moove

On 5/11/2020 at 1:19 PM, Richlist said:

The problem is how do you ensure that the review is honest & genuine. Any tenant who had a problem/ disagreement / dispute / argument/ difference of opinion etc with their landlord could post a wildly, exaggerated and subjective review unfairly criticising the landlord & or his property. There are usually two sides to any story and this just publishes one side of it.......It's virtually worthless.

The same goes for any platform that relies on honest feedback for landlords, tenants or agents......you can't have any confidence in what's posted.

In over 20 years of letting residential property and 100's of tenants......I've not been asked once for referencies, previous tenants contact details or had any checks of any kind carried out.

Forget the idea....it won't work.

I think that's a very interesting and valid point. But is the threat of highly exasperated and students disillusioned with their landlords taking matters into their own hands by setting up their own unvetted and unregulated platforms just going to stoke what is arguably a brewing fire? If both sides could be heard then would that not be a better and more regulated way of ensuring issues such as these are better managed. The tourism industry has embraced TripAdvisor, could it not be argued that the letting industry might do the same? 

21 hours ago, Carryon Regardless said:

As if Rent Smart aren't enough for Welsh LL's to deal with.

Any LL who steps out of line has a barrage of T protections coming his way these days, more so in Wales.

Since students are generally socialist until they get a well paying job I guess their criticising of the capitalist LL is just a fact of life for us.

We aren't allowed to victimise T's with such things as honest reviews, the media would enjoy themselves too much with such a thing.

There have been a number of regulations instigated solely in Wales that's true. I've not found Rent Smart particularly problematic but I suppose that differs from LL to LL, and I have a relatively small portfolio. 

I've actually put together a survey about this which I would be keen to get thoughts and opinions on from people: 

Google Forms Survey

I've noticed in my home city of Cardiff that landlords / letting agents seem to be getting particularly a lot of stick at the moment.

C4's Joe Lycett's Got your Back did a piece on one of the agents, and students seem to have responded. They're 'arming' themselves left right and centre. I've seen a few student groups setting up platforms that enable students to review their properties, letting agents, and landlords.

The landlord in me says, it would be great to be able to review letting agents themselves and see reviews on others, before opting on who would manage my property, and being able to review tenants back. But is this a good idea?

I'd be really keen to hear others thoughts on this.