Terms of Service


Introduction and Agreement

These Terms of Service apply to the services offered by CoStar Realty Information, Inc. (“Apartments.com”) in connection with the Apartments.com, Apartamentos.com and ApartmentHomeLiving.com websites and related mobile applications, as well as any publicly available versions that may be offered through a distribution partner (collectively the “Site”). You may have arrived at a version of the Site from a distribution partner’s website, in which case, that partner, if any, will be identified at the top of this page. Any individual who visits, views, accesses or uses any version of the Site, including through a bot or other automated means, (“You” or “User”) is bound by these Terms of Service. By using the Site, You represent and warrant that You are at least eighteen (18) years of age and You hereby agree to be bound by all of the following provisions of these Terms of Service, which form a legally binding contract between You and Apartments.com. You further represent and warrant that You are not a competitor of Apartments.com or any of its affiliates. If You do not agree to these Terms of Service, You are prohibited from accessing the Site and must immediately discontinue such access.

By accessing the Site, you consent to the collection and use of certain information, as specified in the Privacy Notice.

Apartments.com is an Advertising and Information Service

The Site is an online advertising, searching and information service for apartment hunters, dwellers, landlords, and property managers. Apartments.com does not (a) broker, lease, or sublease or offer to broker, lease or sublease, or own apartments directly and is not a party to any transaction between landlords (including, as applicable, property management companies and/or property managers) and renters, (b) guarantee or ensure any apartment or any transaction between a renter and landlord, (c) conduct background screening on rental candidates, execute any lease or sublease documentation on behalf of renters or landlords or collect payment on behalf of renters or landlords, or (d) act as a property manager, broker, payment processor, money transmitter, payment manager, debt collector, or credit reporting agency, and does not guarantee any results from using the Service. The Site facilitates certain services provided by third parties, including, without limitation, background screening and payment collection and processing. You may be subject to additional third party terms and conditions for such services, which will be provided to you for review and acceptance, if applicable, at the time of use of such services. You are strongly encouraged to personally inspect any apartment advertised for rent prior to: signing any lease documentation; providing personal information such as a social security number on a lease application; or wiring or otherwise sending money for any deposit, rent payment or application fee. By using the Site, You acknowledge that published rents and availabilities are subject to change at the sole discretion of the property owner or manager at any time and without further notice.

Site Materials
All information and content available on this Site (collectively, “Materials”) are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. The Materials are owned by Apartments.com and its affiliates, and/or their respective licensors and suppliers (collectively, “Licensors”). The Materials are intended for personal and noncommercial use only. You may not copy, reproduce, sell, license, publish, distribute, modify, display, perform, combine, create a derivative work from, re-post or otherwise use any portion of the Materials in any other way or for any other purpose without the prior written consent of Apartments.com. Requests regarding use of the Materials for any purpose other than personal, noncommercial use should be directed to CoStar Realty Information, Inc., 1331 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005, attn.: General Counsel.

Third-Party Sites
During the course of your visit to the Site, You may be taken to third-party websites to fulfill certain site features and functionality (e.g., if You choose to view community information or check availability of a certain apartment unit). You agree that when visiting third-party websites (for example, among others, websites not containing “Apartments.com” in the URL) You are subject to the privacy policy and terms of service, if any, of that third-party website, which may differ from those of Apartments.com. By selecting links to such third-party websites, You agree that You will be leaving the Site and that Apartments.com and its affiliates have no responsibility or liability whatsoever in connection with your use or your exchange of any information with such third-party websites. Apartments.com and its affiliates do not endorse, sponsor or guarantee these linked websites and are not responsible in any way for any advice, content, information, practices, products or services related to or made available through such linked websites.

Claims of Copyright Infringement
Apartments.com and its affiliates respect the intellectual property rights of others, and asks those posting or transmitting any Content to or through the Site to do the same. If You believe that your work has been copied and/or infringed on this Site, You may notify Apartments.com according to the notice requirements of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(2) (“DMCA”) by sending the following information to Apartments.com’s DMCA Registered Agent either by mail to CoStar Realty Information, Inc., Attn: General Counsel, 1331 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005; by email to copyright@costar.com; or by calling (202) 346-6500:
    •    A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
    •    Identification of the material You claim is infringing, including a description of where such material is located;
    •    Your address, telephone number, and e-mail address;
    •    A signed statement that the information in your notice is accurate, that You have a good-faith belief that the identified use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law, and under penalty of perjury, that that You are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.

Trademarks
You acknowledge that the Materials includes certain trademarks, service marks, and other indicia of source (together “Marks”) that are owned by Apartments.com, its affiliates, Licensors and others. You agree not to copy, use, infringe or dilute the Marks. You further agree that You will not alter or remove any Mark, copyright notice or other notice from the Materials or any copy thereof. The “Apartments.com” name and logo are trademarks of Apartments.com. Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Software
All software contained in this Site (“Software”), is owned by Apartments.com, its affiliates and/or Licensors and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws, as well as international treaty provisions. Any unauthorized access to, reproduction, redistribution, publication, display or other use of the Software is expressly prohibited by law and may result in severe civil and/or criminal penalties. Violators will be prosecuted to the maximum extent possible. Use of the MapPoint/Virtual Earth Service is also governed by the Microsoft Terms of Use and Privacy Statement located at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=21969 and https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/privacystatement.

Linking
If You operate a website and wish to link to the Site, You must link to the Site’s home page (www.apartments.com) and/or You may also link to other pages found on the Site given that no manipulation to the canonical URL has occurred specifically, but not limited to, the addition or removal of any unique values, parameters or subfolders needed to render a page on the Site. Apartments.com reserves the right to disavow, reject or terminate any links to the Materials or the Site.

User Content
By submitting ads, photos, descriptions, data, or other information (“Content”) to the Site in connection with a property, You hereby grant to Apartments.com, its affiliates, and its parent and related companies a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, nonexclusive, fully transferable, fully sublicenseable right and license to copy, modify, display, distribute, perform, create derivative works from, store, and otherwise use and exploit all such Content in any form, media, software or technology of any kind now existing or developed in the future. You further grant to Apartments.com, its affiliates, and its parent and related companies, a royalty-free right and license to use your name, image and likeness in connection with the reproduction or distribution of the Content. By submitting any Content through the Site, including, but not limited to, through any lead form, you agree that Apartments.com, a landlord, a property manager or other similar individual or entity may contact you via email, text message, phone or autodialer for any purpose. The Site may permit You to voluntarily submit Content relating to You, including your total monthly income or your perceived credit score (“Consumer-Provided Information”). Apartments.com collects this information for informational purposes only and it is not used by Apartments.com or its customers that are landlords, listing agents or owners (“Properties” and/or “Property”) to make a decision to rent a property to you. By providing Consumer-Provided Information, You acknowledge that Apartments.com may share such Consumer-Provided Information with Properties offering units for rent through the Site subject to these Terms of Service. Any recipient of such Consumer-Provided Information agrees that any Consumer-Provided Information may not be accurate, should not be relied on for any reason and may not be used to make a decision about whether to rent an apartment to a particular person. The Site may offer opportunities for Users 18 years of age and older to submit Content that express their opinions and share their ideas, for example in a consumer blogging format (“Opinion Content”). Apartments.com and its affiliates do not endorse the accuracy or reliability of any Opinion Content. If You decide to submit Opinion Content, please use your best judgment and be respectful of other individuals. By posting or submitting Opinion Content, You agree to abide by these Terms of Service. You may not use the Site to engage in any Prohibited Activities (as defined below). Uploading copyrighted or other proprietary material of any kind on the Site without the express permission of the owner of that material is prohibited and may result in civil and/or criminal liability. 

If You are a customer that is a Property processing rental payment transactions through the Service (as defined below), You must provide Your legal name and/or legal business entity name, personal or business contact information, and social security or taxpayer identification number(s) (“Reference Information”), if requested. Apartments.com may collect and maintain the Reference Information, as well as your account information and the amount of payments and number of payment transactions You or Your business processes through the Service, so that Your payments can be reported to the Internal Revenue Service when required by law.

Apartments.com’s Rights
Given the nature of the Site and the volume of messages and postings, except as otherwise provided in these Terms of Service or other applicable terms, Apartments.com cannot and does not monitor all of the Content posted or transmitted by You and other third-party information providers. Apartments.com reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to monitor, refuse to publish, remove, delete, move or edit any Content without notice, at any time for any reason. By using the Site, You expressly agree that Apartments.com (a) will not be liable for any claims, actions or judgments arising out of or related to any Content and (b) may monitor, refuse to publish, remove, delete, move or edit any Content without notice at any time for any reason, without liability and without providing a refund. You further expressly agree that You are solely responsible for any and all Content You submit to the Site.

Unsolicited Content
Apartments.com does not accept unsolicited content or ideas for use or publication in its programming or in other digital, electronic or print media except in connection with the Forums, chat rooms and bulletin boards on the Site. Apartments.com and its affiliates shall not be responsible for the similarity of any of its content or programming in any media to Content or ideas transmitted to the Site.

Representations / Indemnity
You hereby represent, warrant and agree that (a) You have all necessary authority, rights and permissions to submit the Content to the Site, (b) the Content does not and will not infringe or misappropriate any copyright, trademark, trade secret, patent or any other intellectual property or other right of any third party, including any rights of privacy or publicity, (c) the Content, Reference Information and Your use of the Site does not and will not violate any applicable federal, state, or local law or regulation including, but not limited to, any fair housing laws or regulations or applicable real estate licensure or brokerage regulations, or cause injury to any person, (d) the Content and Reference Information is complete, truthful, accurate and not misleading, (e) the Content and Reference Information has not been submitted in order to mislead, deceive or defraud or seek to mislead, deceive or defraud any other User of the Site, and (f) You will not mislead, deceive, defraud, seek to mislead, deceive or defraud, make any misrepresentations to, or seek to make misrepresentations to, any other User of the Site. You acknowledge that these representations concern facts that are material to Apartments.com. You agree to release, defend, indemnify and hold Apartments.com, its affiliates, Licensors, and their respective officers, directors, employees, agents and contractors harmless from and against any and all claims, costs, demands or expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising from (i) any distribution, publication, refusal to publish, removal, deletion, movement, editing or other use of the Content or Reference Information You provide, (ii) your use of the Site or any reliance on the Materials, (iii) your breach of these Terms of Service or (iv) any actual, prospective or terminated sale, lease or other transaction between You and a third party.

Prohibited Activities
You shall not:
    a    submit Content that is patently offensive to the online community, such as content that reflects or promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual;
    b    engage in activity or submit Content that could be harmful to minors;
    c    engage in activity or submit Content that harasses or advocates harassment of another person;
    d    engage in activity that involves the transmission of “junk mail” or unsolicited mass mailing or “spam” to others;
    e    engage in activity, submit Content or Reference Information, or promote information, that is fraudulent, false, misleading, inaccurate and/or constitutes a misrepresentation, or promotes illegal activities or conduct that is abusive, threatening, obscene, vulgar, defamatory, libelous or otherwise objectionable;
    f    submit Content that contains restricted or password-only access pages, or hidden pages or images;
    g    submit Content that displays pornographic or sexually explicit material of any kind;
    h    submit Content that provides instructional information about illegal activities such as making or buying illegal weapons, violating someone’s privacy, or providing or creating computer viruses;
    i    engage in activities or submit Content that solicits passwords or personally identifiable information from others for unlawful purposes;
    j    engage in commercial activities and/or sales without our prior written consent, such as contests, sweepstakes, barter, advertising and pyramid schemes;
    k    use the Site’s lead forms and/or toll-free numbers to advertise or promote products and services to Apartments.com advertisers or to solicit Apartments.com advertisers in any manner;
    l    use any robot, spider or other automatic device, or a manual process, to access, monitor or copy web pages or the Materials contained in the Site or for any other unauthorized purpose;
    m    use any device, software or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Site;
    n    decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble or otherwise attempt to obtain the source code for the Software; or
    o    take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on Apartments.com’s hardware and software infrastructure.

Compliance with Fair Housing and other Laws
All Content is subject to federal fair housing laws, which make it illegal to indicate in any advertisement any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, physical or mental disability, and/or familial status. Your state jurisdiction may also prohibit any preferences based on sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry, source of income, or other criteria (together, applicable federal and state fair housing laws are referred to as “Applicable Fair Housing Laws”). If You have any question about the fair housing laws and housing discrimination in general, please call your local fair housing agency or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. For a list of all fair housing groups, go to the Housing Rights Center’s website at hud.gov. Your provision, receipt, and/or use of any Content offered or obtained through the Site shall be at all times in compliance with Applicable Fair Housing Laws.  When using the Apartments.com services, You expressly consent to receiving calls and messages, including auto-dialed and pre-recorded message calls, and SMS messages (including text messages) from Apartments.com (and its affiliates), landlords, property managers, third party suppliers, agents and others calling at their request or on their behalf, at any telephone numbers that You have provided or may provide in the future (including any cellular telephone numbers). Your cellular or mobile telephone provider will charge you according to the type of plan you carry.

Add a Property Terms of Service
By submitting an eligible property through the Site’s property submission service (the “Property Submission Service”), You acknowledge and agree to the Add a Property Terms of Service, which are available at here.

Application, Screening, Leasing and Payment Processing Terms and Conditions
For any individual or entity that uses the Site for services relating to the its application, screening, leasing and payment processing functionality (the “Apartment Procurement Service”), You acknowledge and agree to the terms and conditions, which are available at https://www.apartments.com/grow/about/internet-advertising-terms-and-conditions.  

Apartments.com’s Remedies
You acknowledge that any breach of these binding Terms of Service, including without limitation the restrictions on competitor access and the sections “Site Material,” “Representations/Indemnity,” and “Prohibited Activities,” or any unauthorized use of the Site, is a material breach of this agreement between You and Apartments.com and will cause irreparable harm and injury to Apartments.com, for which there is no adequate remedy at law. Thus, in addition to all other remedies available at law or in equity, You agree that in the event of such breach Apartments.com shall be entitled to injunctive or other equitable relief, whether or not liquidated damages are available without the requirement that Apartments.com post a bond.  Material breach of these binding Terms of Service harms the integrity, functionality, and reputation of Apartments.com; detracts from Users’ trust in and use of the Site; and damages the business of Apartments.com. Accordingly, You acknowledge and agree that Apartments.com incurs actual damages, which are extremely difficult or impossible to quantify, as a result of material breach of this these binding Terms of Service. For the avoidance of doubt, such damages would not constitute an adequate remedy at law or in any way affect your agreement that Apartments.com would be entitled to injunctive or other equitable relief in the event of such breach.

Warranty Disclaimer
YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT USE OF THE SITE AND RELIANCE ON ITS CONTENT AND CONSUMER PROVIDED INFORMATION IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. APARTMENTS.COM, ITS AFFILIATES AND THEIR RESPECTIVE THIRD-PARTY LICENSORS DO NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND REGARDING THE SITE, THE SOFTWARE, THE CONTENT, CONSUMER PROVIDED INFORMATION, THE MATERIALS, THE PROPERTY SUBMISSION SERVICE, THE APARTMENT PROCUREMENT SERVICE (COLLECTIVELY, THE “SERVICE”) OR THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM USE OF ANY OF THE FOREGOING. THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS, AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, AND APARTMENTS.COM, ITS AFFILIATES, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE THIRD-PARTY LICENSORS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND WARRANTIES OF NONINFRINGEMENT. APARTMENTS.COM AND ITS AFFILIATES MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, TO ANY ACTUAL OR PROSPECTIVE RENTER OF ANY APARTMENT AS TO THE EXISTENCE, OWNERSHIP OR CONDITION OF THE APARTMENT; AS TO THE ADVERTISED AVAILBILITIES, RENT, LEASE TERMS, SECURITY DEPOSIT, OR APPLICATION FEES, IF ANY; OR AS TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY INFORMATION ABOUT AN APARTMENT APPEARING ON THE SITE. APARTMENTS.COM DOES NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF SUCH INFORMATION. APARTMENTS.COM RESERVES THE RIGHT, IN ITS SOLE DISCRETION, TO CORRECT ANY ERROR OR OMISSION ON THE SITE OR IN THE CONTENT. ALL APARTMENTS ARE SUBJECT TO PRIOR LEASE. ANY AND ALL CONCERNS, DIFFERENCES OR DISCREPANCIES REGARDING AN APARTMENT MUST BE ADDRESSED WITH THE LANDLORD AND/OR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY PRIOR TO LEASING OF THE APARTMENT. APARTMENTS.COM DOES NOT MAKE AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES OR GUARANTEES TO YOU REGARDING THE PROPERTY SUBMISSION SERVICE AND THE APARTMENT PROCUREMENT SERVICE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES OR GUARANTEES THAT YOU WILL LEASE YOUR APARTMENT, OBTAIN AN ACCEPTABLE RENT FOR YOUR APARTMENT, ONLY RECEIVE LEGITIMATE INQUIRIES OR SOLICITATIONS FROM QUALIFIED RENTERS, OR RECEIVE ANY INQUIRIES REGARDING YOUR APARTMENT FOR RENT. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS WARRANTY DISCLAIMER, “THIRD-PARTY LICENSOR” DOES NOT INCLUDE YOU. Some states do not allow the disclaimer of implied warranties, so the foregoing disclaimer may not apply to You.

Limitation of Liability
APARTMENTS.COM, ITS AFFILIATES, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS AND THIRD-PARTY LICENSORS SHALL IN NO EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, RESULTING FROM OR CAUSED BY THE SERVICE OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES RESULTING FROM NEGLIGENCE. IN NO EVENT WILL THE AGGREGATE MAXIMUM LIABILITY OF APARTMENTS.COM, ITS AFFILIATES, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS AND THIRD-PARTY LICENSORS FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF FEES ACTUALLY PAID BY YOU TO APARTMENTS.COM. THE NEGATION OF DAMAGES SET FORTH ABOVE IS A FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT OF THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN APARTMENTS.COM AND YOU. THE SERVICE WOULD NOT BE PROVIDED TO YOU WITHOUT SUCH LIMITATIONS. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM APARTMENTS.COM CREATES ANY WARRANTY, REPRESENTATION AND/OR GUARANTEE NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THIS AGREEMENT. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY, “THIRD-PARTY LICENSOR” DOES NOT INCLUDE YOU. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages of implied warranties, so the above exclusion or limitation may not apply to You.

Termination of Service
You understand and agree that in Apartments.com’s sole discretion, and without prior notice, your access to this Site may be terminated or suspended, and Apartments.com may exercise any other remedy available and remove any Content, if it believes that your use of the Site and/or any Content or Reference Information You provide (a) violates (i) these Terms of Service, (ii) the rights of Apartments.com, its affiliates, a Licensor, or another User, or (iii) any law or regulation, or are otherwise objectionable or inappropriate or (b) constitute fraudulent or unlawful activity of any nature. You agree that monetary damages may not provide a sufficient remedy to Apartments.com for violations of these Terms of Service, and You consent to injunctive or other equitable relief for such violations without the requirement that Apartments.com post a bond. Apartments.com is not required to provide any refund to You if your use is terminated as a result of Apartments.com’s determination, in its sole discretion, that You have violated these Terms of Service.

Waiver
You understand and agree that any individual or entity that violates any term of these Terms of Service is precluded from enforcing, agrees not to enforce, and covenants not to sue to enforce, any similar or related provision in any contract, including terms and conditions, terms of use and terms of service, asserted by such individual, entity or any affiliate thereof, as binding upon Apartments.com or any of its affiliates.

Miscellaneous
These Terms of Service may be changed at any time and You will be notified of any such changes by an updated posting of the new Terms of Service on this page of the Site. Your continued use of the Site after the posting of any amended Terms of Service shall constitute your agreement to be bound by any such changes. Apartments.com may modify, suspend, discontinue or restrict the use of any portion of the Site without notice or liability. Any dispute, claim, or controversy, including but not limited to those asserting statutory claims under federal or state law, arising out of or relating to the Terms of Service; the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation, or validity of the Terms of Service; or any use of Apartments.com or the Site, are governed by District of Columbia law, without regard to its conflict of laws principles. You hereby agree that any cause of action You may have with respect to the Site must be exclusively filed in the federal or state courts located in the District of Columbia, within one (1) year after the cause of action arises or the cause is barred. You hereby consent to personal jurisdiction in the federal and state courts in the District of Columbia, and waive any objection based on forum non conveniens. As a condition of using this Site, You agree that all causes of action arising out of or connected with this Site shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action. If for any reason a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of these Terms of Service, or portion thereof, to be unenforceable, that provision of these Terms of Service will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible so as to affect the intent of the parties, and the remainder of these Terms of Service will continue in full force and effect. Failure by Apartments.com to enforce any provision of this Terms of Service will not be deemed a waiver of future enforcement of that or any other provision of these Terms of Service. These Terms of Service and any other terms and conditions or policies applying to Your use of the Site, constitute the entire agreement between the parties regarding the subject matter hereof. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as creating a partnership, joint venture or agency relationship or granting a franchise between the parties. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, if You and CoStar Apartments.com have entered into a separate written Apartments.com advertising contract, the terms and conditions of such contract shall control with respect to any term that is inconsistent with these Terms of Service. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS STATED ABOVE OR TO ANY CHANGES TO THESE TERMS OF SERVICE, PLEASE EXIT THE SERVICE IMMEDIATELY.

© 2020 CoStar Realty Information, Inc., 1331 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005.  Last updated: September 16, 2021