Terms of Service

Inlet (“Inlet,” “we,” “us,” “our”) is a sublease listing platform based in Illinois and operated as a sole proprietorship. Inlet helps college students discover and post sublease listings near campus. UIUC is our first campus; the platform is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the University of Illinois, any university, or any property manager.

By accessing or using inlet.houseand related services (the “Service”), you agree to these Terms of Service (“Terms”). If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

Inlet is a neutral venue that lets users post and browse sublease listings and contact one another. Inlet is not:

• a party to any sublease, lease, rental agreement, or transaction between users;
• a landlord, tenant, sublessor, sublessee, real estate broker, agent, or property manager;
• the owner, manager, or inspector of any listed property; or
• a payment processor or escrow agent. Inlet does not currently process payments or hold any user funds.

Any agreement to sublease is solely between the users involved. Inlet does not negotiate, sign, guarantee, insure, or enforce any such agreement, and is not responsible for the conduct of any user, on or off the platform.

You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract to use the Service. The Service is intended for current college students and others legitimately seeking or offering subleases near campus.

• Browsing is open. You can view listings, open a room, and use the map without an account.
• An account is required to act — to contact a lister or to post a listing. Accounts are created via passwordless email link or Google sign-in. One account per person.
• Verification badge. If you sign in with a recognized school email address (e.g., @illinois.edu), your account receives a “verified” badge and ranks higher in results.

What the badge means — and does not mean.The verified badge confirms only that, at a point in time, the account holder demonstrated control of an email address at the associated institution’s domain. It is not an identity check, background check, criminal-history check, credit check, endorsement, or guarantee that the user, the listing, or any transaction is legitimate, safe, accurate, or lawful. A badge is not a substitute for your own due diligence. Verification is a reward and a ranking signal, never a guarantee.

You are responsible for activity under your account and for keeping your sign-in method secure.

You are solely responsible for the content you post, including listings, photos, descriptions, prices, dates, and messages (“Your Content”). You represent and warrant that:

• you have the right to post the listing and to sublease the property, and doing so does not violate your lease, your landlord’s or property manager’s rules, university policy, or any law;
• Your Content is accurate, not misleading, and not fraudulent;
• Your Content does not infringe anyone’s intellectual property, privacy, or other rights;
• you own the photos you upload or have permission to use them.

License. You retain ownership of Your Content. You grant Inlet a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, display, and distribute Your Content for the purpose of operating, improving, and promoting the Service. This license ends when you delete Your Content, except for residual copies in backups and content others have already saved or relied on.

We may remove, decline, or unpublish any listing or content at our discretion, including listings that appear fraudulent, expired, taken, duplicated, or non-compliant.

You agree not to:

• post false, fraudulent, scam, “bait,” or duplicate listings, or list a property you are not entitled to sublease;
• impersonate any person, institution, or property manager, or misrepresent your affiliation or verification status;
• use the Service to harvest, scrape, or collect other users’ contact information or personal data, or to send spam or unsolicited commercial messages;
• circumvent the platform to defraud another user, or solicit off-platform payment before any legitimate agreement;
• discriminate in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act, the Illinois Human Rights Act, or any applicable law (see §7);
• post unlawful, defamatory, harassing, obscene, or threatening content;
• interfere with, attack, reverse-engineer, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service, its security, or its systems (including the verification, ranking, or Deal Score mechanisms);
• use bots or automated means to access, post to, or distribute the Service without our written permission.

Violations may result in content removal, suspension, or termination, and may be reported to the relevant institution or authorities.

Inlet supports equal housing opportunity. Listings and communications must not express any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, or any other class protected by the Fair Housing Act, the Illinois Human Rights Act, or applicable local law. We may remove content that violates this policy.

You use the Service and transact with other users at your own risk. Inlet does not verify the identity, legitimacy, solvency, or conduct of any user beyond the limited email-control check described in §4, and does not verify the accuracy, condition, legality, or availability of any listing. You are responsible for your own due diligencebefore paying any money, signing any agreement, or moving into any property — including verifying the lister’s identity and authority, inspecting the property, and reviewing the underlying lease and any sublease agreement. Inlet is not responsible for any dispute, loss, deposit, payment, property damage, injury, scam, or other harm arising between users.

The Service and all content are provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, secure, error-free, or that any listing, user, or transaction is legitimate or safe.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Inlet and its operator will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of deposits, rent, profits, data, or goodwill, arising from or related to your use of the Service or any interaction with another user. Inlet’s total aggregate liability for any claim related to the Service will not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you paid Inlet in the 12 months before the claim (currently $0, as the Service is free) or (b) $100. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations; in those, the limitations apply to the fullest extent permitted.

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Inlet and its operator from any claim, loss, liability, or expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from Your Content, your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms, or your interactions or transactions with other users.

The Inlet name, wordmark, mascot, design, and software are owned by Inlet’s operator. You may not use them without permission. If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright, contact us at hello@inlet.house with enough detail to identify the work and the allegedly infringing material, and we will respond consistent with the DMCA.

We may suspend or terminate your access at any time, with or without notice, for any reason, including suspected violation of these Terms. You may stop using the Service and request deletion of your account at any time. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (e.g., §§5 license, 8–11) survive.

We may update these Terms. Material changes will be reflected by updating the “Last updated” date and, where appropriate, by notice on the Service. Continued use after changes means you accept the updated Terms.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. You agree that any dispute will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Champaign County, Illinois, and you consent to their jurisdiction.

Inlet
Email: hello@inlet.house