Terms and Conditions

The website and the services presented on it are provided by:

Company name

SÓ ARQUITETOS – ATELIER DE ARQUITETURA, LDA.

Registered office

Estrada dos Portões Vermelhos, n.º 20, Sala 12, 9560-350 Lagoa, São Miguel, Açores, Portugal

NIPC (company tax number) and registration number

516 215 850, at the Commercial Registry Office

Share capital

€1,000.00

Email

geral@soarquitetos.com

Telephone

+351 912 299 424 (call to a Portuguese mobile network)

Architecture is a regulated profession. The studio's projects are prepared and signed by architects registered with the Ordem dos Arquitectos, which confers the professional title of architect in Portugal, and who are bound by the Statute of the Ordem dos Arquitectos and its rules of professional conduct. The studio's managing partners are architects registered with the Ordem: Gonçalo Raingeard De La Blétière Ferreira Lopes (membership no. 26817) and Bruno Alexandre Moniz Furtado (membership no. 26836).

The studio's architects are covered by the compulsory professional liability insurance for members of the Ordem dos Arquitectos, as required by Law No. 31/2009 of 3 July, taken out with Ageas Portugal, Companhia de Seguros, S.A., Praça Príncipe Perfeito, 2, 1990-278 Lisboa (territorial cover: Portugal). The studio also holds its own professional and general liability insurance.

• These Terms apply to your use of the website, to requests for proposals made through it and to contracts entered into by accepting a proposal on the website.
• The contract consists of the accepted proposal — with its scope, stages, deliverables, exclusions, fees, payment terms and general notes — and these Terms.
• Where the proposal and these Terms deal with the same matter differently, the proposal prevails, as it is the specific agreement made with you (Article 7 of Decree-Law No. 446/85 of 25 October).
• Each contract is governed by the version of these Terms in force on the date of acceptance, identified by the date at the top of this page. The studio keeps earlier versions and will send you any of them on request.

Access to the website is open and free of charge. By using it, you agree not to:

• use it for unlawful purposes or in breach of these Terms;
• attempt to access restricted areas, the studio's systems or proposals that were not sent to you;
• extract content by automated means, overload the website or introduce malicious code into it.

The content of the website is for information only. The projects shown illustrate work carried out and do not constitute an offer; the figures the form asks you for — areas, construction budget, timescales — are your own estimates, not commitments on the part of the studio.

The website contains links to third-party services, such as the meeting booking page and the studio's social media. Those services have their own terms, for which the studio is not responsible.

We aim to keep the website available and accurate, but we may suspend it for maintenance or for reasons beyond our control.

The texts, photographs, drawings, images, videos, logos and design of the website are protected by the Code of Copyright and Related Rights and belong to the studio or to their respective authors, who have authorised their use. The works of architecture shown are themselves protected works.

You may view the content and share links to the pages. Any other use — reproduction, modification, commercial use or publication in any other medium — requires written permission. For press enquiries, please write to geral@soarquitetos.com.

• Requesting a proposal is free of charge and commits neither party. Sending a request does not form a contract.
• The proposal is prepared on the basis of what you tell us about the property and the project. We ask that this information be true and as accurate as possible. Should it prove to differ substantially from the reality, the fees may need to be revised, always by agreement with you.
• The construction budget you give is your own estimate, which helps us gauge the scale of the project. It is neither a quotation from the studio nor a guarantee of the cost of the works.
• Any documents and photographs you upload must be your own or yours to share, and must contain only such third-party data as the request requires.
• The studio may decline to submit a proposal, for example where the request falls outside its field of work or its availability.

• Each proposal is prepared for a specific client and project, and is made available through a personal link containing a long, random code.
• Anyone who has the link can view the proposal. Share it only with those who need to see it — a co-owner, your lawyer, your bank. If you think it has reached someone it should not have, let us know: we will deactivate the link and send you a new one.
• The proposal may be accepted until the expiry date stated in it. After that date it lapses and can no longer be accepted, but you may ask us for a new one.
• Until it is accepted, the studio may correct or replace the proposal. An obvious error of calculation or of writing may be corrected at any time, under Article 249 of the Portuguese Civil Code.
• Fees are stated in euros. VAT is added at the rate in force on the date of the invoice.

Accepting a proposal on the website means entering into a contract. The steps are as follows (Articles 27 to 29 of Decree-Law No. 7/2004 of 7 January):

1. 1.Read the proposal in full, including the exclusions, the general notes and the payment terms.
2. 2.At the end of the proposal, enter your billing details.
3. 3.Before accepting, you may review and correct any of your details. Nothing is accepted until you press the acceptance button.
4. 4.By pressing the button, you accept the proposal, with the obligation to pay the fees set out in it, together with these Terms.
5. 5.The next screen confirms your acceptance and its date. We send a copy of the proposal, exactly as you accepted it, to the email address you gave, and that copy serves as confirmation of the contract.

• The contract is deemed to be concluded at the moment the acceptance is recorded.
• Each proposal can be accepted only once. Any subsequent change must be agreed in writing, for which email is sufficient.
• The studio keeps the version of the proposal you accepted, which is unaffected by any later changes, and will send you a copy whenever you ask.

• The fees, and when each instalment falls due, are as set out in the payment terms of the proposal.
• We issue an invoice for each payment, using the billing details you gave us. If those details are wrong, the correction is made by credit note and a new invoice.
• Payment is made by bank transfer, within the period stated on the invoice, to the IBAN shown on it. We will never ask you by email to pay into a different account: if you receive such a request, confirm it with us by telephone before paying.
• Additional work provided for in the proposal — such as additional images, changes after the stages indicated or consulting contractors — is invoiced only if you request it, at the rates stated in the proposal.
• Fees and charges excluded from the proposal, such as those payable to the licensing authorities, are paid by the client.
• In the event of late payment, late-payment interest is due at the applicable statutory rate. If the delay continues for more than 15 days after we notify you in writing, we may suspend work until payment is made, without being liable for any resulting delay.

• Proposals do not set deadlines, because the progress of each stage depends on third parties — above all on municipal councils and the other authorities that assess applications. The studio undertakes to carry out each stage diligently and within a reasonable time, and to keep you informed whenever you ask.
• The studio prepares applications in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations. The decision on them, how long it takes and any conditions it imposes are, however, matters for the competent authorities, so the studio cannot guarantee approval.
• If an application is refused or made subject to conditions because of a technical error attributable to the studio, the studio will correct it at no additional cost. In all other cases, a refusal does not relieve the client of paying for the work carried out.
• The constraints applying to the site are verified as described in the proposal.

• To provide us, in good time, with accurate information and the documents the project requires — for example, the land registry certificate, the property tax record (caderneta predial) and, where excluded from the proposal, the topographic survey.
• To be entitled to carry out works on the property, as its owner or with the owner's authorisation, since applications to the public authorities depend on it.
• To respond to our requests and approve each stage within a reasonable time. While we are awaiting your response, progress on the project is suspended.
• To pay the fees and charges as agreed.

• Changes requested by the client are dealt with as the proposal provides: those that develop the approved concept are charged by the hour from the stage specified in it, and those that replace it with a different concept are the subject of a new proposal, submitted before any work is done.
• Refinements requested by the competent authorities while assessing an application, on the basis of the rules applicable on the date of submission, are included.
• Any change to the scope of the contract must be agreed in writing, for which email is sufficient.

If you contract for purposes outside your trade, business or profession — for example, the design of your own home — you are a consumer and have the right to withdraw from the contract within 14 days of accepting the proposal, without giving any reason and at no cost, save as set out below (Decree-Law No. 24/2014 of 14 February).

• To exercise this right, send us a clear statement before the period expires — by email to geral@soarquitetos.com or by post to Estrada dos Portões Vermelhos, n.º 20, Sala 12, 9560-350 Lagoa, São Miguel, Açores, Portugal. You may use the form in the annex, but you are not obliged to.
• We will refund all payments received from you within 14 days of your notice, using the same means of payment you used unless we agree otherwise, at no cost to you.
• During those 14 days, the studio will begin work only if you expressly ask it to. If you do so and then withdraw, you pay only an amount proportionate to the work carried out up to your notice (Article 15).
• If the service is fully performed within the withdrawal period, at your express request and with your acknowledgement that you lose this right once the service is complete, the right can no longer be exercised (Article 17(1)(a)).
• This right does not apply to anyone contracting in the course of a business or profession.

• You may end the contract at any time by giving written notice. In that case, you pay the fees for the work carried out up to the date of your notice and any expenses already incurred for the project. If what you have already paid exceeds that amount, we will refund the difference within 30 days.
• Either party may terminate the contract if the other seriously fails to honour what was agreed and does not remedy the failure within 30 days of written notice — for example, non-payment of an invoice.
• Ending the contract does not affect the provisions on copyright in respect of material already paid for.

• Projects — drawings, written documents, images and models — are works protected by the Code of Copyright and Related Rights. Authorship and moral rights belong to the architects who created them.
• On payment of the fees for each stage, the client may use the material from that stage for the purpose of the contract: obtaining the licence for, building and using the works on the property identified in the proposal. The client may not use that material at another location, repeat the work or reproduce it for other purposes without the studio's agreement.
• If the project or the works are altered without the studio's involvement, the studio is not responsible for those alterations and the authors may refuse to have the altered work attributed to them.
• The studio may photograph and publish the project and the completed building on its website and social media, in publications and in competitions, without identifying the client or the exact location unless the client agrees. You may object at any time to the publication of images of the interior of your home, by email to geral@soarquitetos.com.

• The studio is liable for the services it provides in accordance with the law, and provides them with the care and technical rigour the profession demands.
• The studio is not liable for the execution of the works by contractors and subcontractors, unless it has been formally engaged to supervise or direct the works, nor for the decisions or delays of public authorities.
• The studio is not liable for errors arising from inaccurate information or documents supplied by the client or by third parties the client engages, such as a topographic survey.
• Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits the studio's liability where the law does not permit it, in particular for wilful misconduct or gross negligence, or for death, personal injury or harm to health.

How we process your personal data is described in the Privacy Policy, and what the website stores on your device in the Cookie Policy.

Communications about the contract are, as a rule, made by email: from us, to the email address you gave when accepting the proposal; from you, to geral@soarquitetos.com. Please let us know if your email address changes.

• If something goes wrong, please speak to us first, at geral@soarquitetos.com. Most issues can be resolved that way.
• You may lodge a complaint in the Livro de Reclamações Eletrónico (the Electronic Complaints Book).
• If you are a consumer, you may refer the matter to an alternative consumer dispute resolution body, such as the Centro Nacional de Informação e Arbitragem de Conflitos de Consumo (cniacc.pt). The full list of these bodies is available on the Portal do Consumidor (Law No. 144/2015 of 8 September).
• In consumer disputes worth no more than €5,000, if the consumer expressly chooses to refer them to an authorised consumer arbitration centre, arbitration is binding on the studio (Article 14(2) of Law No. 24/96 of 31 July).
• Matters of professional conduct concerning the architects may be referred to the Ordem dos Arquitectos.

• These Terms and the contracts entered into under them are governed by Portuguese law.
• If you are a consumer, this choice of law does not deprive you of the protection of the mandatory rules of the country in which you habitually reside, and you may bring proceedings in any court the law allows.
• In all other cases, the Azores District Court (Comarca dos Açores) has jurisdiction.
• These Terms are available in Portuguese, English and French. In the event of any discrepancy, the Portuguese version prevails.

We may update these Terms; the date at the top of this page shows the version in force. Changes do not affect contracts already concluded, which remain subject to the version accepted.

Complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract within the 14-day period. You may copy it into an email.