House Lantern

Terms of Service

Effective October 7, 2026

These terms are an agreement between you and House Lantern, based in Illinois ("House Lantern", "we", "us"). We are forming House Lantern LLC, and these terms will name it once it exists. By creating an account or using House Lantern, you agree to these terms and to our Privacy Policy.

1. What House Lantern is

House Lantern keeps a record of your house: what's in it, how to look after it, and what has been done to it. It reminds you of upkeep, reads appliance labels and documents, helps you work through common problems with Fix it and Ask, shows public records about the house, and lets service pros add their visits for your approval.

2. Who can use it

You must be at least 18. Use a real email address and keep your password private. You're responsible for what happens in your account and for who you add to your house.

3. Your house record is yours

• You own your content. Everything you, your household, or your builder put into your house record belongs to the house's owner, not to us.
• The permission you give us. You let House Lantern store, copy, display and process your content only to run House Lantern for you (for example, sending a label photo to our AI provider to read it). That permission ends when you delete the content or your account.
• One thing we keep. When House Lantern reads a manufacturer's manual for a model, the summary is reused for every house with that model. It contains nothing about you or your house.

4. Fix it and Ask are guidance, not professional advice

Fix it and Ask summarize your model's manual and general information to help with common problems. They are not professional advice and not a substitute for a licensed professional. They can be wrong, they can't see your equipment, and the manual found may not match your exact model.

• Follow the manufacturer's instructions and safety warnings. If Fix it and the manual disagree, the manual wins.
• If you smell gas or suspect carbon monoxide, leave the house and call 911 or your gas company from outside. Fix it stops when you mention gas, carbon monoxide, burning smells, smoke, sparks, the electrical panel or refrigerant. Don't work around a safety stop.
• Never open an electrical panel, work on gas lines or burners, or handle refrigerant because of something House Lantern said.
• You decide whether to do any repair yourself, and you do it at your own risk. When in doubt, call a licensed professional.

5. Connected devices

Some houses can connect a smart-home hub so House Lantern can adjust a few devices, such as a thermostat. House Lantern never controls safety equipment (locks, garage doors, alarms, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, gas equipment, water shut-offs). Commands can fail or be delayed, so check that a device did what you meant, and don't rely on House Lantern for safety or emergency monitoring.

6. Public records and estimates

Public records come from government sources as they publish them and can be incomplete, out of date or wrong. They only show permitted work. A House Lantern record is not a home inspection, appraisal, survey, title search or flood determination. Appliance ages and upkeep schedules are estimates and general guidance; they don't replace your warranty's requirements or a professional's advice.

7. Builders, designers and service pros

If a builder or designer set up your house, they can see and edit it until you claim it; then their access ends unless you let them keep seeing it (read only), which you can remove any time. A service pro you send a visit link to can add a visit, which waits for your approval. Pros' products, work and warranties are theirs, not House Lantern's.

8. Acceptable use

Don't:

• use House Lantern for a house you have no right to manage, or look up addresses to harass or track anyone;
• upload anything illegal, anything that infringes someone else's rights, or photos of people without their permission;
• try to get into another household's data, get around limits, or test our security without written permission;
• scrape, copy or resell House Lantern, its manual summaries or its public-record results in bulk, or use it to send spam.

We may suspend or close an account that breaks these rules. Unless the problem is serious or illegal, we'll tell you first and give you a chance to download your house.

9. Fees

House Lantern is free for homeowners today. If we ever charge for something, we'll tell you the price before you pay, and your house record, your download and the transfer when you sell stay free.

10. Other services

House Lantern relies on the service providers listed in the Privacy Policy and links to manufacturers' manuals and other sites. We aren't responsible for their content or availability.

11. Disclaimers

House Lantern is provided "as is" and "as available." To the extent the law allows, we disclaim all warranties, including that it is accurate, complete, uninterrupted, or fit for a particular purpose.

12. Limitation of liability

To the extent the law allows, House Lantern is not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for lost data or property damage arising from Fix it or Ask guidance, device commands, public records or missed reminders. Our total liability for any claim is limited to the greater of what you paid us in the 12 months before the claim or $100.

13. Ending your account

You can delete your account any time in House settings. Download your house first if you want a copy.

14. Disputes and governing law

These terms are governed by Illinois law. Before filing any claim, email [email protected] and give us 30 days to make it right. Disputes go to the state or federal courts in DuPage County, Illinois, or small-claims court, unless the law where you live gives you the right to bring them elsewhere.

15. Changes

We'll email account holders at least 30 days before a material change. Using House Lantern after that means you accept the change.

The House Lantern Ownership Promise

This promise is part of these terms.

Contact

[email protected] · House Lantern, Illinois