Terms and conditions

General Terms and Conditions

We cannot provide any services to you until you have agreed to the terms of use below. Please read the following terms of use carefully, and if you wish to proceed tick the check box. Once accepted these Terms and Conditions will form the contract between Democracy House and you.

Acceptance of Terms The services Democracy House provides to you (including but not limited to use of office space, access to Internet etc), are subject to the following Terms of Use (TOU). Democracy House reserves the right to update the TOU at any time without notice to you. You accept that an agreement creates no tenancy interest, leasehold estate or other real property interest in your favour with respect to the accommodation.

Description of Services Democracy House may provide you with access to office space, workstations, Internet access, office equipment, conference space and other services as Democracy House may provide from time to time (collectively, “Services”). The Services at all times are subject to the TOU.

No Unlawful or Prohibited Use You will not use the Services for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these terms, conditions and notices. You may not use the Services in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair any Democracy House internet connection, or the network(s) connected to any Democracy House server, or interfere with any other party’s use and enjoyment of any Services.

You may not attempt to gain unauthorised access to any Services, or accounts, computer systems or networks connected to any Democracy House server or to any of the Services, through hacking, password mining or any other means.

You may not obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made available through the Services, nor should you post or download files that you know or should know are illegal or that you have no rights to.

You hereby represent and warrant that you have all requisite legal power and authority to enter into and abide by the terms and conditions of this TOU and no further authorisation or approval is necessary. You further represent and warrant that your participation or use of the Services will not conflict with or result in any breach of any license, contract, agreement or other instrument or obligation to which you are a party.

Use of services You agree that when participating in or using the Services, you will not: a. Harass, threaten or otherwise violate the legal rights (such as rights of privacy and publicity) of others; b. Publish, post, upload, distribute or disseminate any inappropriate, profane, defamatory, obscene, indecent or unlawful topic, material or information on or through Democracy House servers, notice boards, events or Democracy House spaces; c. Upload, or otherwise make available, files that contain images, photographs, software or other material protected by intellectual property laws, including, by way of example, and not as limitation, copyright or trademark laws (or by rights of privacy or publicity) unless you own or control the rights thereto or have received all necessary consent to do the same; d. Use any material or information, including images or photographs, which are made available through the Services in any manner that infringes any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, or other proprietary right of any party; e. Upload files that contain viruses, Trojan Horses, worms, time bombs, cancelbots, corrupted files, or any other similar software or programs that may damage the operation of anotherʼs computer or property of another; f. Download any file(s) that you know, or reasonably should know, cannot be legally reproduced, displayed, performed, and/or distributed in such manner; g. Restrict or inhibit any other user from using and enjoying the Services; h. Harvest or otherwise collect information about others, including email addresses, without the authorisation or consent of the disclosing party; i. Violate any applicable laws or regulations; j. Damage any equipment made available to you through the Services; k. Create a false identity for the purpose of misleading others.

Keyholder responsibilities A keyholder is deemed to be any person who takes possession of keys to Democracy House spaces. Keyholders acknowledge and accept responsibility for the security of the doors and spaces they access. The keyholder is expected to open the space when first to the premises at 8:30am and secure the space, including locking the main gate, when either they believe they are the last person on the premises or any time after 6pm.

Accommodation/Space

1. Alterations or Damage: You are liable for any damage caused by you or those in Democracy House with your permission, whether express or implied, including but not limited to all employees, contractors and/or agents.
2. IT Installations: We take great pride in our IT infrastructure and its upkeep and, therefore, you must not install any cabling, IT or telecom connections without our consent, which we may refuse at our absolute discretion. As a condition to our consent, you must permit Democracy House to oversee any installations (for example, IT or electrical systems) and to verify that such installations do not interfere with the use of the accommodation by other users. Fees for installation and de-installation will be at your cost.
3. Use of the Space: An agreement will list the space we initially allocate for your use. You will have a non-exclusive right to the room(s) allocated to you. Where the accommodation is a co-working desk, this can only be used by one individual, it cannot be shared amongst multiple individuals. Occasionally to ensure the efficient running of Democracy House, we may need to allocate different space to you, but it will be of reasonably equivalent size and we will notify you with respect to such different accommodation in advance.
4. Access to the Space: To maintain a high level of service, we may need to enter your accommodation and may do so at any time, including and without limitation, in an emergency, for cleaning and inspection or in order to re-sell the space if you have given notice to terminate. We will always endeavour to respect any of your reasonable security procedures to protect the confidentiality of your business.
5. Leaving the Space: When an agreement ends you must vacate your space immediately in accordance with the agreed notice period, leaving it in the same state and condition as it was when you took it. If you leave any property in Democracy House, we may dispose of it at your cost in any way we choose without owing you any responsibility for it or any proceeds of sale. If you continue to use the space when an agreement has ended, you are responsible for any loss, claim or liability incurred by Democracy House as a result of your failure to vacate on time.

Membership If you have subscribed to a membership agreement, you will have access to Democracy House on a 24/7 basis subject to availability.

Usage is measured in whole days and unused days cannot be carried over to the following month. A membership is not intended to be a replacement for a full-time workspace and all workstations must be cleared at the end of each day. You are solely responsible for your belongings at Democracy House at all times. We are not responsible for any property that is left unattended. Should you use more than your membership entitlement, you will be charged an additional usage fee. You may bring in 1 guest free of charge (subject to fair usage). Any additional guests will be required to purchase a day pass.

As a member, you may not use Democracy House as your business address without an accompanying office or virtual office agreement in place. Any use of the Democracy House address in such a way will result in an automatic enrolment in the Virtual Office product for the same term as your membership and you will be invoiced accordingly.

Insurance As a member, you are not required but it is strongly suggested that you carry a Renters Insurance policy to cover your own equipment while using our space. That policy may cover your current residence/office, as well as the premises of Democracy House.

Meeting Rooms

1. Agents: Any agents booking a meeting for a customer must disclose the identity of the customer and confirm that they are duly authorised by the customer to make the booking in the absence of which we will not be obliged to honour the booking. Agents booking on their own account must disclose the identity of the customer, firm or company that the booking corresponds to. In either case, agents will remain liable for the total booking fee in the event that the customer declines to pay.
2. Cancellations: If you cancel or fail to use the booking you will remain liable for the total booking fee. No refunds will be given for cancellation or failure to use the booking. However, with 24 hours’ notice before the start of the meeting we can amend the dates if you need to rearrange so long as the booking duration remains the same and is not split up into multiple bookings.
3. Equipment: The hiring of a meeting room includes the hiring of all tables, chairs and equipment within the room as detailed in the room specification on the website. If you plan to use your own computer/laptop during the room hire it must be PAT tested to conform with other legal requirements. Any additional technical equipment you may wish to bring to the meeting room must be agreed with Democracy House prior to the event and all such equipment must demonstrate it has been PAT tested.
4. Loss or Damage: You are liable for any damage to or loss of our furniture, the meeting room or equipment (whether yours or ours). In the event of any damage or loss to our furniture, the meeting room or our equipment we will send you an invoice for the cost of repair and/or replacement which must be paid within seven days.
5. You must not disconnect, change or tamper with any cabling or connections in the meeting room. In the event of any technical issues our staff will endeavour to rectify the same for you.
6. You must not move furniture from the meeting room to any other part of our premises without our consent.
7. We do not hold adaptors or chargers and so please bring your own should they be required.
8. Standard local and national calls can be made using the handsets provided, all other call types are not unavailable.
9. Restrictions on Use: You are responsible for ensuring your own behaviour and that of others attending your meeting is at all times appropriate and in accordance with our principles and values. We reserve the right to cancel any bookings for meetings that we in our sole discretion deem inappropriate. You must declare at the time of booking the purpose of the room hire and the meeting room and equipment must be used for that purpose only. You must not use the rooms or equipment in any way which results in annoyance or disturbance to Democracy House or any other users or which may bring our name into disrepute.
10. Our liability: Persons attending our premises to use meeting rooms and/or equipment must keep their personal belongings with them at all times and we accept no liability for damage to or loss of personal belongings. Vehicles are parked in the car park at your own risk. We do not accept any liability for any loss (including without limitation theft) of any property from our premises save for any damage caused by our negligence in which circumstances our liability shall be limited to the amount of our insurance for such losses. We will not be liable to you or any third party for any business loss (including loss of revenue, profits, contracts, anticipated savings, wasted expenditure, data or good will) or any other loss or damage which does not result directly from our actions or omissions or the actions or omissions of our employees, contractors or agents is consequential or is not reasonably foreseeable to both you and us when the contract between us was formed. Nothing in these terms and conditions excludes our liability to you for personal injury or death caused by our negligence.

Discounts, Promotions and Offers Any special discount, promotion or offer will be discontinued without notice if you materially breach your agreement.

Compliance with Law You must comply with all relevant laws and regulations in the conduct of your business. You must not do anything that may interfere with the use of Democracy House by us or by other users (including but not limited to political campaigning or immoral activity), cause any nuisance or annoyance, or cause loss or damage to Democracy House (including damage to reputation) or to the owner of any interest in the building. If we have been advised by any government authority or other legislative body that it has reasonable suspicion you are conducting criminal activities from Democracy House, or you are or will become subject to any government sanctions, then we shall be entitled to terminate any and all of your agreements with immediate effect. You acknowledge that any breach by you of this clause shall constitute a material default, entitling us to terminate your agreement without further notice.

Invoicing and Payment Invoices are issued in advance, based on the chosen membership option. Payment is on invoice date on the beginning of the period. Payment for walk-in usage is made on the starting day of use.

Renewals and Terminations Once the payment for a period of time is done, no refunds are possible. In case of renewal of the services, these terms and conditions are automatically renewed with consent of each party. Democracy House reserves the right to terminate any Service at any time, immediately and without notice, if you fail to comply with the T&C. Members may terminate this Agreement by giving a written notice over email of termination as established in this Agreement.

Participation In or Use of Services You acknowledge that you are participating in or using the Services at your own free will and decision. You acknowledge that Democracy House does not have any liability with respect to your access, participation in, use of the Services, or any loss of information, loss from theft or damage of personal property on its premises, resulting from such participation or use. You are liable for the full cost of any damages caused by you to any property in the space, owned either by Democracy House or its members.

Ethical Trading All parties shall comply at all times with all relevant anti-slavery, anti-bribery and anticorruption laws.

Force Majeure Democracy House has no liability or responsibility with respect to any delays or losses due to strikes, riots, Acts of God, shortages of labour or materials, war, governmental laws, regulations or restrictions or any other causes of any kind whatsoever which are beyond our control.

Confidentiality You acknowledge and agree that during your participation in and use of the Services you may be exposed to Confidential Information. “Confidential Information” shall mean all information, in whole or in part, that is disclosed by Democracy House or any participant or user of the Services or any employee, affiliate, or agent thereof, that is non-public, confidential or proprietary in nature.

Severability In the event that any provision or portion of this TOU is determined to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason, in whole or in part, the remaining provisions of this TOU shall be unaffected thereby and shall remain in full force and effect to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.

I hereby acknowledge that I have read and understood all of the terms and conditions contained herein and further agree to be bound to the TOU regarding my participation in and use of the Services.