Terms of service
The terms on which ClearRegs is provided, including what the service does and, just as importantly, what it does not do.
This is a working draft, written from how ClearRegs actually operates rather than from a template. It has not been reviewed by a solicitor, and the points marked [TO CONFIRM] need decisions before it can be published.
ClearRegs is a compliance product with professional-liability exposure. Have this reviewed before it goes live.
1. These terms
By using ClearRegs you accept these terms. If you are using it for a practice or an employer, you confirm you are able to accept them on its behalf.
[TO CONFIRM: the contracting entity, once the company is incorporated.]
2. What ClearRegs is
ClearRegs has two parts. Projects is a compliance register: it sets out the requirements that apply to a building and records status, responsibility and evidence against each one. Search retrieves passages from indexed regulatory documents and answers from that material, citing the document and page it drew on.
3. What ClearRegs is not
This section matters more than any other, so it is put plainly.
- ClearRegs does not determine or certify compliance. It helps you organise and evidence your own assessment.
- ClearRegs is not a substitute for professional judgement, and using it is not the giving of professional advice by us.
- ClearRegs does not replace building control. Approval rests with the building control body, never with this service.
- An answer is a starting point for your own verification. Every answer cites its source so that you can check it, and you are expected to.
- You remain responsible for discharging your own statutory duties.
4. Accuracy
We measure answer quality and publish the result together with how it was calculated. The most recent evaluation covered 493 questions across the indexed documents. Each answer was checked for the expected technical terms and for citation of the expected Approved Document: 381 met both criteria, 112 met one, and none met neither. That evaluation measures term coverage and citation targeting; it does not establish that an answer is technically or legally correct.
That is a measurement, not a warranty. The service can give an incomplete answer, can fail to find a relevant passage, and depends on the indexed documents being current when you ask. We do not warrant that any answer is correct, complete, or suitable for your project.
5. Source material
The Approved Documents and legislation indexed by ClearRegs are Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0, which permits commercial use subject to attribution. Exports and citations carry that attribution.
Where the guidance refers to British Standards or other third-party publications, those documents are not reproduced and remain the property of their publishers. You need your own licence to rely on them.
6. Your account
Keep your sign-in details secure and tell us promptly if you believe someone else has access. You are responsible for activity under your account. During invite-only testing an invite code is required, and access may be changed or withdrawn as the product develops.
7. Your content
Your projects, notes, drawings and uploaded evidence remain yours. You grant us only the permission needed to host that content and display it back to you and to the people you invite. We do not use your project content to train models.
Do not upload anything you do not have the right to upload, and do not enter personal data that does not need to be there.
8. Acceptable use
Do not attempt to break, overload or circumvent the service or its access controls, scrape it in bulk, resell access to it, or use it unlawfully. Rate limits apply to the answering endpoints.
9. Availability
ClearRegs is in invite-only testing. There is no service level commitment: it may be unavailable, it may change, and features may be withdrawn. Keep your own copies of anything you cannot afford to lose.
10. Liability
Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited.
Subject to that, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, for loss of profit, contracts, goodwill or anticipated savings, or for loss arising because an answer was relied on without being checked against the source it cited.
[TO CONFIRM: the liability cap. Conventionally the greater of the fees paid in the preceding 12 months or a fixed sum, but during a free testing phase the fees are nil, so this needs deciding alongside professional indemnity cover.]
11. Ending it
You can stop using ClearRegs and ask us to close your account at any time. We may suspend or end access if these terms are breached, or if we discontinue the service.
12. Governing law
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.
13. Changes
We may update these terms. The date at the top shows when they last changed, and we will tell account holders directly about significant changes.