Tenants, rejoice.
Ever been hit with a rent increase while your walls were buckling from black mould? Has it been eight months and your former landlord is still sitting on your bond like Smaug in The Hobbit? Does your home’s lack of ventilation make life in summer totally unbearable?
Unfortunately, we’ve all been there.
Never fear, Shitrentals.org – a collaboration between Purple Pingers, Toilet Paper Australia and Lauren Michaelides – has just launched. Designed to keep those who buy properties and hoard them for profit (somewhat) accountable, this public database is free to use and browse.
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
Named after his influential TikTok series, Shit Rentals, Jordie van den Berg (aka Purple Pingers) announced the database on the website formerly known as Twitter.
“It’s a website where you can review your own rental property, or real estate agency,” he included in the statement.
“It’s for you whether you’re a current tenant, a previous tenant, or even if you’ve only inspected the property.
“It’s super clunky atm but that’s because websites are expensive and I want everything to be free for everyone and forever (people who try and profit from renters make me sick).”
https://twitter.com/purplepingers/status/1704099380603813942?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1704099380603813942%7Ctwgr%5E5a5e3366c52a282ad7062f2bb2c79d60944a4f61%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pedestrian.tv%2Fnews%2Fshit-rentals-and-real-estate-agents-on-blast-on-new-site%2F
If you’ve been royally screwed over by a landlord or rental agency, Van den Berg encourages tenants to write in with their stories, or share the link with a mate who you know has been through the same.
“No matter whether your rental is shit or decent, I want people to stop having to be their own rental cops and to be able to hear from other renters what the property is like before they move there.
“How it works is that currently people submit their reviews, and then I’ll manually review each one and upload them to the register each night. I’m super keen to hear all your thoughts and what can be improved, keeping in mind this is version one, and I have lots of grand ideas for this bad boi.”
Got a rental horror story? Add to the Shit Rentals database by heading here.
