct manner. 3. Claims and defences, based on the assertion that Haus&Huis has failed in any way, are time-barred 1 year after the conclusion of the contract to which they relate. Haus&Huis is not liable for indirect damage or consequential damage including - but not exclusively limited to - third party or not - consequential damage, loss of profit, missed savings, missed holidays, image damage, determination of consequential damage, loss and damage due to business stagnation.
- Any liability of Haus&Huis is limited to the amount paid out under the liability insurance taken out by Haus&Huis in the case in question, unless otherwise provided by mandatory law or if the damage is caused by Haus&Huis through intent or gross negligence.
- If, for any reason whatsoever, no payment is made under the liability insurance taken out by Haus&Huis, the liability of Haus&Huis shall be limited to the amount of the invoice amount charged or to be charged by Haus&Huis in connection with the assignment (including VAT and other levies) with a maximum of € 4,000.00 (in words: four thousand euro).
- The Client shall indemnify Haus&Huis against claims of third parties which arise from or are connected with the performance of the contract by Haus&Huis.
- All rights of action and other powers of the Client towards Haus&Huis in connection with services rendered or goods delivered by Haus&Huis shall lapse as soon as a period of twelve (12) months has elapsed after the day on which the Client became aware or could reasonably have become aware of
Article 15 - Liability
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- twelve (12) months have passed since the order was executed by Haus&Huis.
- The legal relationship between the Client and Haus&Huis is subject to Dutch law.
- All disputes relating to the services of Haus&Huis will be exclusively settled by the competent court in the District Court of Limburg, location Maastricht, subject to mandatory statutory regulations.
Article 12 - Applicable law and choice of forum
Version March 2024