Resident Review: a website where tenants talk and reputations can be built

Monday, July 6th, 2015 - By Mitchell Platt, Co-founder of Resident Review

In 2010 I was renting a flat in Liverpool, a city with a huge surplus of housing. Despite paying above average rent for the area, the property was filthy and infested with bed bugs. It wasn’t until I tracked down previous tenants that I discovered they had been complaining about the infestation for six months. We complained to the landlord but rather than resolve the problem, he told us to leave the property in 48 hours. Not a good experience!

The Resident Review website is a product from this event. However, it was not until 3 years of happy renting later, when I was sat in a new rental working on my application to the Small Claims Court and thinking, how did this happen?

In the 21st Century where you can find detailed reviews of almost anything online, this rogue operator was getting away with something near the Hatton Garden heist. It is landlords like this that mar the reputation of the private rented sector at great expense to the professionals.

I decided that if I won my Small Claims Court proceedings I would put the damages towards something that would make a positive impact. Six months later, I won the case and Resident Review was born.

Before I get on to the benefits of Resident Review I would like to dispel a myth that property review websites are simply a forum for furious tenants.

We consider our platform to be one where landlords and agents can shine. Frankly, if all our reviews were just rants it wouldn’t be helpful; we are looking to help people find great landlords and agents, not just highlight the ones to avoid!

We have created a proposition, alongside property professionals, that landlords and agents can engage with.

Our system allows landlord and agents to edit all aspects of their profile as well as reply to reviews and dispute anything they feel is unfair. We resolve all disputes within 5 working days and ensure that any inappropriate reviews are removed from the website.

Consumers today are expecting more and more in terms of feedback and transparency. For example, Letemma is a great example of a letting agent who is embracing “review culture”. She has contacted previous tenants for feedback and now uses Resident Review to show prospective tenants how good the service is.

Whilst Resident Review has been created primarily for tenants, because our system is fair and transparent it can also be a powerful tool for landlords and agents.

The service is free to use and it only take a few minutes to register. If you have any questions or comments about the website, please drop me a line: mitch@residentreview.co.uk.

To see the site in actions please visit http://www.residentreview.co.uk.