The Power of Rating Your Landlord

Discover the power of tenant reviews in driving positive change within the private rental sector. Learn how review platforms not only provide transparency and uphold freedom of speech, but also serve as a valuable resource for landlords to learn from feedback and improve their properties and services.

By Ben Yarrow

4 May 2023

The private rental sector plays a significant role in providing housing to millions of renters across the UK. However, ensuring high-quality standards and service remains a challenge. In this blog post, we will explore why writing reviews and rating your landlord and rental property is vital to improving standards in the private rental sector, drawing from research papers that illustrate the impact of review platforms in other industries.
We will also discuss the importance of freedom of speech in the context of landlord reviews and how landlords can use these reviews as valuable learning experiences, ultimately benefiting both tenants and landlords alike.

The Impact of Review Platforms

Review platforms like Marks Out Of Tenancy have revolutionised the way people make decisions about products and services in various industries. Research has shown that these platforms have a significant impact on consumer choices and industry standards. For instance, a study by Anderson and Magruder in 2012, entitled ‘Learning from the Crowd: Regression Discontinuity Estimates of the Effects of an Online Review Database’ found that a one-star increase in a restaurant's Yelp rating led to a 5 - 9% increase in revenue, demonstrating the power of reviews in driving consumer decisions.
It’s also worth considering the findings in ‘Evaluation of User Satisfaction and Trust of Review Platforms: Analysis of the Impact of Privacy and E-WOM in the Case of TripAdvisor’ from 2021 which analysed E-WOM (Electronic Word of Mouth) and states that in the case of online review websites “The use of digital platforms for reviews and opinions is one of the most important tools in terms of consumer interaction.”
Similarly, in the private rental sector, tenant reviews can help drive improvement in housing quality and landlord services. By sharing their experiences through the medium of rating their landlord, tenants create a vital information resource for prospective tenants and hold landlords accountable for the conditions of their properties and the services they provide. This increased transparency encourages landlords to maintain high standards to attract and retain tenants.

Freedom of Speech and Reviews

Freedom of speech is a fundamental right in any modern, functioning society. The Human Rights Act 1998 provides the following: ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers’. Tenant reviews provide an essential outlet for individuals to express their opinions and experiences, contributing to the broader conversation about the private rental sector. By sharing their stories, tenants empower others to make informed decisions and advocate for improvements in housing standards and landlord services.
Moreover, landlord reviews serve as a critical source of feedback for landlords who are committed to improving their properties and services. Embracing this feedback, instead of perceiving it as a personal attack, allows landlords to better understand tenant needs and expectations.

The Feedback Loop: Learning from Reviews

Landlords can leverage the feedback loop to improve their service levels and rental properties:

Evidence: Tenant reviews provide measurable insights into landlords' behaviour and property conditions.
Relevance: Reviews offer a social context, allowing landlords to understand the broader implications of their actions.
Consequences: Reviews highlight areas for improvement, helping landlords identify goals and priorities.
Action: Landlords can implement changes based on feedback, which will then be reflected in future reviews.

By engaging in this continuous process of learning and improvement, landlords can foster better relationships with their tenants and create a positive reputation for themselves in the rental market.

Embracing Our Human Nature

It is essential to remember that we are all human, and mistakes are inevitable. No landlord can please every tenant, but what matters is their willingness to learn from feedback and make improvements. Marks Out Of Tenancy provides landlords with the opportunity to respond to reviews for free, ensuring a balanced representation of both tenants' and landlords' perspectives.

Conclusion