AppFolio Property Manager Terms of Service (2024)

Owner Portal Terms of Service

Last Updated: September 16, 2022
We are AppFolio, Inc. (“AppFolio”), located at 70 Castilian Dr., Goleta, CA 93117, United States. Thank you for using our owner portal!
The following terms and conditions (these “Terms of Service”) govern your access to and use of the Online Portal, its content, and the services offered therein (collectively, the “Portal”). There are important terms below that affect your legal rights, so we want to emphasize:
PLEASE CAREFULLY REVIEW THESE TERMS OF SERVICE IN THEIR ENTIRETY, WHICH CONTAIN PROVISIONS THAT AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING AN ARBITRATION AGREEMENT, JURY AND CLASS ACTION WAIVERS, LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY, INDEMNIFICATION OBLIGATIONS, AND MORE.
By logging into and using the Portal, you agree that you have read and are bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to these Terms of Service in their entirety, your sole option is to not use the Portal.

1. What is the Portal?

The Portal is a website and mobile application made available to you because a property manager you work with has subscribed to AppFolio Property Manager. The Portal allows you to view property information, submit bank account information for payment and more.

2. Using the Portal

You must be eighteen years of age or older to use the Portal. In order to use the Portal, you must register for a personal or corporate account, and we must approve your account registration. We may decline any account registration in our sole discretion for any or no reason. If you register for a corporate account on behalf of a corporation or any other legal entity, you represent and warrant that you are authorized to do so, and the corporation or other legal entity shall be fully responsible and liable for any action of any of its authorized representatives in connection with its corporate account.
You agree that you will not misuse the Portal. Misuse can take many forms, including, but not limited to, using the Portal in a manner that violates applicable federal, state or local laws or regulations; trying to gain access to other users’ accounts within the Portal; attempting to engage or engaging in fraud or other illegal activity; scraping, monitoring, or copying any of the material in the Portal that is not your information; or attacking, impairing, or interfering with the Portal.
All information you provide to us in connection with your use of the Portal will be true, correct and complete. You agree not to misrepresent or provide false information about your identity or your authority to use certain features within the Portal, including, but not limited to, designating bank accounts to send or receive payments. You represent and warrant that you are authorized to conduct all of your transactions or actions on the Portal.
We may suspend or terminate your access to the Portal in our sole discretion at any time for any or no reason, including, but not limited to, if you violate these Terms of Service.
If using a mobile device to access the Portal, data charges may apply, which you are solely responsible for. Such charges include those from your communications service provider. If you provide us your mobile phone number, you agree that we may contact that number using autodialed or prerecorded message calls or text messages. We will not use autodialed or prerecorded message calls or text messages for marketing purposes unless we receive your prior express written consent. You can decline to receive autodialed or prerecorded message calls or text messages to your mobile phone number by emailing us atsupport@appfolio.com.

3. e-Notices and System Requirements

4. Payment Service

Subject to your compliance with all of the terms and conditions in these Terms of Service, you may use the Portal to authorize one-time electronic payments or receive electronic payments (the “Payment Service”). The maximum amount that you may authorize for any payment is $9,999.99. Your payment will be posted in the payments section of the Portal.
You may not schedule a posting date for any payment more than ninety (90) days in advance of the scheduled posting date.
To use the Payment Service, you must add a bank account or credit card to your account within the Portal (each, a “Payment Form”). When you add a Payment Form and schedule a payment from that Payment Form, you authorize us to debit or credit, as appropriate, electronic payment(s) from or to that Payment Form as scheduled. You warrant that you have the authority to authorize us to debit or charge, as applicable, the scheduled payment(s) from the Payment Form you have picked.
If paying via bank transfer, funds must be available in the linked bank account when an electronic payment is processed against that account. If a scheduled online payment fails because the linked bank account contains insufficient funds to satisfy the entire amount of your scheduled payment, you are not relieved of your responsibility to timely pay any amount then due and any penalties imposed by us, your bank or any other third party for insufficient funds.
If paying via credit card, you may be entitled to dispute a transaction, also known as a chargeback. If a scheduled online payment is reversed because of a chargeback, you are not relieved of your responsibility to timely pay any amount then due and any penalties imposed by us, your bank or any other third party.
You may terminate or revoke a payment initiated through the Payment Service if it is not in process by clicking on the applicable pages of the Portal; however, you are not permitted to affect, change, revoke or terminate a payment if that payment is in process, except as permitted by law. This means, among other things, that if you or we terminate your online payments, that termination will not terminate any payment that is in process.
You also may have the legal right to revoke electronic payments by contacting the financial institution that holds your linked bank account or issued your credit card. Contact your financial institution to determine the information your financial institution needs to process your revocation and the time your financial institution needs to process any revocation.
We may terminate or suspend your use of the Payment Service or Portal at any time in our sole discretion.
There may be a fixed and flat convenience fee to use the Payment Service. Such fee is displayed at the time you make or schedule a payment. We reserve the right to change the fee amount for your use of the Payment Service. Also, you will be responsible for paying any amount you may owe other persons or companies related to the use of the Payment Service or any bank account or credit card linked to online payments. For example, a bank may charge a fee in connection with electronic payments debited to (taken from) a bank account you use to make a payment through the Portal.
By agreeing to these Terms of Service, you are directing and authorizing us to verify the information you’ve provided and obtain additional background information about you through any means, including using a third party consumer reporting agency, such as GIACT Systems, LLC (P.O. Box 1116 Allen, Texas 75013 Fax: (469) 424-0887), to prepare a consumer report or an investigative consumer report for the purpose(s) of: validating the existence of an account (as defined in 12 C.F.R. § 229.2(a)) (an “Account”) and all associated data as part of determining whether to accept or decline a check or automated clearinghouse entry (each an “Item”) as payment for goods or services or determining whether to allow the Account or application to be enrolled for use in connection with future transactions by validating that the Account exists and/or is in good standing.
You further direct and authorize us to obtain from any law enforcement agency, present or past employer or supervisor, landlord (as allowed by law), finance bureau/office, credit bureau, collection agency, college, university or other institute of learning or certification, private business, military branch or the national personnel records center, personal reference and/or other persons, and authorize these entities to give records or information that they may have concerning your status as a registered sex offender (as allowed by law), criminal history (as allowed by law), motor vehicle/driving history, earnings history, credit history, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, mode of living, employment records, record of attendance and earned degrees or certificates, or any other information requested, whether the said records are private or public, and including those which may be deemed to be privileged or confidential in nature. Preparation of all consumer reports and investigative consumer reports will follow applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
You have the right, upon written request made within a reasonable time after receipt of this notice, to request disclosure of the nature and scope of any investigative consumer report. You also acknowledge that our Privacy Policy is available to you.
View a summary of your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Washington State residents only: You also have the right to request from the relevant consumer reporting agency a written summary of your rights and remedies under the Washington Fair Credit Reporting Act.
New York residents only: You have the right to inspect and receive a copy of any investigative consumer report requested by the us by contacting the relevant consumer reporting agency identified directly. You may also contact the us to request the name, address and telephone number of the nearest unit of the consumer reporting agency designated to handle inquiries, which we shall provide within 5 days.
Michigan residents only: In connection with your authorization set forth above, you further authorize a third party consumer reporting agency such as GIACT Systems, LLC (P.O. Box 1116 Allen, Texas 75013 Fax: (469) 424-0887) and any of its agents and affiliates to access your protected personal identifying information.

5. Confidentiality

6. Third Party Service

The Portal may contain links to other websites, services, and products provided by third parties, which may include our affiliates or subsidiaries. Such links are provided for your convenience only. We have no control over third-party websites, services, and products and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them. If you decide to access any of the third-party websites or services found within the Portal, you do so entirely at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such websites, services, or products.

7. Changes to the Portal

We reserve the right to make changes to the Portal at any time. You acknowledge and agree that we may add or remove functionalities, including without limitation, the Payment Service, or may stop supporting or making the Portal available altogether. If required by applicable law, we will provide you with electronic notice of such changes.

8. Security

When using the Portal, you may be asked from time to time to provide certain information for purposes of providing you services. This information may include sensitive personal information, such as your name, address, bank account and credit card information. We will use and protect such information in accordance with the terms of ourPrivacy Policy. By using the Portal, you agree that we can use the information you provide us in accordance with ourPrivacy Policy.
You are responsible for protecting your Portal account. You will not provide any other person with access to the Portal using your login credentials and will keep such credentials confidential. If you learn of any unauthorized use of your Portal account, notify us immediately at:support@appfolio.com.

9. Intellectual Property Rights

The Portal is our intellectual property. Using the Portal does not give you any ownership rights therein or to any branding or trademarks that appear within the Portal, which you may not use. You may not obscure, remove, or alter any part of the Portal, including any legal notices.
The Portal may contain some content and data that are not ours. For example, the Portal may contain content and data of the property manager you are working with or third parties that assist us in providing the services offered through the Portal. Such content and data are the sole responsibility of the person that owns such content and data. You shall acquire no ownership rights in or to such content and data.

10. As-Is; Disclaimer of Warranties

We take pride in the Portal; however, we make no commitments with respect to your use of the Portal or its performance. More specifically:
YOUR USE OF THE PORTAL IS AT YOUR OWN RISK, AND THE PORTAL IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. NEITHER WE NOR ANY PERSON ASSOCIATED WITH US MAKES ANY COMMITMENT OR PROMISE WITH RESPECT TO THE SECURITY, RELIABILITY, QUALITY, ACCURACY OR AVAILABILITY OF THE PORTAL, OR THAT YOUR USE OF THE PORTAL WILL NOT RESULT IN EXPOSURE TO VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THAT THE PORTAL OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE PORTAL WILL OTHERWISE MEET YOUR NEEDS.
EXCEPT FOR ANY WARRANTIES WHICH CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, WE HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, WITH RESPECT TO THE PORTAL, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

11. Limitation on Liability

EXCEPT IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR INDEMNIFICATION OBLIGATIONS HEREUNDER, YOUR AND OUR LIABILITY UNDER THESE TERMS OF SERVICE WILL BE LIMITED AS FOLLOWS:
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, NEITHER PARTY WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR LOST PROFITS, REVENUES, OR DATA, FINANCIAL LOSSES, OR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OF SERVICE OR YOUR USE OF THE PORTAL. IN ALL CASES NEITHER PARTY WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE THAT IS NOT REASONABLY FORESEEABLE.
TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, EACH PARTY’S TOTAL LIABILITY TO THE OTHER FOR ANY CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OF SERVICE OR YOUR USE OF THE PORTAL, INCLUDING FOR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES (WHICH CANNOT BE LIMITED OR EXCLUDED), IS LIMITED TO $5,000.

12. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless us and our affiliates, licensors, and third-party service providers, and our and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, suppliers, successors and assigns from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses or fees (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to your violation of these Terms of Service or your use of the Portal.
You will not be responsible for indemnifying us or holding us harmless from any claims, liabilities, damages, costs or expenses caused solely by or solely arising out of the gross negligence or intentional misconduct of AppFolio or its agents, officers, employees or affiliates.

13. Arbitration Agreement

You and we each agrees that any and all disputes or claims that have arisen or may arise between you and us in connection with these Terms of Service or the Portal, including without limitation, federal and state statutory claims, common law claims, and those based in contract, tort, fraud, misrepresentation or any other legal theory, shall be resolved exclusively through final and binding arbitration, rather than in court, except that you may assert claims in small claims court, if your claims qualify and so long as the matter remains in such court and advances only on an individual (non-class, non-representative) basis. This agreement to arbitrate is intended to be broadly interpreted. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this agreement to arbitrate.
You and we agree that each of us may bring claims against the other only on an individual basis and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class or representative action or proceeding. Unless both you and we agree otherwise, the arbitrator(s) may not consolidate or join more than one person’s or party’s claims and may not otherwise preside over any form of a consolidated, representative or class proceeding. Also, the arbitrator(s) may award relief (including monetary, injunctive and declaratory relief) only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief necessitated by that party’s individual claim(s). Any relief awarded cannot affect other persons or parties.
Arbitration is more informal than a lawsuit in court. Arbitration uses a neutral arbitrator or arbitrators instead of a judge or jury, and court review of an arbitration award is very limited. However, the arbitrator(s) can award the same damages and relief on an individual basis that a court can award to an individual. The arbitrator(s) also must follow the terms of these Terms of Service as a court would. All issues are for the arbitrator(s) to decide, except that issues relating to arbitrability, the scope or enforceability of this agreement to arbitrate, or the interpretation of the prohibition of class and representative actions and non-individualized relief provisions above, shall be for a court of competent jurisdiction to decide.
The arbitration will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (the “AAA”) under its rules and procedures, including the AAA’s Consumer Arbitration Rules (as applicable), as modified by this agreement to arbitrate. The AAA’s rules are available at www.adr.org. A party who intends to seek arbitration must first send the other party, by certified mail, a completed Notice of Dispute. You should send this notice to us at: AppFolio, Inc., 70 Castilian Drive, Goleta, CA 93117, Attn: Chief Legal Officer. We will send any notice to you to the address associated with your account; it is your responsibility to keep your address up to date. All information called for in the notice must be provided, including a description of the nature and basis of the claims the party is asserting and the relief sought.
If you and we are unable to resolve the claims described in the notice within 30 days after the notice is sent, you or we may initiate arbitration proceedings. A form for initiating arbitration proceedings is available on the AAA’s website at www.adr.org.
The arbitration shall be held in the county in which you reside or at another mutually agreed location. If the value of the relief sought is $10,000 or less, you or we may elect to have the arbitration conducted by telephone or based solely on written submissions, which election shall be binding on you and us subject to the discretion of the arbitrator(s) to require an in-person hearing, if the circ*mstances warrant. In cases where an in-person hearing is held, you and/or we may attend by telephone, unless the arbitrator(s) require otherwise. Any settlement offer made by you or us shall not be disclosed to the arbitrator(s).
The arbitrator(s) will decide the substance of all claims in accordance with applicable law, including recognized principles of equity, and will honor all claims of privilege recognized by law. The arbitrator(s) shall not be bound by rulings in prior arbitrations involving different Appfolio users, but is/are bound by rulings in prior arbitrations involving you to the extent required by applicable law. The award of the arbitrator(s) shall be final and binding, and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator(s) may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
Payment of all filing, administration, and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA’s rules, unless otherwise stated in this agreement to arbitrate. If the value of the relief sought is $10,000 or less, at your request, we will pay all filing, administration, and arbitrator fees associated with the arbitration. Any request for payment of fees by us should be submitted by mail to the AAA along with your Demand for Arbitration, and we will make arrangements to pay all necessary fees directly to the AAA. If the value of the relief sought is more than $10,000 and you are able to demonstrate that the costs of accessing arbitration will be prohibitive as compared to the costs of accessing a court for purposes of pursuing litigation on an individual basis, we will pay as much of the filing, administration, and arbitrator fees as the arbitrator(s) deem necessary to prevent the cost of accessing the arbitration from being prohibitive. In the event the arbitrator(s) determine the claim(s) you assert in the arbitration to be frivolous, you agree to reimburse us for all fees associated with the arbitration paid by us on your behalf that you otherwise would be obligated to pay under the AAA’s rules.
With the exception of any of the prohibition of class and representative actions and non-individualized relief provisions above, if a court decides that any part of this agreement to arbitrate is invalid or unenforceable, the other parts of this agreement to arbitrate shall still apply. If a court decides that any of the prohibition of class and representative actions and non-individualized relief provisions above is invalid or unenforceable because it would prevent the exercise of a non-waivable right to pursue public injunctive relief, then any dispute regarding the entitlement to such relief (and only that relief) must be severed from arbitration and may be litigated in court. All other disputes subject to arbitration under the terms of this agreement to arbitrate shall be arbitrated under its terms.
If you are a new customer, you can choose to reject this agreement to arbitrate by mailing us a written opt-out notice. The opt-out notice must be postmarked no later than 30 days after the date you accept these Terms of Service for the first time. You must mail the opt-out notice to AppFolio, Inc., 70 Castilian Drive, Goleta, CA 93117, Attn: Chief Legal Officer. The opt-out notice must include your name, address, phone number, and email address(es) used to log in to your account. You must sign the opt-out notice for it to be effective. This procedure is the only way you can opt out of this agreement to arbitrate. If you opt out of this agreement to arbitrate, all other terms of these Terms of Service will continue to apply. Opting out of this agreement to arbitrate has no effect on any previous, other, or future arbitration agreements that you may have with us.
Notwithstanding any provision in these Terms of Service to the contrary, you and we agree that if we make any amendment to this agreement to arbitrate (other than an amendment to any notice address or website link provided herein) in the future, that amendment shall not apply to any claim that was filed in a legal proceeding against us prior to the effective date of the amendment. The amendment shall apply to all other disputes or claims governed by this agreement to arbitrate that have arisen or may arise between you and us.

14. Governing Law

All claims arising out of or relating to the Portal, these Terms of Service, or the Payment Service will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, except any conflict of laws provisions.

15. Provisions About These Terms of Service

We may change these Terms of Service from time to time in response to new offerings or changes in the law. When we do make changes, we’ll change the “Last Updated” date above and, if material (as determined in our sole discretion), notify you. Your continued use of the Portal after any change(s) to these Terms of Service constitutes your consent to be bound by such change(s), so please check back here regularly.
If you do not comply with these Terms of Service and we do not take action right away, it shall not be deemed a continuing or further waiver of your failure to comply. Likewise, our failure to assert a right or provision under these Terms of Service shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.
If it turns out that a particular provision or part of these Terms of Service is not enforceable, it will not affect any other terms.
These Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy constitute the sole and entire agreement between you and us with respect to the Portal and supersede all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations and warranties, both written and oral, with respect to the Portal.
These Terms of Service control the relationship between us and you. They do not create any third-party beneficiary rights.

16. Trademark Attribution

Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, and iPad are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.

17. Copyright Infringement Claims and the DMCA

We respect the intellectual property rights of others and ask that you do the same. If you believe that your work has been reproduced within the Portal, or any other of our products or services, in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, you may notify our Copyright Agent in accordance with Title 17, United States Code, Section 512(c)(2), by providing the following information: (i) identification of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed; (ii) identification of the material that you claim is infringing and needs to be removed from the Portal, including a description of where it is located on the Portal so that the Copyright Agent can locate it; (iii) your address, telephone number and, if available, email address so that the Copyright Agent may contact you about your complaint; and (iv) a signed statement (a) that the foregoing information is accurate, (b) that you have a good faith belief that the identified use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent and/or the law, and (c) under penalty of perjury, that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf in this situation.
Notices of copyright infringement and the foregoing information should be submitted here, or, if by mail, to AppFolio, Inc., 70 Castilian Drive, Santa Barbara, California 93117, Attn: Copyright Agent.

18. Force Majeure

We will not be responsible for the failure to perform or any delay in performance of any obligation under these Terms of Service due to labor disturbances, accidents, fires, floods, telecommunications or Internet failures, strikes, wars, riots, rebellions, blockades, epidemic, pandemic, disease outbreak (including the COVID-19 virus), acts of government, governmental requirements and regulations or restrictions imposed by law or any other similar conditions beyond our reasonable control.