Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of Habitiq — a shared living management platform for flats, PGs, and co-living spaces, including Discover and our Android app, Habitiq. By creating an account, you agree to these Terms. If you don't agree, don't use the service.

Habitiq is operated by its founders, Venkata Sai Jaswanth E and Upputuri Bhanu Kalyan, based in India ("we", "us", "Habitiq"). Our Privacy Policy is part of these Terms by reference.

1. Who Can Use Habitiq

• You must be 18 years of age or older.
• You must provide accurate information when creating your account.
• You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials.
• One person may have one account. Do not create accounts on behalf of others.

2. What Habitiq Does

Habitiq helps flatmates manage shared household duties, track expenses, and split bills. Specifically, we provide:

• Automated duty rotation among flat members
• Task tracking with overdue detection and reliability scores
• Swap request management between members
• Expense logging and pairwise balance calculation
• Recurring bill management with payer rotation
• Real-time sync so all members see the same state

Habitiq does not process payments. When a balance is recorded as "settled", we log the record — but no money moves through our platform. All actual transfers happen between members directly (UPI, cash, bank transfer, etc.).

3. Discover — Rooms and Flatmates

Discover lets flat admins list available rooms and lets people publish a seeker profile, connect, and message each other. Discover is a listing and introduction tool only. Habitiq is not a broker, agent, landlord, or guarantor, and is not a party to any rental or flat-sharing arrangement you make.

• We do not verify every listing or profile, inspect rooms, run background checks, or guarantee that a room is available or as described.
• We do not collect rent, deposits, or booking fees. Any payment is directly between users, off the platform, at your own risk. Never pay before viewing in person.
• Viewings and meetings happen at your own risk. Please follow our Safety Tips.
• Anything you publish on Discover is visible to other signed-in users. Don't include your phone number, exact address, invite code, or ID documents.
• If you list a room, you confirm it is genuinely available, that you are allowed to let it or share it, that the photos are of that room, and that your flatmates are aware the room is listed.
• Listings may state a preferred gender for shared accommodation where this is lawful and common practice (for example a women-only PG). Preferences must not be used to unlawfully discriminate, including against transgender persons as protected by the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, or on grounds of religion, caste, or community.
• Any trust, activity, or verification label reflects activity on Habitiq only. It is our opinion based on platform data — not a background check, a statement about anyone's character, or a guarantee of safety. You can ask us to review a label at hello@habitiq.app.

4. Free Service

Habitiq is currently free to use. We may introduce paid plans in the future. If we do, we will notify existing users at least 30 days in advance, and free features will remain free or be grandfathered at our discretion. We will not start charging without explicit notice and your opt-in for paid features.

5. Your Responsibilities

You agree to use Habitiq only to:

• Manage genuine shared-living arrangements
• Record real expenses and settlements between real flatmates
• Communicate fairly and honestly with your flat members through the platform

You agree not to:

• Use Habitiq to harass, threaten, stalk, or defraud other users
• Post fake, copied, or misleading listings or profiles, or impersonate anyone
• Ask for or take money before a viewing, or run advance-payment, overpayment, or refund scams
• Send sexual, abusive, or unwanted romantic messages, or use housing posts to seek dates
• Ask other users for OTPs, passwords, or bank details
• Post listings that discriminate unlawfully, or post on behalf of a broker without saying so
• Record false expenses or manipulate balances to exploit flatmates
• Attempt to access, modify, or delete another user's data outside the app's intended flows
• Try to reverse-engineer, scrape, or automate interaction with the platform
• Circumvent the 8-member flat cap or other platform limits
• Use the service for any purpose that is illegal under Indian law

Flat admin responsibilities

If you create a flat, you are the admin. Admins control task creation, member removal, bill management, and month-end close. Use these powers fairly. Admin actions are logged and visible to all members. Admins are responsible for the data entered into their flat.

6. Content You Create

You own the data you enter into Habitiq (task names, expense descriptions, notes). You grant us a limited licence to store, display, and sync that data to members of your flat, and to show what you publish on Discover (profiles, listings, photos) to other users — which is necessary to provide the service. Only upload photos you own or have permission to use.

We do not claim ownership of your data. We do not sell it. We do not use it for advertising.

7. Flat Membership and Removal

• Members can leave a flat at any time from Settings. If you are the admin and other members are present, you must transfer admin role before leaving.
• Admins can remove members from a flat. Removed members lose access immediately and are redirected to onboarding.
• If the last member leaves a flat, all flat data (tasks, expenses, logs) is permanently deleted. There is no recovery.
• We may remove listings, profiles, or messages, and suspend or delete accounts that violate these Terms, with notice where practical. Serious or repeated harassment, fraud, or fake listings can lead to immediate suspension.
• You can report or block any user from their profile, listing, or chat. Reports are reviewed by a person on our team. We may share information with the police where the law requires it.

8. Disputes Between Members

Habitiq records what members log. We cannot verify whether a task was actually completed, whether money was actually paid, or whether a settlement is accurate. Disputes about chores or money between flatmates are between those flatmates — Habitiq is not a party to those disputes and cannot mediate, arbitrate, or enforce outcomes.

If a flatmate misuses the platform (falsifying records, manipulating balances), your recourse is to report it to us and, where appropriate, to relevant legal authorities.

9. Service Availability

We aim to keep Habitiq available and working. However, we do not guarantee 100% uptime. The service may be interrupted for maintenance, infrastructure issues, or events outside our control. We are not liable for losses caused by downtime.

We may discontinue Habitiq by giving users at least 60 days' notice. During that period, you will be able to export your flat's expense and task data.

10. Limitation of Liability

Habitiq is provided "as is". To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for:

• Financial disputes or losses between flat members
• The accuracy of listings or profiles, or the conduct of any user you meet through Discover
• Payments you make to other users, or any rental arrangement made through Discover
• Data loss resulting from user error, deletion by flat members, or platform outages
• Errors in balance calculations caused by incorrect data entered by users
• Indirect, incidental, or consequential damages of any kind

Our total liability to you for any claim arising out of your use of Habitiq is limited to ₹0, since the service is currently free.

11. Intellectual Property

The Habitiq name, logo, rotation engine, and all platform code are owned by the founders. You may not copy, reproduce, or distribute any part of the Habitiq platform without written permission.

12. Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of India. Any dispute arising from your use of Habitiq will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Hyderabad, Telangana, India.

Before taking any formal action, please contact us at hello@habitiq.app — we will try to resolve any concern directly.

13. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms as the product evolves. If changes materially affect your rights, we will notify you in-app with at least 14 days' notice before the new Terms take effect. Continued use after the effective date means you accept the updated Terms.

14. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Email us at hello@habitiq.app. We read everything.