New website for tenants to rate landlords is 'exploding' in popularity, Ontario founder says
CTV
A website created by two Ontario residents offering tenants the chance to anonymously rate their landlords has received more than a thousand reviews since launching last week.
A website created by two Ontario residents offering tenants the chance to anonymously rate their landlords has received more than a thousand reviews since launching last week.
“Tenants are basically required to give a full-blown background check and a SIN number,” one of the two founders of the website, to whom CTV News Toronto has granted anonymity over safety concerns, said. “On the flip side, you have to go into tenancy agreements without knowing who you’re renting from."
It was this line of thought, paired with a “brutal” string of personal experiences renting in the city, that sparked the Toronto area resident to have the idea for a platform that allowed tenants to rate their landlords.
“You can rate your doctor or a restaurant, but for some reason, housing and landlords have been exempt from that,” they said. “It just felt natural.”
The only problem? They didn’t know how to build a website – so they turned to the internet. A call-out posted to Reddit soon introduced them to another Ontario resident with the skills to bring their vision to life.
The two operate on a volunteer basis and were only able to work on the project in their spare time, which is why it took them almost a year to put together, they said.
Ratethelandlord.org launched last week, offering tenants the chance to rate their landlords out of five on categories such as health and safety, respect, privacy, repairs, and stability. Users can also leave written reviews.