1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Welcome to The Land Society (“The Land Society Limited”). We make The Land Society available through a number of channels, including via the website at www.Land Society.org.
1.2. Any use of The Land Society and any content accessed or downloaded from The Land Society (including any content posted by users) will be governed by these The Land Society Terms of Use and any other documents mentioned within these terms. You should therefore read them carefully to understand your rights and liabilities before using The Land Society.
1.3. If you do not want to be bound by these terms please do not access, use and/or contribute to The Land Society, search for land for sale or to rent, or interact with any members of The Land Society (“The Land Society Membersâ€).
1.4. We may change these terms from time to time. Any changes will take effect seven (7) days after the date of our e-mail to you notifying you of a change or the date on which we post the modified terms on The Land Society, whichever is the earlier. Your continued use of The Land Society after these terms have been changed will be treated as acceptance by you of the updated or amended terms. If you do not agree to the changes, you must cease using The Land Society.
1.5. Additional terms relating to your use of The Land Society and interaction (both online and offline) with other The Land Society Members may be set out in associated documents and communications.
2. REGISTRATION AND MINIMUM AGE
2.1. In order to fully interact with The Land Society and The Land Society Members you must register and become a The Land Society Member. When you register (whether via The Land Society Site or any other method) you will be asked to “accept†the terms and, on doing so, you will be deemed to have consented to and will be bound by these terms.
2.2. You must be 18 years or over to become a Member of, and/or use The Land Society and there must be no reason why you should not be in contact with any other The Land Society Members.
3. YOUR ACCOUNT
3.1. You must ensure that all the information you provide when you register as a Member of The Land Society is true, accurate, current and complete in all respects.
3.2. You must notify us immediately of any change to any of the information you have previously given us by updating your information in your profile of the Land Society website.Â
3.3. If you are joining The Land Society as an individual user your registration is for your sole use only. If you wish to join on behalf of an organisation, by submitting your registration details, you are representing that you have authority to bind your organisation.
3.4. Please do not share your registration details with any other person as you will be held responsible for all activities that occur under your password or account with or without your knowledge. By registering on The Land Society, you confirm that you will treat your login details as confidential. If you have any concerns regarding your login details or become aware of any misuse then you must inform us immediately by contacting us at info@LandSociety.org.
4. ABOUT THE LAND SOCIETY
What we do
4.1. We provide a means of searching for agricultural land for sale or to rent in plots of 5 acres, 1 acre, allotments or other sizes as we find convenient. Anyone who wishes to be involved in The Land Society is invited to register free of charge and to search the list of land to see is suitable plots are listed. This registration for the purposes of search does NOT constitute Membership.
If you wish to register an expression of interest to purchase one or more plots of land, you are required to complete a full registration as a Member of The Land Society for a payment of a Membership Fee which entitles you to one year Membership of the Society and, as a Member, to make an offer to purchase land, and to purchase land.
On completion of purchase of freehold land, there is no further requirement to remain a Member of The Land Society beyond the expiration of the current year of membership.
If you choose to rent land from The Land Society then the rent you pay to the Society will include your Membership subscription the Society.
All Members will enjoy membership rights, including voting rights as laid out in The Land Society Articles of Association.
What we don’t do
4.2. We do not have any responsibility for the purchase arrangements other than as a broker between a group of Members as the buyer, and a seller of land or his agent. Specifically we offer information about land for sale or to rent WITHOUT GUARANTEE OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER as to its accuracy or veracity, and offer that information as supplied by various other sources with NO responsibility whatsoever, including where we may process the information into other forms. It is therefore for the Member to confirm any and all statements made before entering into any contractual agreements. Whilst we will endeavor to ensure that the sale and purchase proceeds smoothly and will assist with finding of a solicitor and co-ordination of the transaction, The Land Society expressly states that it has NO LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY for the success of the transaction. Transactions and contracts are solely private arrangements made directly between the individuals, groups, agents or companies concerned and each is solely responsible for their own actions.
4.3. We do not enable or encourage direct contact between Members. However occasionally Members co-operating in the purchase of land, of renting allotments on land owned or leased by The Land Society, will meet. The Land Society does not monitor, check or verify the identity of anyone who registers with The Land Society or the information they provide. Nor do we carry out any checks (such as Criminal Records Bureau checks) on anyone who registers. We cannot therefore give any guarantee that any of The Land Society Members are who they say they are or are appropriate for you to contact and we make no recommendations in relation to any of these The Land Society Members regardless of the category within which they are registered.
4.4. ACCORDINGLY, WHEN USING THE LAND SOCIETY SITE YOU TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHO YOU HAVE CONTACT WITH AND THE NATURE, TERMS AND EXTENT OF THAT CONTACT. YOU MUST CARRY OUT YOUR OWN INDEPENDENT CHECKS ON THESE PEOPLE BEFORE PROVIDING SENSITIVE INFORMATION SUCH AS CONTACT DETAILS OR DECIDING WHETHER TO MEET THEM, ALLOW THEM TO ASSIST YOU OR ENTER INTO ANY ARRANGEMENT WITH THEM. THIS SHOULD INCLUDE CARRYING OUT THE SAME CHECKS AND TAKING THE SAME PRECAUTIONS AS YOU WOULD DO WHEN DEALING WITH ANYONE WHO YOU MET INDEPENDENTLY OFF THE STREET.
4.5. If you have any doubt at all in the veracity and/or safety of another The Land Society Member or any information provided by them, we ask that you report all serious concerns by emailing us at info@LandSociety.org.
4.6. To be clear, each The Land Society Member acts on his/her own behalf at all times and does not act as our representative or agent in any way. Neither do we endorse nor are we responsible for any of the actions of any The Land Society Member.
4.7. From time to time we may provide The Land Society Members with the opportunity to form groups, for example in order to apply for land or allotments. The Land Society accepts no responsibility for the actions or the Group or the land owner and is not an agent, sub-contractor, partner or otherwise of either the Group or the landowner, unless expressly stated.
4.8. We may also enable The Land Society Members to join groups on the website, which may be displayed on The Land Society map on the website. Members of those groups may be enabled to post information on upcoming events and to send messages to other members of their group. The Land Society does not accept responsibility for the actions of those groups or their members or the events they post. Some groups will represent organisations but The Land Society accepts no liability for the actions of those organisations and is not an agent, sub-contractor, partner or otherwise of those organisations.
5. LAND SOCIETY PRINCIPLES, GUIDELINES & AGREEMENTS
5.1. The Land Society is a not-for-profit organisation which will reinvest its profits into land for rent or for sale, to enable its continued operation or other purposes to promote its aims and mission. It will enable land to be purchased by its Members, it will own or lease land, and will rent land to Members, for the benefit of the Society and its Members.
5.2. The Land Society will employ independent solicitors or conveyancing companies to act in the purchase or sale of land by Members, the costs of which will be shared between purchasers. We have also prepared standard pro-forma legal agreement(s) that we may wish to use for The Land Society arrangements with The Land Society Members.
5.3. Any legal agreement(s) and guidelines provided by The Land Society for the purchase or rental of land must not be considered as definitive legal advice. Given the large variation in land types, you are strongly recommended to obtain independent legal advice before entering into any type of agreement or arrangement. We take no responsibility in relation to any agreements that you do enter into nor any other rights, duties and/ or liabilities that you might expose yourself to through The Land Society or otherwise.
5.4. Each potential plot of land is unique and there are numerous complicated laws and planning situations relating to property that will vary from site to site. It is for the Member to satisfy themselves that the land and the contract (rental or purchase) is suitable for their purpose and The Land Society accepts no responsibility whatsoever for misunderstanding, misrepresentation or any losses resulting from the actions of The Land Society, its Directors, its staff or its Members.
5.5. IT IS THEREFORE IMPORTANT THAT, BEFORE YOU PROCEED, YOU TAKE INDEPENDENT LEGAL ADVICE ON:
(I) THE CONSEQUENCES OF ENTERING INTO ANY LAND PURCHASE OR RENTAL CONTRACT;
(II) WHETHER THE LAND IS SUITABLE FOR YOUR PURPOSES; AND
(III) THE CHANGES NEEDED TO ADAPT THE LAND TO YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES.
(III) WHETHER YOU CAN OBTAIN THE REQUIRED PERMISSIONS FOR THE CHANGES YOU WISH TO MAKE TO THE LAND.
5.6. Any agreements, contracts or guidelines are provided only for use with The Land Society project and should not be used for any other purposes. In particular they are not intended to be used for business purposes.
5.7. We shall not be liable for any losses, including without limitation any loss of profit or revenue that you may suffer in connection with your membership of The Land Society, any guidelines or any other information or content made available from The Land Society even if caused by our negligence.
6. ABOUT CONTENT YOU AND OTHER USERS PROVIDE TO THE LAND SOCIETY
6.1. The following applies to your use of the interactive features contained on The Land Society:
Our Code of Conduct
6.2. Please read The Land Society Code of Conduct that applies to the posting and contributing of content to The Land Society. These reflect the principles and etiquette which we would like all The Land Society Members to respect when interacting with each other through The Land Society.
The rules of The Land Society community
6.3. Any content which you and other users post or contribute to The Land Society using its interactive features, including forums, questions and answers and blogs is generally known as “user generated content” or “UGC” for short. The following provisions explain the rules for contributing content, how we and other users may use your UGC and how you can use their UGC.
6.4. Obviously we positively encourage The Land Society Members to make full use of The Land Society and in particular participate in The Land Society community. However, to ensure that everyone has an enjoyable and satisfying experience, we require that you abide by the guidelines set out in our Code of Conduct as well as the rules set out below:
6.4.1. You agree to ensure that:
- all information provided by you via The Land Society or which you provide to other The Land Society Members or in connection with any potential The Land Society Project is accurate, true and up to date in all respects and at all times and is not misleading in any way;
- all content posted by you is lawful and not defamatory, abusive, threatening, harassing, obscene, discriminatory, or otherwise objectionable or embarrassing to any other person as determined by us in our sole discretion;
- you will use The Land Society and any information and content obtained from it lawfully and only for the purposes for which it has been provided and in accordance with these terms;
- you will not harass or mislead or act unlawfully towards any person that you have contacted via The Land Society or disclose or use any contact information that they may provide to you without their consent;
- you will cease to contact anyone that you have contacted via The Land Society immediately if they request you to do so; and
- any content you upload is not in breach of any copyright and in the case of any photos and video that identify individuals, you have their full permission to make their image available through The Land Society and to permit their use by others via The Land Society in the way described in these terms. In the case of children, you will need to obtain such permission from their parents.
6.4.2. You may not:
- distribute or post spam, in particular by sending unsolicited marketing messages to other The Land Society Members, or distribute or post chain letters, or pyramid schemes;
- distribute viruses or any other technologies that may harm The Land Society or the interests of users of The Land Society or The Land Society Members or otherwise interfere with or disrupt our servers;
- post or transmit any advertisements for or solicitations of business;
- after receiving a warning, continue to disrupt the normal flow of dialogue, or post or transmit comments that are not related to the topic being discussed;
- except as permitted under these terms, copy, modify, or distribute our content or trade marks from The Land Society, The Land Society Members’ copyright material and trademarks or any content or trademarks owned by a third party unless you have their explicit permission;
- harvest or otherwise collect or use information about The Land Society Members without their explicit consent;
- impersonate another The Land Society Member or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
- allow any other person or entity to use your log in details or account for posting or viewing comments or for communicating with other The Land Society Members;
- continue to use The Land Society if you have been suspended or your account terminated;
- intentionally make false or misleading statements about any proposed land purchase, sale, or rental arrangement(s); or
- engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits any other persons from using or enjoying The Land Society, our platform or The Land Society project, or which, in our judgment, exposes us to any liability or detriment of any type.
6.5. Please note that any posting of information on or via The Land Society (including by our ‘Helpers’ and ‘Experts’) is the opinion of the person posting only and does not necessarily reflect our opinions or attitudes. Although we believe The Land Society community contains a huge wealth of information of benefit to many users, you must remember that we operate an open platform and sometimes content is posted that is misleading, deceptive, or indeed completely wrong. You should not therefore rely on information being accurate or complete. If you do, you do so at your own risk.
Contributing UGC
6.6. You should only contribute UGC to The Land Society if you know that you have the necessary rights to do so.
Content you upload
6.7. By uploading or posting any content to The Land Society, whether text, images, video or sound recordings, you are giving a warranty to us and to other users that: (i) you either own any copyright in that content or that you have obtained the necessary right(s) to make the content available through The Land Society and permit its use via The Land Society site and The Land Society app and in The Land Society newsletters and that such permissions are freely available on demand by us should we require; and (ii) you will not be infringing anyone’s rights or breaching any law or regulation (including data protection and privacy laws), by contributing that content and by allowing it to be used in the ways described in these terms.
Who can use your UGC and how they can use it
6.8. When you contribute UGC to The Land Society:
- you are granting us unlimited, non-terminable and free permission to make all or any part of your UGC available through The Land Society to other users of The Land Society, to include certain UGC in The Land Society newsletters, to allow any other sites to embed The Land Society activity on their sites and to allow third party sites to link to pages on The Land Society Site which contain your UGC;
- you are granting to every other user of The Land Society unlimited, non-terminable and free permission to use all or any part of your UGC on the same terms as you are permitted to use their UGC as described in the paragraph below headed
- you are granting us unlimited, non-terminable and free permission (including the right to sub-licence that permission) to use, re-use, copy, adapt, abridge, amend, distribute, modify, translate, publish, perform, display, develop, reproduce, communicate to the public and to make your UGC otherwise available in any form and/or by any media (whether now known or hereafter devised), including through any on-demand or broadcast service, whether on a commercial or non-commercial basis anywhere in the world.
Your permitted use of UGC on The Land Society
6.9. You are free to:
- view any UGC posted to The Land Society on screen, download any such content onto your computer hard drive to view later, print one copy of any such content or send it by way of a link to others
provided that
- you only make non-commercial use of it;
- you do not edit the content
- you keep all copyright and proprietary notices contained within the content intact.
7. OUR CONTENT
7.1. All of the content on The Land Society is owned by us or our licensors and is protected by UK and international copyright laws.
7.2. Our content includes any information or other material found on The Land Society, including databases, graphics, software and all other features of The Land Society site. You may download any individual page of The Land Society website onto one computer hard drive or print one copy of such page or view any video or images provided you keep intact all and any copyright and proprietary notices and do not edit the same. Apart from that, none of our content may be republished, posted, transmitted, stored, sold, distributed or modified without our prior written consent.
7.3. The trade marks, ‘The Land Society’ and ‘Land Society.org’ together with our logos ‘The Land Society’ are owned by us or our licensors. No permission is given in respect of the use of any of these brands or marks and any such use may constitute an infringement of the holder’s rights.
8. MISUSE OF THE LAND SOCIETY
8.1. We do not monitor the use of The Land Society community facilities (including any internal communication system and content uploaded by The Land Society Members), so we do rely on you to inform us if you spot any abuse or inappropriate behaviour, in which case we may review specific postings. If you feel you have been threatened, damaged or abused in our community or via our communication systems or if you believe any infringement of your rights may have occurred through The Land Society please contact us at info@LandSociety.org.
8.2. We reserve the right (but we are not obliged) to do any or all of the following:
8.2.1. record the content (including any communications) posted via The Land Society community or in our communication systems;
8.2.2. investigate a claim that any one or more items of content do not conform to the terms of  clause 6 and determine in our sole discretion to remove or request the removal of the content;
8.2.3. remove without notice any content that is abusive, illegal, or disruptive, or that otherwise fail to conform with these terms;
8.2.4. terminate a user’s access to post content;
8.2.5. monitor, edit, or disclose any content;
8.2.6. edit or remove any content posted on The Land Society, regardless of whether such content breaches these terms.
8.3. If you disagree with a decision made by us, you should email your appeal to info@LandSociety.org. You must not use the community facilities to dispute or argue about any decision we make.
8.4. Any decision we make to remove or request the removal of any content or to terminate or suspend the account of any individual or organisation shall be final and binding. The termination or suspension of an account shall apply to any and all user accounts that may have been used by that individual or organisation whether or not opened by that individual or organisation.
9. EXCHANGING PERSONAL INFORMATION WITH OTHER USERS
Disclosing Personal Information
9.1. The Land Society will not disclose personal information to third parties, or use such information for marketing or any other purposes except as agreed or requested by the Member. However where interacting with other Members or any other party or group, please be careful when using The Land Society and/or any community facilities that you do not reveal personal information such as your home or work contact details, your last name or where you live unless in accordance with our Code of Conduct and only where you feel comfortable revealing such personal information to such persons. You should in any event only reveal such personal information via secure communications that cannot be viewed by other people.
Receiving personal information
9.2. If you receive personal information from another user you agree to respect their information and use it only for the purpose that the disclosing user expressly agrees to.
9.3. If you wish to make a complaint about any issue regarding personal information please email us at info@LandSociety.org.
10. OUR PRIVACY POLICY
10.1. We take your privacy very seriously. Please read our Privacy Policy to see how the personal information that you provide to us is dealt with.
11. LINKS
Linking from
11.1. You acknowledge that The Land Society may include links to third party websites or advertisements for other services. We do not review these third party websites nor have any control over them and we are not responsible for these websites or their content or availability.
11.2. We do not therefore endorse or make any representations about them, or any content found there, or any results that may be obtained from using them.
11.3. If you decide to access any of these third party websites, you do so entirely at your own risk.
11.4. If you use a linked site, any personal information you give them will be dealt with in line with their privacy policy, not ours, so please ensure that you read their privacy policy before you provide any personal information.
Linking to
11.5. You may link to The Land Society, provided:
- our site is not loaded into frames on your website, unless we otherwise expressly agree; and
- your site or service does not misrepresent its relationship with us or present false information about us.
11.6. We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission at any time without prior notice.
12. THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE
12.1. You acknowledge that you may need to download and activate certain software in order to use certain content provided on The Land Society. This software will be clearly identified on our site.
12.2. In order to use such third party software or technology you will have to explicitly accept the terms of a license agreement with that third party. You acknowledge that we have no responsibility or control over such third party software.
13. EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY
13.1. Nothing in these Terms of Use will restrict our liability for death or personal injury resulting from our specific negligence, or for any other liability that cannot be limited or excluded by law.
13.2. Subject to clause 13.1, the warranties contained in the remainder of this clause 13 are in place of all warranties or conditions implied by law.
13.3. We will endeavour to operate The Land Society with reasonable skill and care and that we will use our reasonable endeavours to correct any faults of which we are aware. We do not make any promises about the availability of The Land Society or any services made available through it. In particular we disclaim any liability in connection with any technical problems you may experience with The Land Society which may result in interruptions to The Land Society or the service it delivers, or any bugs or viruses in The Land Society Site, the server that makes The Land Society available or the content made available through The Land Society, or any other means of distributing The Land Society information. It is your responsibility to implement satisfactory safeguards and procedures to make sure any files you obtain through The Land Society are free from such contaminations or other harmful properties.
13.4. We do not review listings nor are we involved in any arrangements made between users. The posting of listings on The Land Society and the uploading of photographs by The Land Society Members do not constitute any form of recommendation, representation, endorsement or arrangement by us. In particular we have no control over and are not responsible for the truth or accuracy of any content, its compliance with any legal or regulatory requirement, the quality, safety or legality of any land or help offered, the terms on which any such offers are made available to you, the ability of The Land Society Members to sell, rent or purchase land or services. You accept that you take full responsibility for: (i) any decision to share, rent, sell or purchase land, as envisaged in your listing; (ii) negotiate the terms of any contract; and (iii) the resolution of any dispute between you and another user of The Land Society. Remember, your arrangement for entering into any contract will be with your selected individual, not us. By offering the functionality to enable The Land Society Members to upload photographs, The Land Society does not in any way condone or encourage use by The Land Society Members or anyone else of the land depicted in those photographs without the owner’s permission, nor does The Land Society accept any responsibility for the same.
13.5. Please note that any information posted via the functionality available on The Land Society is the opinion of the person posting only and, although we have rules for the posting of content, our interactive features are susceptible to misuse. As such you accept that if you do rely on the information posted, you do so at your own risk.
13.6. You will not hold us responsible for any loss you may incur as a result of us taking any of the actions described in clause 8 (Misuse of The Land Society ) of these terms nor for other users’ or The Land Society Members’ actions or inactions, including breach of these terms, nor of any actions of The Land Society ‘Helpers’ or ‘Experts’.
13.7. Occasionally we are unable to perform our obligations under these terms due to circumstances beyond our reasonable control. In such circumstances including, but not limited to, fire, flood and other acts of God, strikes, trade disputes, lock outs, restrictions of imports or exports, riot, accident, disruption to energy supplies, civil commotion, acts of terrorism or war, our inability or delay in performing our obligations will not be deemed to be in breach of contract.
13.8. WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU IN CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE FOR ANY LOSS OF BUSINESS, BARGAIN, DATA, PROFIT, GOODWILL, REPUTATION, OPPORTUNITY OR ANY OTHER INDIRECT, ECONOMIC OR CONSEQUENTIAL LOSS IN CONSEQUENCE OF ANY BREACH OF THESE TERMS.
14. INDEMNITY
14.1. You agree to only use The Land Society in accordance with these terms. You agree that you will compensate us (and our employees, agents and suppliers) in full for any damages, losses, costs and expenses, including reasonable legal fees we incur that arise out of: (i) any breach by you of these terms; (ii) any breach by you of any laws; and (iii) any liability we incur as a result of your use of The Land Society and/or any other service we provide by any other person using your log in details.
15. USER COMPLAINTS
15.1. If you have any complaints, please contact us via e-mail  or by post at;
Unit 36, 88-90 Hatton Garden, London EC1N 8PN and we will try to resolve them.
16. DISPUTE RESOLUTION BETWEEN THE LAND SOCIETY MEMBERS
16.1. We recommend that one of the terms of the contract that you agree with any The Land Society Member with whom you may choose to partner includes a mechanism for dealing with any disputes, should they occur.
16.2. We will co-operate with any law enforcement authorities in any investigations arising out of your dispute with another The Land Society Member.
16.3. If a complaint is made to us about a breach of these terms by a The Land Society Member, we will conduct an investigation in so far as we are able. In particular, by reviewing the listing made, and any exchange of communications between you and another The Land Society Member that took place via our server. After our investigation we may take action in accordance with clause 8 of these Terms (Misuse of The Land Society ). Please note that due to our obligations to keep account details private, we cannot divulge details of any action we take to you.
17. GENERAL
Severability
17.1. If any part of these terms is found to be unenforceable as a matter of law, all other parts of these terms shall not be affected and shall remain in force.
Entire agreement
17.2. These terms govern our relationship with you and represent our entire agreement with you.
Assignment
17.3. This agreement is personal to you. You may not assign, sub-license or otherwise transfer any of your rights under these terms.
Waiver
17.4. If you breach these terms and we choose to ignore your breach, we will still be entitled to use our rights and remedies at a later date or in any other situation where you breach the terms again.
Exclusion of third party rights
17.5. These terms do not create any right enforceable by any person who is not a party to this agreement.
18. GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION
18.1. This agreement between us will be concluded in English. Any disputes or claims between us arising out of or in connection with the contract are governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales. If a dispute arises between us out of or in connection with this agreement, we will both attempt to settle it by mediation in accordance with the Centre for Dispute Resolution (CEDR) Model Mediation Procedure. If either or both of us refuse to initiate the mediation procedure within 30 days of the dispute arising or if we both fail to agree terms of settlement within a further 40 days of the initiation of the procedure, either of us will be free to initiate proceedings in the courts of England which will have exclusive jurisdiction to deal with such dispute.
19. CONTACT US
The Land Society Limited is owned by its Members.
You can contact us at:
Unit 36, 88-90 Hatton Garden, London EC1N 8PN