Housing Data and Technology Innovation Challenge Official Rules

Important: Please read these Official Rules before entering this Housing Data and Technology Innovation Challenge (the “Challenge”). By participating in the Challenge, each participant (a “Participant” or “you”) agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and represents that they satisfy all of the eligibility requirements below. These Official Rules form a binding agreement between each Participant, on one hand, and each of the Sponsor and Administrator (as defined below), on the other hand, with respect to the Challenge.

VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. NO PURCHASE, PAYMENT, OR FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS CHALLENGE. PURCHASE, PAYMENT, OR FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION WILL NOT INCREASE ODDS OF WINNING.

Background Information. The United States faces a persistent housing shortage, with estimates ranging from 1.2 to 4.7 million homes. In response, policymakers are pursuing reforms, such as legalizing accessory dwelling units, reducing parking requirements, allowing more housing near jobs and transit, and lowering development fees. Yet, decisionmakers often lack accessible and transparent tools to estimate the likely effects of those reforms before their implementation. Existing models tend to be either difficult for non-specialists to understand or too data-intensive to apply broadly, leaving many policy debates reliant on anecdote, ideology, or opaque analyses. The Housing Data and Technology Innovation Challenge aims to fix that problem.

The Challenge is a skill-based, fully remote, national challenge for Participants to build transparent, replicable, and explainable tools that help decisionmakers understand how state-level pro-housing policy reforms are likely to affect housing production or aggregate stock relative to a baseline. The materials that eligible Participants develop and submit will be evaluated by judges, who will choose the winners in accordance with these Official Rules. Prizes will be awarded to the three teams with the highest scores according to the judging criteria. See below and the Housing Data and Technology Innovation Challenge Handbook (the “Challenge Handbook”) located at Participant Handbook for complete details.

1. Sponsor and Administrator.

The Sponsor of the Challenge is Arnold Ventures LLC (“Sponsor”). The Administrator of the Challenge is The Turnout (“Administrator”), P.O. Box 7316, Silver Spring, MD 20907.

2. Eligibility.

The Challenge is open only to legal residents of any of the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia, who are at least eighteen (18) years of age (or the age of majority under the law of their residence) as of September 14, 2026, and who have a U.S. bank account during the entire Challenge Period. Directors, officers, and employees of Sponsor, Administrator, any of the judges in this Challenge, any of the mentors in this Challenge, or any other organizations involved with the design, production, promotion, execution, or distribution of the Challenge, and their parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, and any of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents, representatives, professional advisors, consultants, advertising and promotional agencies, and the immediate family members (spouse, parent, stepparent, child, stepchild, sibling, stepsibling, and their respective spouses), and persons living in the same household (whether related or not), of each are not eligible to enter the Challenge or to win a prize. Participants are solely responsible for complying with any rules or restrictions imposed by their employer that could impact their eligibility to enter the Challenge or to win a prize. In addition, individuals whose participation in the Challenge would create, in the sole discretion of Sponsor and/or Administrator, a real or apparent conflict of interest are ineligible to participate in the Challenge. To be eligible to win a prize, entries must be submitted in the manner designated below. All applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply.

IF YOU DO NOT SATISFY ALL OF THESE REQUIREMENTS, OR ANY OTHER ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT IN THESE OFFICIAL RULES, YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO WIN A PRIZE, AND SPONSOR AND ADMINISTRATOR RESERVE THE RIGHT NOT TO AWARD A PRIZE TO YOU.

3. Challenge Period.

The Challenge Period begins on the first day of the Registration Period, continues through the Coding Period and the Judging Period, and will end on January 30, 2027. The Registration Period will begin at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time (“ET”) on September 14, 2026 and will end at 9:00 a.m. ET on October 7, 2026. The Coding Period will begin at 9:01 am ET on October 14, 2026 and will end at 11:59 pm ET on December 16, 2026, which is when submissions are due (the “Submission Deadline”). The Judging Period begins at the Submission Deadline and ends on January 30, 2027. Winners will be announced on or about February 2027. The Administrator’s computers will serve as the official timekeeping device. All Participants must register during the Registration Period, and all Teams (as defined below) must submit their submissions by the Submission Deadline to be eligible to win a prize.

4. Registration.

Each eligible Participant must complete a Registration Form located at https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/xggvhB1dCg during the Registration Period. By participating in the Challenge, you agree to be bound by these Official Rules and represent that you satisfy all of the eligibility requirements. You also understand and agree that these Official Rules form a binding agreement between you, on one hand, and each of the Sponsor and Administrator, on the other hand, with respect to the Challenge.

The Administrator will notify you if the Sponsor or Administrator has a good faith reason to believe that you are not eligible to participate in the Challenge. You will be provided an opportunity to prove your eligibility, but you will be ineligible to participate in the Challenge unless the Administrator determines, in its sole discretion, that you are, in fact, eligible. All eligibility decisions are final.

If the Administrator does not notify you that you are ineligible to participate, after you register for the Challenge, you will receive a welcome email with a link to the Challenge Platform. Only registered participants will be able to access the Challenge Platform. The Challenge Platform refers to the integrated collection of products and services used to administer and support the Challenge, and to facilitate collaboration among the Administrator the Sponsor, participants, mentors, and judges. The Challenge Platform will provide various resources to assist participants, including webinars and information about meeting with Challenge mentors. The mentors will be experienced in economics, planning, real estate, finance, and civic technology, and will be available to participants to provide structured expert feedback during weekly office hours. The Challenge Platform will also include a matchmaking channel if you are looking to join or build a Team (as defined below).

5. Teams and Team Leaders.

Each submission in the Challenge (a “Submission”) is submitted by a team of eligible Participants (a “Team”). Each Team may consist of between one (1) and five (5) eligible Participants. A Participant may join only one Team, and each Team may enter only one Submission. Team composition is not final until the end of the Registration Period. Any requested changes to Team composition after that date require exceptional circumstances and the approval of the Administrator, who will accept or refuse any requested changes in its sole discretion, and whose decision is final.

Each Team must designate one Team member to be the Team’s representative for the Challenge (each a “Team Leader”). The Team Leader will be the person (i) with authority to represent, act, and enter a Submission on behalf of the Team in connection with the Challenge, (ii) with whom communications will be sent regarding the Challenge, and (iii) who accepts the prize money on behalf of the Team if the Team wins.

Team members may receive guidance from non-Team members, including mentors, but only Team members may assist with development of the Team’s Submission.

6. How to Enter a Submission.

All Submissions must be submitted during the Coding Period via the Challenge Platform using the Team-specific submission links that will be sent to Team Leaders at the beginning of the Coding Period. Each Team may submit only one (1) Submission, and the Submission must be submitted by the Team Leader. No Submissions will be accepted after the Submission Deadline. All Submissions must comply with the terms and conditions of these Official Rules.

7. Submission Requirements.

a. Required Components.

A complete Submission must include all of the following required components:

  1. Interactive Tool. A working simulator, dashboard, model, or analytical tool (web app, computational notebook, or equivalent). It must be functional, not a mockup.
  2. Slide Deck. A concise presentation (no more than 30 slides) summarizing the approach, findings, and policy implications. Submit it as a PDF.
  3. Demo Video. A video recording showing the tool in use, viewable without an account. The video must be no longer than five (5) minutes.
  4. Model & Assumptions Overview. A structured document (no more than 25 pages, single-spaced) explaining:
  • Purpose and scope;
  • Core assumptions and their rationale;
  • Data sources and data cleaning steps;
  • Methodological approach (equations, logic flows, scenario definitions);
  • Limitations and known edge cases;
  • Sensitivity notes (what changes when input changes); and
  • Intended users and appropriate use cases.
  1. Source code. Source code published under one of the Challenge’s designated OSI-compliant licenses, with documentation sufficient for a third party to operate the tool independently, in compliance with the Technical, Reproducibility, and Security Requirements, as set forth below.
  2. Policy Scenario Comparison. A non-technical written analysis (up to 4 pages, single-spaced) comparing the addressed scenarios to the benchmark, explaining the drivers of differences, identifying which assumptions matter most, and articulating what the tool cannot say.

A Submission must model a baseline scenario plus at least three of the five benchmark policy scenarios defined in the Benchmark Policy Scenarios section of the Challenge Handbook aggregated to the state level. A Submission must be the original work of the Team, created during the Registration and/or Coding Periods, except for properly disclosed pre-existing open-source components and public data (see the Disclosure Requirements below). Incomplete Submissions will not be scored.

b. Open Source Licensing Requirements

i. Source Code Requirements

First-party code for all Submissions must be published under one of the following approved, permissive, OSI-compliant licenses:

Sponsor and Administrator recommend using Apache License 2.0 because its express patent grant offers the strongest protection for tools that may be adopted or integrated downstream. If you choose one of the other approved licenses, include the full license text and note your choice in the README. (Please note that an open-source license grants broad rights to others to use the code but does not transfer ownership.)

No other license options are permissible. This includes, by way of example only, copyleft licenses (e.g., GPL, AGPL, LGPL, MPL, EUPL) and public-domain dedications (e.g., CC0, the Unlicense).

ii. Dependencies Requirements

All dependencies in your Submission must use a permissive, OSI-compliant license compatible with closed-source downstream integration. Copyleft, source-available but not open-source, noncommercial, or unknown-license dependencies must be flagged and resolved. Your SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) is the source of truth. Exceptions must be summarized in your disclosures.

iii. Data and Data License Requirements

The code license does not license data. Data licenses and terms of use are less standardized than open-source software licenses, and each dataset carries its own terms. Participants are responsible for reviewing those terms and exercising good judgment in deciding whether a dataset is appropriate for inclusion in a Submission. Ideally, datasets used in a Submission should be free of use restrictions. If a dataset is subject to restrictions, the Team must comply with those restrictions and ensure that they do not impair, limit, or create legal or practical risk for downstream users of the tool. For example, a dataset that prohibits commercial use may be inappropriate if the tool could be adopted, integrated, or relied on by commercial or other downstream users. Datasets that rely on paid licenses or proprietary APIs are eligible only if there is a clear path to continued access to the data, and the data can be made available to end users for free.


Your Submission must not include large source datasets. Instead, Submissions must include an automated data acquisition process that retrieves all required datasets from their authoritative source and reproduces the analysis environment with minimal manual intervention.

c. Disclosure Requirements

You must disclose any use of:

  • AI-assisted code-generation tools;
  • Pretrained models, weights, or embeddings;
  • External APIs or hosted services; and
  • Any third-party code, dependencies, and/or datasets, along with the license or terms governing each.

d. Technical, Reproducibility, and Security Requirements

Each Submission must satisfy the following technical, reproducibility, and security requirements:

  1. Reproducible setup. The tool runs independently, following the documented setup instructions with no undocumented manual steps.
  2. Automated tests. Automated tests cover the core analytical logic, pass on a clean checkout, and include a documented command to run them.
  3. No committed secrets. No credentials, API keys, or tokens are committed. Secret scanning is enabled with zero unresolved alerts.
  4. Security scanning configured. Dependabot alerts and CodeQL code scanning are enabled. No unaddressed critical or high-severity findings remain, or each is documented with a justification.
  5. OSI-compliant license. The repository includes one of the approved licenses (see Open Source Licensing Requirements above).
  6. Public GitHub repository. Submissions must live in a public GitHub repository so the required security tooling—secret scanning, Dependabot alerts, and CodeQL code scanning—is available at no cost. These features are repository settings; enabling them is your responsibility.
  7. Software bill of materials (SBOM). GitHub generates an SBOM automatically from your dependency manifests; you can export it from Insights → Dependency graph → Export SBOM. Use it to document your dependencies (see Dependencies Requirements).

All Submissions will be reviewed to make sure that they conform with all of the above-stated requirements. If a Submission is reviewed prior to the Submission Deadline and it fails to satisfy all of the requirements, the Team Leader will be notified and the Team will have the opportunity to remedy the failure before the Submission Deadline. If the failure is not remedied in a timely manner, or if a Submission is reviewed for the first time after the Submission Deadline and fails to constitute a complete Submission, the Submission will be disqualified from the Challenge and will not be scored.

8. Judging Criteria.

All eligible Submissions will be evaluated using a standardized scoring rubric by judges with expertise in economics, planning, simulation modeling, and civic technology. Judges will recuse themselves from judging any Submissions if the judge (a) knows any of the Team members, or (b) has or had an affiliation with any of the Team members. Submissions will be scored using the following weighted criteria:

Criterion

Weight

Transparency & Explainability

30%

Replicability & Scalability

25%

Usability

20%

Methodological Soundness

15%

Policy Insight & Interpretation

10%

Transparency & Explainability (30%)

  • Assumptions, model architecture, and logic are clearly defined and interpretable.
  • A clear description of what data was available in that state, what data was used, and the model’s underlying assumptions.
  • Data sources are well-defined and retrievable; limitations are communicated.
  • Sensitivity considerations: how changes in inputs affect outputs.
  • Interpretability for non-technical policymakers; a technical companion document is provided.
  • Well-annotated models will score higher.
  • The Team has explained what their code does and why, including AI-assisted code.

Note: AI-assisted development is permitted and expected. Teams will not be penalized for AI assistance, but they will score lower if their code cannot be verified, explained, or reproduced. Teams remain responsible for understanding, testing, and securing whatever they submit. The required security tooling is free for public GitHub repositories.

Replicability & Scalability (25%)

  • Open-source licensing and rationale.
  • Modular, well-documented code.
  • Clear data requirements; ability to plug in alternative datasets.
  • Logical separation of assumptions from mechanics.
  • Meaningful test coverage of core logic beyond the gate.
  • Documented single-command setup and, where present, CI configuration.
  • Dependency hygiene—pinned, current, free of unaddressed vulnerabilities.

Usability (20%)

  • Interface clarity (web or notebook); organized and intuitive.
  • Ease of scenario comparison.
  • Clear labeling, instructions, and outputs.
  • Responsiveness and stability.
  • Plain-language explanation of technical terms.

Methodological Soundness (15%)

  • Alignment with economic and land-use logic.
  • Validity of parameter choices.
  • Reasonableness of sensitivity ranges.
  • Internal consistency.
  • Tests demonstrate the code implements the stated methodology.

Policy Insight & Interpretation (10%)

  • Drivers behind differences across scenarios.
  • Which assumptions matter most, with evidence they are reasonable.
  • What the model cannot say, and where it can be appropriately applied.
  • A lack of comprehensive data is a major barrier for policymakers seeking to effect positive change. As a result, participants demonstrating the ability to apply their methodology to states with less complete data will be judged more favorably than those who model only states with complete datasets. The methodological approach and all necessary assumptions will be key factors in scoring the overall quality of a submission.

The five Submissions with the highest overall score will advance to the demo round. In the event of a tie, the Submission with the higher Transparency & Explainability score will advance to the demo round. If a tie still exists, a different independent judge will score the tied Submissions using the above-stated criteria to break the tie.

On or about January 18, 2027, Administrator will contact the Team Leader of each Team that has advanced to the demo round by email to the email address listed on the Submission. The demo round will be conducted remotely on January 20, 2027. During the demo round, each advancing Team will have fifteen minutes to present its Submission and demonstrate the use of its tool, and five minutes thereafter to respond to live questions from the judges. Slide decks are permitted, but Teams should focus primarily on showing their tool in use and explaining how it works, how it should be used, and how it supports the Challenge’s goals. No other Team or other participant will be able to view the demo round. The order of the presentations will be decided by random drawing. Each Team advancing to the demo round may be asked to enter into a separate license agreement granting Sponsor the non-exclusive, transferable, non-commercial, royalty-free rights to use and further develop the Team’s Submission (the “Sponsor License”).

The judges will use the information learned from the demo round to review the previous scores and adjust the scores accordingly, using the above-stated judging criteria.

All judging decisions are final.

9. Prizes.

The Teams with the three highest scores after the demo round will win the following prizes:

  1. First Place Prize. The highest scoring Team will win Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000).
  2. Second Place Prize. The second highest scoring Team will win Twelve Thousand Dollars ($12,000).
  3. Third Place Prize. The third highest scoring Team will win Six Thousand Dollars ($6,000).

Prizes will be paid by ACH to each Team Leader on behalf of each Team after Administrator’s receipt of a completed Form W-9 from the Team Leader. ALL FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL TAXES ASSOCIATED WITH THE RECEIPT OF ANY PRIZE ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEAM LEADERS. Each winning Team is responsible for allocating and distributing the prize money amongst the Team members. Sponsor and Administrator have no involvement in the allocation or distribution of the prize money amongst Team members, and accept no responsibility for any disputes that may arise amongst Team members relating to the allocation and/or distribution of the prize money.

Any prize may be forfeited and awarded to an alternative winner based on the above judging criteria from remaining eligible Submissions if (a) a Team Leader does not complete all of the required steps by the deadline provided by Administrator, (b) a Team or any member of a Team is determined to be ineligible or is otherwise disqualified, or (c) a prize is otherwise not claimed. In the alternative, Administrator may decide not to award any or all of the prizes. Prizes are not transferable. All prizes are awarded “AS IS” and WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, express or implied (including, without limitation, any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose). Limit one prize per Team.

10. Representations and Warranties.

Each Participant represents and warrants that:

  1. The Participant’s participation in the Challenge does not violate any laws, rules, or regulations and the Participant will comply with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations governing their participation in the Challenge;
  2. The Participant will comply with all the terms and conditions set forth in these Official Rules;
  3. The Participant’s contributions to the Submission will not infringe any copyright or trademark rights, violate any rights of privacy or publicity, or violate any other law, rule, regulation, or third-party right;
  4. All third-party code, dependencies, datasets, models, APIs, and services are properly licensed and disclosed as required by these Official Rules;
  5. The Submission will not contain any confidential, proprietary, export-controlled, or otherwise restricted material, unless expressly permitted and properly documented;
  6. The Participant has satisfied all applicable employer, university, or other obligations relating to their participation in the Challenge;
  7. All information the Participant provides in connection with the Submission and the Challenge is accurate and complete; and
  8. The Participant will at all times behave professionally and respectfully in connection with the Challenge. The Participant understands that harassment, discrimination, abusive behavior, or any other inappropriate behavior, as determined by Sponsor or Administrator in their sole discretion, may result in disqualification from the Challenge.


Administrator reserves the right to request copies of all signed license agreements and other appropriate documents to verify compliance with the requirements set forth in these Official Rules. Failure to provide such documents upon request may result in disqualification.

11. Intellectual Property: Ownership and Licensing.

Each Team is responsible for determining amongst its members the ownership and rights structure in and to its Submission. Sponsor and Administrator have no involvement in, and accept no responsibility for, any disputes that may arise amongst Team members relating to such issues. Notwithstanding the foregoing, each Participant understands and agrees that all Submissions must be published pursuant to an approved OSI-compliant license, pursuant to which the owners retain ownership and grant a broad license to third parties to use the source code. In addition, each Participant hereby grants Sponsor and Administrator a non-exclusive, royalty-free and fully paid up, worldwide right and license to reproduce, distribute, publicly display, and to otherwise use the Submission for purposes of administering and judging the Challenge. This license is in addition to the publicity release granted below.

12. Publicity.

Except where prohibited by law, entry into the Challenge constitutes permission for Sponsor and Administrator to use the Participant’s name, hometown and state, biographical information, voice, image and likeness, Team name, project name, Submission, and prize information, without limitation, for promotional and reporting purposes without further permission or compensation. As a condition of being awarded any prize, Team members may be required to execute a consent to the use of their name, hometown and state, biographical information, voice, image and likeness, Team name, project name, Submission, and prize information, without limitation, for promotional and reporting purposes without further permission or compensation.

13. Use of Personal Information.

By entering the Challenge, each Participant consents to Administrator’s use of their personal information (e.g., name, email address, phone number) for the purpose of administering the Challenge. Each Participant also consents to Administrator sharing their personal information with Sponsor, which may be used pursuant to Sponsor’s privacy policy located at https://www.arnoldventures.org/privacy-policy.

14. Participant Public Statements.

Participant agrees to refrain, both during the Challenge and after its termination, from:

  1. publishing any oral or written statements about Sponsor or the other Released Parties that are (i) slanderous, libelous, or defamatory, (ii) disclose private or confidential information of Sponsor or other Released Parties, or (iii) place Sponsor or other Released Parties in a false light before the public. A violation or threatened violation of this prohibition may be enjoined by the courts;
  2. communicating, directly or indirectly, with any member of the news media about, or on behalf of, Sponsor or other Released Parties;
  3. making unauthorized use of the name, logo, or trademark of Sponsor or other Released Parties.

15. Odds.

The odds of winning a prize depend on the number and quality of eligible Submissions received.

16. Disclaimer.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Challenge, its platform, and all information provided by Sponsor or Administrator in connection with the Challenge, are provided AS IS without warranties of any kind. Sponsor and Administrator, and each of their associated entities, and each of their directors, officers, consultants, professional advisors, employees, and agents (collectively, the “Released Parties”) will not be responsible for: (a) any late, lost, misrouted, garbled, distorted, or damaged transmissions or entries; (b) telephone, electronic, hardware, software, network, Internet, or other computer- or communications-related malfunctions or failures; (c) any Challenge disruptions, injuries, losses, or damages caused by events beyond the control of Sponsor or Administrator or by non-authorized human intervention; or (d) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Challenge.

17. Affidavit & Release.

As a condition of being awarded any prize, winners may be required to execute and deliver to Administrator a signed affidavit of eligibility and acceptance of these Official Rules, license agreement and release of liability, and any other legal, regulatory, or tax-related documents required by Administrator in its sole discretion.

18. Winner List; Official Rules Request.

For a copy of the winner list, send a stamped, self-addressed, business-size envelope after February 2027 to Administrator at the address listed in Section 1, “Attn: Housing Data and Technology Innovation Challenge – Winner List Request.” To obtain a copy of these Official Rules, visit Official Rules or send a stamped, self-addressed business-size envelope to Administrator at the address listed in Section 1, “Attn: Housing Data and Technology Innovation Challenge – Official Rules Request.” Residents of Vermont may omit return postage.

19. General Release.

By entering the Challenge, each Participant releases Sponsor, Administrator, and all Released Parties from any liability whatsoever and waives any and all causes of action, in each case related to any claims, costs, injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the Challenge or delivery, misdelivery, acceptance, possession, use of or inability to use any prize (including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries, losses, and damages related to personal injuries, death, damage to or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy, defamation or portrayal in a false light, whether intentional or unintentional), whether under a theory of contract, tort (including negligence), warranty or other theory. Subject to the foregoing and to the extent any portion of the foregoing is rendered unenforceable or void, each Participant further agrees that: (a) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Challenge, or any prizes awarded, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; (b) any and all claims, judgments, and awards issued in favor of Participant against the Released Parties related to the Challenge shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Challenge, but in no event attorneys’ fees; and (c) under no circumstances will Participant be permitted to obtain awards for, and Participant hereby waives all rights to claim, punitive, incidental, and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

20. Indemnification.

Each Participant agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Released Parties from and against any and all third-party claims, causes of action, liabilities, damages, judgments, settlements, costs and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred, arising out of or relating to (a) the Participant’s or the Participant’s Team’s Submission; (b) a breach these Official Rules; or (c) a violation of the law or any third-party right.

21. Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Claims.

Each Participant agrees that all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Challenge, or any prizes awarded, shall be resolved exclusively by the federal and state courts located in Harris County, Texas, and consents to the exclusive jurisdiction, forum and venue of the federal and state courts located in Harris County, Texas. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the Participant, Administrator, and Sponsor in connection with the Challenge, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Texas, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of Texas or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Texas. EACH PARTICIPANT HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE CHALLENGE OR THESE OFFICIAL RULES.

22. Miscellaneous.

Each Participant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and by the decisions of Sponsor and Administrator, which are final and binding in all respects. Any provision of these Official Rules deemed unenforceable will be enforced to the extent permissible, and the remainder of these Official Rules will remain in effect. Sponsor and Administrator reserve the right to change these Official Rules at any time, in their sole discretion, and to suspend or cancel the Challenge or any Participant’s participation in the Challenge should viruses, bugs, unauthorized human intervention, or other causes beyond their control affect the administration, security, or proper play of the Challenge, or Sponsor or Administrator otherwise becomes (as determined in their sole discretion) incapable of running the Challenge as planned. Participants who violate these Official Rules, violate any law, rule, or regulation in connection with participation in the Challenge, tamper with the operation of the Challenge, or engage in any conduct that is detrimental or unfair to Sponsor, Administrator, the Challenge, or any other participant or Team (in each case as determined in Sponsor’s and Administrator’s sole discretion) are subject to disqualification from the Challenge. Sponsor and Administrator reserve the right not to award a prize to any Participant or Team whose eligibility is in question or who have been disqualified or are otherwise ineligible to enter the Challenge. Those provisions that are intended to survive after the Challenge is complete shall survive, including, without limitation, provisions regarding intellectual property ownership and licensing, representations and warranties, disclaimers, limitations of liability, releases, indemnification, publicity, privacy, disputes, and governing law.

23. Binding Effect.

Each Participant acknowledges that they have read, understand, and agree to be bound by these Official Rules and warrants that their participation in the Challenge complies with these Official Rules. Each Participant acknowledges that by registering for the Challenge and submitting a Submission, these Official Rules are binding to the same extent as a signed writing. Sponsor or Administrator may, but are not obligated to, require winners to countersign a separate confirmation of these Official Rules.

24. Questions.

If you have any questions about these Official Rules or the Challenge, please e-mail them to housing.challenge@turnout.rocks, or send written questions to the Administrator at the address listed in Section 1.