Terms of Use

1. About Bolya

Bolya is a community platform connecting people with a personal connection to Ireland, wherever they live, through home swaps, community rate stays and hosting. Bolya welcomes anyone for whom Ireland is part of their story, whether that is by birth, family, marriage, upbringing or simply a deep connection to the country, not only people who identify as ethnically Irish.

Bolya is operated by Bolya Pty Ltd (ACN 696 393 343), trading as BOLYA ("Bolya", "we", "us"). These Terms of Use govern your access to and use of the Bolya platform, currently accessible at bolyaworld.com (the "Platform").

Bolya is in an early, founding phase. The Platform, its features and these Terms are expected to evolve as the community grows. We will let members know when a change is material.

2. Who can join

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account. By signing up, you confirm the information you provide is accurate and that you have the right to list, and to allow another member to occupy, any home or property you list, including any consent you need from a co-owner, a landlord, a mortgagee, or an owners corporation or body corporate.

Sign up is currently free and open. We may introduce a referral code, invite, or similar mechanism as the community grows, and will update this section if we do.

3. What Bolya is, and is not, right now

Bolya connects members in three distinct ways:

• Swap: trade homes with another member.
• Stay: stay in a member's home while they are away, at a community rate the host sets.
• Host: list a home for community members to stay in while it is available/while you are away.

At this stage of the Platform:

• Matching is manual. When you express interest in a listing, your request is personally reviewed by our founder or another authorised member of our team.
• There is no in-platform messaging yet. Once a match is confirmed, contact happens directly between members, outside the Platform.
• Payments are not processed through Bolya yet. Where a Stay involves a community rate, that payment happens directly between host and guest. Bolya is not a party to that payment, does not process, hold or guarantee it, and is not responsible for either member meeting their payment obligations.
• There is no bond, security deposit or escrow collected through Bolya at this stage.
• Identity checks are done manually. Before we introduce two members to each other, a member of our team holds a short video call with each of you and asks you to show a government issued photo identity document, in addition to the email and phone confirmation collected at sign up. We do not ask you to send us a copy of the document, we do not record the call, and we do not keep a copy of the document or note its number. This is a basic fraud prevention step. It is not a background check, a police check or a working with children check, and it is not a guarantee of any member's identity, character, intentions or conduct. Automated identity verification is a feature we are building toward as the Platform grows.
• Bolya is not a real estate agent, letting agent, travel agent, tour operator or accommodation provider. We do not manage properties, we do not make bookings on your behalf, and we do not act as agent for either member in a swap or a stay.
• Bolya does not check whether a listed home complies with local planning, registration, licensing, strata or tenancy requirements, or whether it meets any applicable safety standard. That is the responsibility of the member who lists it, as set out in section 5.

We will update these Terms as each of these features is built, and we will not describe a feature as available before it genuinely is.

4. Your account and profile

Keep your account details accurate and up to date. A profile photo is optional, if you choose not to add one, your initials will show instead. You are responsible for keeping your account secure and for all activity on it.

5. Listings and community rates

Listing a home is optional. You can use Bolya to browse and express interest in Swap and Stay listings without ever creating a listing yourself.

If you add a listing, you set your own weekly community rate. This rate is intended to help cover your costs while you are away, such as rent or mortgage repayments, and is not intended to generate a profit. It is generally set at roughly half the typical local market rate for a comparable stay. Setting a below market rate does not make the arrangement non-commercial. Any amount you receive may still be assessable income, and receiving it may still bring your home within local short term letting rules.

You are responsible for the accuracy of your listing, including details about the home and anything a guest should reasonably know before staying, such as stairs, pets in the home, fragile furnishings, or accessibility considerations.

Other people in the home. If you share your home with anyone else, including a partner, a family member, a flatmate or a co-owner, you must have their agreement before you list it. If you are the guest, you are responsible for everyone who stays with you. You must tell the host in advance how many people will be staying and who they are, and you must not allow anyone else to stay in the home or be given access to it. Only adults can hold a Bolya account, but you may bring your own children on a swap or stay where the host has agreed to it in advance.

Your own legal obligations. Before you list a home, or allow another member to stay in it, you are responsible for checking and complying with the laws and rules that apply to you. Depending on where your home is, these may include:

• planning, registration or licensing requirements for short term accommodation. In New South Wales, for example, paid stays of up to three months are regulated as short term rental accommodation, which can require registration on the state register, display of a property identification number on the listing, compliance with fire safety standards and a mandatory code of conduct, and can be subject to a cap on the number of nights a year a home may be let while you are not living in it;
• any by-law, community scheme rule, owners corporation resolution or development consent condition affecting your lot or your property;
• the terms of your lease or your mortgage, and any consent your landlord or mortgagee requires before someone else occupies the home;
• your insurance position, as set out in section 8;
• your tax obligations, including any income tax, GST or land tax consequences of receiving a community rate; and
• in Ireland and elsewhere, the equivalent local planning, registration, letting, safety and tax rules.

Bolya does not advise you on any of this, does not verify your compliance, and is not responsible if you do not comply. If you are not sure whether you are permitted to list your home, get your own advice before you do.

6. Expressing interest and matching

Expressing interest in a listing is not a booking and does not guarantee a match. During this pilot phase, each expression of interest is personally reviewed by our founder or another authorised member of our team. Response times may vary, and Bolya does not guarantee that any expression of interest will result in a match, swap or stay.

Before we introduce two members to each other, a member of our team holds a short video call with each of you and asks you to show a government issued photo identity document. We compare the document to the person on the call and to the name on the account. We do not ask for a copy of the document, we do not record the call, and we do not keep a copy of the document or note its number. Our Privacy Policy explains what we do and do not keep.

This process is designed to reduce the risk of fraudulent or misrepresented accounts. It does not constitute a background check, a police check or a working with children check, and it is not a guarantee of a member's identity, character, intentions or conduct. Section 12 sets out the limits of this process. Members should exercise their own judgement when engaging with another member, and should tell us straight away if something does not seem right.

This is our current practice rather than a permanent feature of the Platform. We may change how we verify identity as the Platform develops, including by moving to an automated provider, and we will update these Terms if we do.

7. Cancellations

Swaps and stays are arranged directly between members. If you need to cancel before a swap or stay begins, tell the other member as early as possible.

Bolya does not currently hold any bond, deposit or refundable credit, and does not process the community rate payment for a Stay. Because of this, we cannot process or guarantee a refund if a stay or swap is cancelled, any refund or compensation for a cancellation is a matter between the members involved, not Bolya.

Bolya is not responsible for any loss a member incurs because another member cancels, including non-refundable travel costs, and does not mediate cancellation disputes between members at this stage.

We encourage members to agree on a clear cancellation approach, including timeframes and any refund expectations, before confirming a match, and to keep a record of that agreement themselves, such as an email, since there is no in-platform messaging record yet.

A member who cancels repeatedly, or shows a pattern of unreliable behaviour, may have their account suspended.

8. Payments, bond and insurance

Bolya does not currently process payments, hold bond or security deposits, or provide insurance or damage cover of any kind. Where money changes hands for a Stay, this happens directly between host and guest, and members are responsible for agreeing and managing that payment between themselves.

We strongly encourage members to check with their own home, contents and travel insurers before a swap or stay, to confirm their policy covers having another member stay in their home, or covers them while staying in someone else's home. Bolya does not provide this cover and makes no representation about what any individual policy includes. Many standard home and contents policies do not cover occupation of your home by someone who is not a member of your household, whether or not money changes hands, and some are affected by it. Check this with your own insurer before you list.

In-platform payments, bond, escrow and automated identity verification are part of our future roadmap. We will update these Terms before any of these become live features.

Members may wish to agree their own refundable amount directly between themselves, for example a sum the guest holds with the host as reassurance for the stay, before confirming a match. This is entirely a matter between the members involved. Bolya does not hold, manage, mediate or guarantee any such arrangement, and takes no responsibility for whether it is returned or honoured.

9. Founding phase and founding member program

Bolya is currently in a founding, pilot phase. Founding members are early participants who help shape the Platform as it is built, and may be recognised with a badge or similar founding status. Details of the founding phase, including any free access period and when membership pricing begins, may change as the Platform develops. We will communicate any material changes to affected members directly.

10. Community conduct

Bolya is built on trust and community. We expect members to treat each other, and our team, with respect. We do not tolerate discrimination on any protected ground, including family or parental status, disability, race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, in listings, communications or conduct on or around the Platform. This applies when you decide whether to accept a swap or a stay. You may decline for practical reasons, such as dates, the number of people, or the suitability of your home, but not because of a member's race, national or ethnic origin, religion, disability, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital or relationship status, pregnancy, or family or carer responsibilities.

If you experience a problem with another member, please contact us directly. There is no in-platform reporting tool at this stage, so email is currently the fastest way to reach us.

If you ever feel unsafe, contact local emergency services first, then tell us. We will act on a safety report as quickly as we can, and may suspend an account while we look into one.

You must not use Bolya fraudulently, misrepresent yourself or a listing, attempt to circumvent our manual matching process, or use the Platform for any unlawful purpose.

Cameras and recording devices. If your home has a security camera, smart doorbell, smart speaker or any other device capable of recording video, audio or images, you must disclose it in your listing and tell a matched member where it is before they arrive. Any device that records inside the home must be switched off for the whole of a swap or stay. Concealed recording devices are never permitted. If you are staying in another member's home, do not install a recording device, and do not photograph or film the inside of the home, the household or another member without their permission.

This is not only a Bolya rule. Recording a person inside a home without their knowledge can be an offence under state and territory surveillance devices legislation, and since 10 June 2025 it can also give rise to a personal claim against you for a serious invasion of privacy. We will remove an account for a breach of this section.

11. Content and intellectual property

You retain ownership of the content you provide, such as listing descriptions and photos. You give Bolya a non-exclusive, royalty free, worldwide licence to host, store, reproduce, adapt for formatting purposes, publish and display that content on the Platform, and to use it in marketing the Platform. You can end that licence for future use by removing the content or closing your account, although we may need a reasonable period to remove it from material we have already published or distributed. You confirm that you own the content, or otherwise have the right to give us this licence, including where a photograph shows another person or another person's property.

The Bolya name, logo, brand and the Platform itself, including its design, text and underlying software, are owned by Bolya Pty Ltd or our licensors. Except for the licence you give us over your own content, nothing in these Terms gives you any right to use our branding, trade marks or platform content without our prior written permission.

12. Liability

Bolya facilitates connections between members. At this stage, we are not a party to any swap or stay arrangement itself, and do not guarantee the condition of any home, the conduct of any member, or the outcome of any match. To the extent permitted by law, Bolya is not liable for loss or damage arising from your use of the Platform or any arrangement made with another member.

The video call and identity document review described in sections 3 and 6 is a fraud prevention measure only. It is not a background check, and Bolya makes no representation or warranty about any member's character, intentions, criminal history or suitability to swap, stay or host, whether verified or not.

Swapping, staying in, or hosting in a home carries inherent risks, including property damage, personal injury and disputes between members. By using the Platform, you accept these risks. Bolya is not responsible for the physical condition, safety or suitability of any home listed, or for the conduct of any member during a swap, stay or hosting arrangement.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Bolya's total liability to you arising out of or in connection with these Terms or your use of the Platform is limited to the total fees, if any, paid by you to Bolya in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim. During the founding phase, this amount is currently nil.

Nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts or modifies any consumer guarantee, right or remedy under the Australian Consumer Law, or equivalent Irish or EU consumer protection law, that cannot lawfully be excluded.

You agree to indemnify Bolya against any loss, claim or damage we reasonably incur as a direct result of your breach of these Terms, your misuse of the Platform, or your conduct toward another member. This indemnity is reduced to the extent that our own act or omission caused or contributed to the loss, and does not apply to loss we could reasonably have avoided.

The Platform is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. We do not warrant that the Platform will be uninterrupted, error free, or will meet your particular requirements.

13. Suspending or ending your account

We may suspend or end an account that breaches these Terms, acts unsafely toward another member, or misuses the Platform. You can close your account at any time by contacting us. Except where a member's safety or a legal obligation requires us to act immediately, we will tell you why we have suspended or ended an account and give you a reasonable opportunity to respond.

We may also decline to publish, promote or progress any listing, expression of interest or match, or decline an application for an account, where we reasonably consider it necessary to protect the safety of members, the integrity of the community, or the legal position of Bolya. We will give you a reason where we are able to, unless doing so would compromise another member's safety or privacy, or would breach a legal obligation.

14. General provisions

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and Bolya regarding your use of the Platform, and replace any prior understanding between us on this topic.

If any part of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the rest of these Terms continues to apply.

We may transfer or assign our rights and obligations under these Terms, including if Bolya is acquired, restructured, or sells its business. You may not assign or transfer your account or these Terms to anyone else.

We may give you notice by email to the address on your account. You can contact us using the details in the Contact us section below.

If we do not enforce a right under these Terms on one occasion, that does not mean we have given up that right.

We are not responsible for any delay or failure to perform our obligations under these Terms caused by events outside our reasonable control.

If a dispute arises between you and Bolya, please contact us first so we can try to resolve it informally. If it cannot be resolved this way, it will be handled under the governing law and jurisdiction set out below.

Each section of these Terms operates separately, and the sections dealing with liability, indemnity and intellectual property continue to apply after your account is closed.

We may engage contractors and service providers to help us operate the Platform, and a reference to our team includes them.

15. Changes to these Terms

Because Bolya is an early stage platform, these Terms will be updated as new features launch. We will give members at least 14 days notice by email before a material change takes effect, and will publish the updated Terms with a new date. If you do not agree with a material change you can close your account before it takes effect, and the change will not apply to a swap or stay you have already confirmed.

16. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia, reflecting Bolya Pty Ltd as the operating entity, and you and we submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales. Where you are a consumer based in Ireland or the EU, nothing in this section deprives you of the protection of the mandatory consumer laws of the country where you live, or of any right you have to bring proceedings in the courts of that country.

17. Contact us

If you have any questions about these Terms, contact us at hello@bolyaworld.com.

Bolya Pty Ltd (ACN 696 393 343), hello@bolyaworld.com.