Terms of service

Last updated: 16 October 2026

1. Who we are

Porchlights is a trading name of Hilling Homes Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 15370764), registered office 33a Rayside, Basildon, England, SS14 1NB ("we", "us"). Contact: support@porchlights.co.uk.

2. The service

Porchlights is software that helps landlords who manage their own properties record repairs, communicate with tenants and tradespeople, track compliance dates and store documents. It is a record-keeping and communication tool.

3. Not legal or professional advice

Checklists, reminders, response-time targets, wording and any other information in Porchlights are general guidance to help you stay organised. They are not legal advice and may not reflect the latest law in England, Wales or Scotland, or your local council's requirements. You remain responsible for meeting your legal obligations as a landlord. Check official guidance and take professional advice where needed. Porchlights does not prepare or serve legal notices and does not provide tax services.

4. Emergencies

Porchlights shows tenants emergency numbers and safety steps for gas leaks, carbon monoxide, fire, flooding and electrical danger. It is not an emergency service and does not guarantee that a message reaches you. You must give tenants a way to contact you in an emergency and act on emergencies promptly.

5. Your account

You must give accurate information, keep your password safe and tell us about any unauthorised use. You are responsible for everything done through your account.

6. Free trial, fees and cancellation

New accounts get a 30-day free trial. After that the service costs £40 per month or £385 per year, billed in advance through our payment provider Stripe. Subscriptions renew automatically until cancelled. You can cancel at any time from the Billing page, and the cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. Fees already paid are not refunded except where the law requires. If payment fails or the trial ends without a subscription, your account becomes read-only, but tenant reporting links and emergency instructions keep working.

7. Your data and your tenants' data

You own the data you and your tenants put into Porchlights. For personal data about tenants, tradespeople and others, you are the data controller and we are your data processor. Our data processing terms form part of these terms. You must have a lawful basis for the personal data you record, including any information about a tenant's health or vulnerability, and you must give tenants a privacy notice. Porchlights shows one on every reporting link.

8. Acceptable use

Don't use Porchlights to break the law, harass anyone, send spam, upload malware or try to access other accounts.

9. Availability

We aim to keep Porchlights available at all times but can't guarantee it will be uninterrupted or error-free. Download backups of important records (Settings → Export) regularly.

10. Liability

Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or anything else that can't be limited by law. Otherwise, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of rent or profit, or fines and penalties arising from your obligations as a landlord, and our total liability in any 12 months is limited to the fees you paid us in that period.

11. Ending the service

You can close your account at any time from Settings, which permanently deletes your data. We may suspend or end accounts that break these terms. We will give reasonable notice before closing the service as a whole, so you can export your data.

12. Changes and law

We may update these terms and will tell you about important changes in advance. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction, without affecting your rights in Scotland or Northern Ireland.