Terms and conditions

1. Identity of CostaCasas

CostaCasas.be is an international online platform where owners can list holiday properties and where guests can find them and contact the owner directly. The platform is operated by a Belgian company. You conclude the agreement for the use of the platform with that operator; its company details are shown on the Legal notice page (/legal-notice). CostaCasas is a global platform. Availability of destinations, countries, regions, listings and services may vary and depends on the areas currently activated on the platform. CostaCasas facilitates contact between users and external providers. The agreement for renting a casa or for the provision of an external service is entered into directly between the parties involved, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Rental law, tourist rental permits, tourist taxes and tax obligations depend on the location of the property and remain the responsibility of the relevant party. Applicable local law may impose additional requirements. CostaCasas.be is hereinafter referred to as “CostaCasas”. By continuing to use the platform, you accept these terms.

2. Purpose of the platform

CostaCasas offers an online platform where owners and landlords can list holiday homes, villas, apartments and B&Bs in countries around the world. CostaCasas connects owners and guests with each other. Through CostaCasas, potential tenants can:

• view holiday accommodations;
• run searches;
• contact owners;
• request information about accommodations;
• discuss availability and prices;
• make arrangements directly with an owner/landlord.

3. CostaCasas is not a landlord

Unless expressly stated otherwise, CostaCasas is not automatically the owner, landlord or manager of any listed accommodation. A rental agreement between an owner and a guest is an agreement between those parties only. CostaCasas is not automatically a party to that rental agreement, including when the agreement is created with the rental agreement tool on CostaCasas (see /rental-agreement-info). The owner and guest are themselves responsible for the arrangements they make with each other. CostaCasas does not guarantee that any accommodation is available, suitable, legally offered or correctly described.

4. Responsibility of the owner/landlord

The owner/landlord is responsible for:

• the accuracy of the listing;
• the photos;
• the description of the accommodation;
• the stated amenities;
• the availability;
• the prices stated;
• any additional costs;
• the legal rental conditions;
• the required permits and registrations;
• communication with the tenant;
• the correct performance of the rental arrangements made.

Rules for holiday rentals differ by country, region and municipality. Owners are solely responsible for complying with the local rental legislation, licences, permits, registration requirements, tourist taxes, income taxes, safety requirements and any other obligations that apply where their property is located. CostaCasas does not check local legislation for each accommodation.

5. Responsibility of the tenant

The tenant is responsible for:

• the accuracy of the information they provide;
• respecting the accommodation;
• complying with the arrangements made;
• respecting house rules;
• timely payments agreed directly with the owner;
• any damage that, in accordance with the applicable agreement and legislation, is for the tenant's account.

6. Prices

On CostaCasas, an owner can choose a fixed price, stating a fixed rental price on the listing, or “Price on request”. In that case the rental price is agreed directly between owner and tenant. CostaCasas does not set this rental price. The owner and tenant are themselves responsible for clearly agreeing on:

• rental price;
• period;
• deposit;
• cleaning costs;
• any other costs;
• payment terms;
• cancellation terms;
• other arrangements.

7. Verbal arrangements

To the extent legally permitted, an owner and tenant may make arrangements directly with each other. However, CostaCasas recommends confirming all important arrangements in writing. CostaCasas is not responsible for misunderstandings arising from parties failing to record arrangements in writing, or recording them insufficiently.

8. Payments

Rental payments and deposits are arranged directly between tenant and owner. CostaCasas does not receive rental payments on behalf of owners. Listing packages and business listings are purchased directly from CostaCasas. Online payment is processed securely by the payment service provider Mollie B.V.; CostaCasas does not see or store full card details. CostaCasas issues the invoice and handles questions about orders and cancellations. Withdrawal and refunds are handled in accordance with applicable mandatory law and the nature of the service; consumers keep the rights that cannot legally be excluded. See our refund & withdrawal policy.

9. Nationality and visibility

Users who register as a tenant currently provide their nationality when creating their account, and it may be shown on their public profile within CostaCasas. This is explained before registration. Nationality is never used as a trust, quality, safety, ranking or recommendation score. You can ask us at any time to stop showing your nationality publicly via costacasas@costacasas.be.

10. What CostaCasas is not

CostaCasas is an online platform that connects users and external providers with each other. CostaCasas is not:

• the owner or landlord of a holiday home;
• the tenant;
• a tour operator;
• the operator of a holiday home;
• a real estate agent, unless this is separately arranged legally;
• a service provider or owner of the services offered;
• the party that concludes or performs the rental agreement;
• a guarantor of the accuracy of any user listing.

11. No guarantees on homes

CostaCasas does not give absolute guarantees about homes. Information provided by the landlord is presented as such. Anything CostaCasas has checked itself is explicitly stated, with the item and the date. A badge relates only to the checked item (see the verification policy).

12. Liability of CostaCasas

To the extent permitted by applicable law, CostaCasas is not liable for damage or loss arising solely from:

• incorrect information provided by an owner or tenant;
• failure to comply with arrangements between owner and tenant;
• cancellation or overbooking by an owner or tenant;
• the condition of a home, damage to or theft from a home;
• personal accidents in a home;
• local permits or rental rules;
• the owner's taxes;
• acts or omissions of external service providers;
• communication between users;
• payments made directly outside CostaCasas;
• force majeure.

This limitation never applies to damage caused by intent or gross negligence on the part of CostaCasas, and does not affect any liability that cannot be legally excluded or limited, including mandatory consumer rights.

13. No rental guarantee

CostaCasas does not guarantee that a home will be rented out, that an owner will receive inquiries, or any particular number of visitors, bookings, revenue or return. This also applies to paid Premium and PRO listings.

14. Paid listings, ranking and featured placement

CostaCasas sells advertising space and visibility. A paid listing is not a quality guarantee, not a rental guarantee, not a safety certificate and not a legal approval. The order of search results can be influenced by relevance, location, search criteria, completeness of the listing, reviews, verifications and paid promotion (PRO package or featured placement). Where higher visibility results from payment, this is clearly indicated. Paid promotion is never presented as an independent recommendation.

15. User content and moderation

Users remain responsible for the content they post and guarantee that they hold the necessary rights to do so. CostaCasas retains the rights to its software, documentation and brand. Users grant CostaCasas the right to host, display and technically process their content within the platform for the operation of the website. Unlawful use, fraud, spam, infringement of intellectual property and disruption of security (such as malware, unauthorised probing or scraping) are prohibited. Within the legal limits, CostaCasas may refuse, suspend or remove content or accounts in the event of a material breach of these terms, non-payment, or a security or fraud risk. See “Prohibited content & reports”.

16. Community and external links

Community posts are personal experiences and do not constitute professional, legal, financial, medical or other expert advice. To the extent permitted by law, CostaCasas is not responsible for the accuracy of tips or claims made by users, nor for the content, availability, privacy, safety, transactions or services of external websites that are linked to.

17. Availability of the platform

CostaCasas strives for a reliable website but does not guarantee permanent availability. Temporary interruptions may occur due to maintenance, updates, technical issues, hosting or internet outages, cyber incidents, external suppliers or force majeure. CostaCasas takes reasonable measures to protect continuity and security.

18. Force majeure

CostaCasas is not required to fulfil obligations that are prevented by circumstances beyond its reasonable control, such as natural disasters, war, terrorism, government measures, pandemics, major cyber incidents, power or internet outages, and failures at external technology providers.

19. Complaints

Complaints can be submitted in accordance with the complaints procedure.

20. Changes to these terms

These terms carry a version number. Older versions are retained. In the event of material changes, you will be informed in advance and, where legally required, asked to agree again.

21. Applicable law

CostaCasas is operated by a Belgian company and these terms are governed by Belgian law, without prejudice to mandatory rights and protections that apply to consumers under the laws that cannot legally be excluded. Rental agreements between owners and guests are not governed by these terms; the law applicable to them depends on the parties and the location of the property. English is the master legal text; translations (including machine translations via Google Translate) are for convenience only and do not alter the legal meaning.

22. Importing property data from an Airbnb export

Owners and users authorised by an owner may import their own property data into CostaCasas using a data export they obtained from Airbnb. CostaCasas is an independent platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or officially partnered with Airbnb. “Airbnb” is a trademark of its respective owner and is used only to describe the source of the export.

• You may only upload an export containing data you are entitled to use, and you must hold the necessary rights, permissions and legal grounds to upload, reproduce, modify and publish all imported content, including photographs, descriptions, logos and other materials;
• downloading an export from Airbnb does not automatically give you permission to reuse every item in it commercially — photographs and texts may be protected by the rights of photographers, agencies or other third parties;
• you remain responsible for checking the imported data and confirming that you are entitled to publish it on CostaCasas;
• imported properties are saved as drafts and are never published automatically; you must review, correct and explicitly approve a listing before publication, and publication remains subject to the normal review and package rules;
• importing does not guarantee that every field, photo or other item will transfer correctly or be accepted for publication; missing information must be added manually;
• CostaCasas may refuse or remove unlawful, unauthorised or infringing content in accordance with these terms and applicable law.

Rights holders who believe imported content infringes their copyright or other rights can report it via “Prohibited content & reports” (/verboden-inhoud) or costacasas@costacasas.be, stating the content concerned, the right invoked and their contact details. We review reports promptly, may temporarily hide disputed content, inform the user concerned where appropriate and remove content that is manifestly unlawful.