Terms of service.

Your continued use of the Platform after any change to these Terms constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. Material changes are communicated by updating the "last updated" date at the top of this page and, where the change affects your rights materially, by an in-platform notice or e-mail notice at least 30 days before the change takes effect.

These Terms together with our Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy form the complete agreement between you and Gouna Realty regarding the Platform. Where these Terms conflict with a separate written agreement signed between you and Gouna Realty (for example an agency Master Service Agreement), the separate written agreement prevails for the scope it covers.

Capacity to bind. By accepting these Terms on behalf of an organisation (for example a real-estate agency), you confirm that you have authority to bind that organisation, and "you" then refers to both you and the organisation jointly.

Platform — the Gouna Realty web application, APIs, mobile interfaces, and all related software, content, and services operated by us at gouna-realty.com and any subdomain.

User — any natural person or legal entity that accesses or uses the Platform, including buyers, renters, investors, and visitors.

Agency — a licensed real-estate brokerage or independent agent that has signed an agency Master Service Agreement with us and uses the Platform to publish property listings and receive leads.

Property listing — a structured representation of a real-estate property published on the Platform, including photos, description, price, location data, and contact route to the responsible Agency.

Lead — a contact event initiated by a user via the Platform (WhatsApp click, contact-form submission, save-search, viewing-request) and routed to an Agency.

Closed deal — a property sale or lease that is signed and notarised between a buyer/renter and a seller/landlord, where the introduction was made through the Platform.

Content — text, images, videos, data, metadata, and other materials published on or submitted to the Platform.

Commission — the courtage fee payable by an Agency to us on a Closed deal, governed by the separate agency Master Service Agreement (not by these Terms).

Force majeure — events outside our reasonable control as defined in Section 19.

The Platform is a real-estate aggregator and lead-routing service. We aggregate property listings from licensed Agencies, present them with consistent metadata and rich media, allow users to search and filter, and route user contact requests to the responsible Agency via direct channels (WhatsApp, e-mail, contact form).

What the Platform does. Provides searchable real-estate listings, neighbourhood guides, market data, and tools (mortgage calculator, ROI estimator) for informational use. Routes leads from users to Agencies. Tracks deal-attribution for the purpose of calculating Agency commission.

What the Platform does NOT do (Phase 1). We do not act as a real-estate broker. We do not represent buyers or sellers. We do not hold escrow funds. We do not process property payments. We do not provide legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. We do not guarantee that any listed property will be available, will close at the displayed price, or will match its on-platform description. Listings, prices, and availability are provided by Agencies and may change without notice.

Phase 2 (future). Optional escrow, deposit, and payment-processing services may be added in a later release. Such services will be governed by a separate agreement and are outside the scope of these Terms.

You may use the Platform only if you are at least 18 years old and have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement in the jurisdiction where you reside. By using the Platform, you confirm both.

Geographic restrictions. You may not use the Platform if you are located in, organised under the laws of, or ordinarily resident in any country, region, or territory subject to comprehensive trade sanctions administered by the European Union, the United Nations Security Council, the United States Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), or the United Kingdom. You may not use the Platform if you are on any sanctions list maintained by these authorities.

Agency eligibility. To list properties as an Agency, you must hold a valid real-estate brokerage licence under Egyptian law (Law No. 14 of 2012 and subsequent amendments) and sign our agency Master Service Agreement. We may verify your licence with the competent authority before activation.

Account creation. Some features (saved searches, favourites, lead history) require an account. Registration requires a valid e-mail address and a password meeting our complexity requirements.

Accuracy. You must provide accurate, current, and complete information at registration and keep it accurate throughout the lifetime of your account. You are responsible for the accuracy of your contact details, especially for lead-routing.

Security. You are responsible for safeguarding your account credentials. You must notify us immediately at security@gouna-realty.com if you suspect unauthorised access. We are not liable for losses arising from your failure to safeguard your credentials.

One account per person. You may hold one personal account at a time. Sharing credentials, transferring an account, or creating duplicate accounts is prohibited. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate this rule.

You agree not to use the Platform to engage in any of the following activities. This list is illustrative, not exhaustive.

Prohibited activities. (a) Scrape, crawl, harvest, or otherwise extract data from the Platform by automated means, except through our published APIs under a written agreement. (b) Reverse-engineer, decompile, or disassemble any part of the Platform, except to the extent expressly permitted by mandatory law. (c) Commercially redistribute, sublicense, sell, or otherwise transfer Platform Content to any third party without a written licence from us. (d) Submit misleading, fake, or fraudulent lead-data, including false contact details or fabricated buyer profiles. (e) Use the Platform to send unsolicited bulk messages over WhatsApp, e-mail, or any other channel ("spam") to Agencies or other users. (f) Interfere with or disrupt the Platform's operation, security, or integrity, including denial-of-service attacks, exploitation of vulnerabilities, or circumvention of access controls. (g) Use the Platform to violate any applicable law or regulation, including data-protection law, anti-money-laundering law, sanctions law, and consumer-protection law. (h) Attempt to access another user's or Agency's account, data, or lead history without authorisation. (i) Use the Platform to contact Agencies for any purpose other than a genuine property enquiry.

Enforcement. We may suspend or terminate access to the Platform, remove Content, and pursue civil or criminal remedies for breaches of this Section.

Truth-policy. Agencies that publish property listings on the Platform represent and warrant that all data they submit (photos, description, price, location, amenities, availability) is accurate, current, and not misleading. Agencies are solely responsible for the legal accuracy of their listings, including compliance with consumer-protection law and anti-discrimination law.

Right of removal. We reserve the right to remove or modify any listing that, in our sole and reasonable judgement, contains false or misleading information, violates these Terms or applicable law, or otherwise undermines user trust in the Platform. We are not obliged to publish or maintain any listing.

Agency liability. Agencies indemnify us against claims arising from inaccurate, misleading, or unlawful listings they publish. Users may rely on listings as informational only; verification with the Agency before any commitment is the user's responsibility.

User-submitted content. Users may submit Content such as reviews, save-search names, or contact-form messages. By submitting Content, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, display, reproduce, and adapt that Content for the purpose of operating, marketing, and improving the Platform. You may revoke this licence by requesting removal of your Content via privacy@gouna-realty.com.

User cost (Phase 1). Use of the Platform is free of charge for users. We do not charge buyers, renters, or investors for search, lead-routing, or any other Platform feature.

Agency commission. Agencies pay us a courtage commission on Closed deals introduced through the Platform. The commission percentage, payment terms, attribution window, and dispute-resolution mechanism are specified in the separate agency Master Service Agreement signed between us and each Agency. Commission percentages may differ by deal type (sale, lease, short-stay) and by Agency tier. Those terms are confidential between us and each Agency and are not set out in these Terms.

No in-platform payment (Phase 1). The Platform does not process property payments, hold escrow, or facilitate deposits. All payments related to a property transaction occur directly between the buyer/renter, the seller/landlord, and any payment-service or escrow-provider they select. We are not a party to those payments and accept no responsibility for them.

Phase 2 (future). Optional escrow, deposit, and processing services may be added later under a separate agreement. These Terms will be updated when such services are introduced.

Platform IP. The Platform, including all software, design, layout, text, graphics, data structures, and trademarks, is owned by Gouna Realty or licensed to us. All rights are reserved. The Gouna Realty name, logo, and brand are trademarks. Any use without our prior written consent is prohibited.

User licence. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to access and use the Platform for personal, non-commercial purposes consistent with these Terms. This licence does not include the right to (a) reproduce or distribute Platform Content outside the Platform, (b) modify or create derivative works, (c) sell or sublicense access, or (d) use the Platform for any commercial purpose, including aggregating, indexing, or republishing listings.

Third-party content. Property photographs and floor-plans may be subject to copyright held by Agencies, photographers, or property developers. We display such material under licence from the Agency. If you believe Platform Content infringes your rights, contact legal@gouna-realty.com with sufficient detail for us to investigate.

User-submitted licence. See Section 7 above for the licence you grant us over Content you submit.

Your privacy is governed by our Privacy Policy (available at /privacy), which forms part of these Terms by reference. The Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, with whom we share it, and what rights you have under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, Regulation (EU) 2016/679) and the Egyptian Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL, Law No. 151 of 2020).

By using the Platform, you confirm that you have read and understood the Privacy Policy.

Data-protection contact. For any privacy-related question, request, or complaint, contact dpa@gouna-realty.com. We aim to respond within 72 hours.

Information only — not advice. The Platform and its Content are provided for informational purposes only. Nothing on the Platform constitutes (a) legal advice, (b) financial or investment advice, (c) tax advice, or (d) a recommendation to buy, sell, or rent any property. Before entering into any property transaction, you must engage your own qualified advisors.

Accuracy best-effort. We use commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that listings, prices, descriptions, photos, and other Content are accurate, but we make no warranty of accuracy. Listings are provided by Agencies; we do not independently verify each data point. Prices, availability, and specifications may change without notice.

No guarantee of transaction. The Platform connects users with Agencies. We do not guarantee that any user will find a suitable property, that any Agency will respond to a lead, or that any transaction will be completed. We are not a party to any transaction between a user and an Agency or between a buyer/renter and a seller/landlord.

Third-party services. The Platform may link to or integrate with third-party services (WhatsApp, mapping services, payment providers, e-mail services). We are not responsible for the availability, accuracy, content, or security of those services. Your use of them is governed by the third party's own terms and privacy policy.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable mandatory law:

12.1 Service "as is". The Platform is provided on an "as-is" and "as-available" basis without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, statutory, or otherwise, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, accuracy, or uninterrupted operation.

12.2 No liability for transactions. We are not liable for any loss, damage, expense, or claim arising from (a) a property transaction between a user and an Agency, (b) reliance on any listing, price, photograph, or specification, (c) the conduct, advice, omission, or representation of any Agency, or (d) a property failing to meet your expectations after purchase, lease, or stay.

12.3 No consequential damages. We are not liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, or punitive damages, including loss of profit, loss of business opportunity, loss of data, or reputational harm, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

12.4 Cap on direct liability. Our total aggregate liability to you under or in connection with these Terms or the Platform is capped at the lower of (a) the commission fees actually received by us from Agencies for Closed deals attributable to your lead activity in the twelve (12) months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) one thousand euro (EUR 1,000).

12.5 Mandatory exclusions preserved. Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes liability for (a) death or personal injury caused by our negligence, (b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, (c) gross negligence or wilful misconduct, or (d) any other liability that cannot be limited or excluded under mandatory applicable law, including the Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek) Boek 6, the EU Consumer Sales Directive (EU/2019/771), and equivalent Egyptian consumer-protection law.

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Gouna Realty and its directors, officers, employees, contractors, and agents from and against any third-party claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from or related to (a) your breach of these Terms, (b) your violation of any applicable law or the rights of any third party, (c) any Content you submit to the Platform, or (d) your negligent or wilful misuse of the Platform.

We will notify you promptly of any claim subject to indemnification, allow you to control the defence and settlement (subject to our reasonable approval of settlement terms that affect us), and cooperate reasonably at your expense.

By you. You may stop using the Platform at any time. You may close your account by following the instructions in your account settings or by writing to privacy@gouna-realty.com. Closure takes effect within 30 days of confirmation.

By us. We may suspend or terminate your access immediately and without notice if (a) you materially breach these Terms, (b) you violate applicable law, (c) we are required by law or court order to do so, or (d) we cease to operate the Platform. We may terminate at convenience by giving you 30 days' notice via the Platform or e-mail.

Effect of termination. On termination, your right to use the Platform ceases immediately. Sections that by their nature should survive (intellectual property, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnification, governing law, dispute resolution, general provisions) survive termination. Data retention after termination is governed by our Privacy Policy.

Best-effort availability. We aim for high availability but do not guarantee any specific uptime in Phase 1. We do not offer a service-level agreement (SLA) for users. Agencies may receive an SLA under their separate Master Service Agreement.

Planned maintenance. We may schedule maintenance windows that temporarily reduce availability. Where reasonably possible, we provide advance notice via the Platform.

Force majeure. We are not liable for any unavailability or degraded service caused by events outside our reasonable control. See Section 19.

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes (defined as changes that affect your rights, obligations, or commercial terms materially) will be communicated at least 30 days in advance by an in-platform notice or e-mail notice.

Your continued use of the Platform after the effective date of a change constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not accept a change, you must stop using the Platform before the effective date and contact us at legal@gouna-realty.com if you wish to exercise any closing rights, including data export under our Privacy Policy.

Non-material changes. Typographical corrections, formatting changes, clarifications, and updates to references do not require advance notice.

Good-faith negotiation. If you have a dispute with us under these Terms, you agree first to contact us at legal@gouna-realty.com and attempt to resolve the dispute in good faith for at least 30 days before initiating any formal proceeding.

Mediation. If good-faith negotiation does not resolve the dispute, the parties agree to attempt mediation through the Netherlands Arbitration Institute (NAI) Mediation Rules, seated in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in the English language, before initiating litigation or arbitration.

Arbitration (optional). For commercial users (Agencies), and at the election of the user for non-consumer disputes, any unresolved dispute may be referred to binding arbitration under the NAI Arbitration Rules, seated in Amsterdam, in English, with three arbitrators if the amount in dispute exceeds EUR 100,000 and one arbitrator otherwise.

Consumer rights preserved. Nothing in this Section limits the right of a consumer-user to bring proceedings in the courts of the jurisdiction where the consumer is ordinarily resident, where mandatory consumer-protection law so requires.

Primary law. These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Netherlands, excluding its conflict-of-laws rules.

Egyptian sub-jurisdiction. To the extent a dispute concerns a property-specific transaction physically situated in Egypt (for example a notarised sale or lease of a property in El Gouna), Egyptian law may apply in parallel to the extent of mandatory local rules of property, real-estate law, and notarisation. Such parallel application does not displace the Dutch governing-law clause for the Platform-service relationship.

Conflict resolution. Where Dutch law and Egyptian mandatory law conflict on a specific point, the Dutch courts (or arbitrators under Section 17) will determine the applicable rule on a question-by-question basis, applying ordinary conflict-of-laws principles.

Consumer protection. Mandatory consumer-protection rules of the jurisdiction where a consumer-user is ordinarily resident are preserved and take precedence to the extent of their mandatory scope.

Neither party is liable for any failure or delay in performance of its obligations under these Terms to the extent caused by an event of force majeure, including war, armed conflict, terrorism, civil disturbance, pandemic, epidemic, natural disaster, fire, flood, earthquake, extreme weather, infrastructure outage, internet or telecommunications failure, regulatory shutdown, embargo, or any other event outside the affected party's reasonable control.

The affected party must notify the other party promptly of the event and take reasonable steps to mitigate the impact. Obligations resume when the event ends. If a force majeure event persists for more than 90 consecutive days and materially prevents performance, either party may terminate these Terms with written notice.

Entire agreement. These Terms (together with the Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy) constitute the entire agreement between you and Gouna Realty regarding the Platform and supersede any prior agreements, communications, or understandings.

Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable by a competent court, that provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

No waiver. Our failure or delay to enforce any provision of these Terms is not a waiver of our right to enforce it later. A waiver is effective only if given in writing by an authorised representative.

Assignment. You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms to a successor entity in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, subject to mandatory consumer-protection rules.

Notices. Formal legal notices to us must be sent to legal@gouna-realty.com. Notices to you may be given via the Platform, by e-mail to your registered address, or by any other reasonable means.

Contact. For general questions about these Terms, contact hello@gouna-realty.com. For legal notices, legal@gouna-realty.com. For privacy questions, dpa@gouna-realty.com.

Language. These Terms are published in English. Translations into Dutch, Arabic, and other languages are provided for convenience only. In case of conflict, the English version prevails, except where mandatory consumer-protection law of a user's jurisdiction requires the local-language version to prevail.