These Apps and Sites Can Help Protect You From a Bad Landlord
If you’re out of luck, you’ve probably wasted time with one or two bad homeowners. Whether they want to keep your deposit for dubious reasons or refuse to respond to repair requests, there are several useful apps and websites that can get you out of a tricky situation or help you avoid it right from the start.
Deposit Defender
Some client protection apps target people in specific cities or areas. However, this one can help no matter where you live. One of the biggest and most common tenant-landlord battles occurs in the final phase of the relationship – getting the deposit back. You know this stain was on the carpet when you moved, but now they want you to take the blame – and take the payment.
However, Deposit Defender (on iOS and Android ) allows you to take pictures and record audio notes about the state of the house upon arrival, documenting the actual state of affairs in the beginning.
1. Enter information about the object
After downloading the Deposit Defender app and creating your free account, the first step is to enter your basic property details. The form is simple and requires you to fill in the property address and details such as the number of bathrooms and bedrooms.
2. Complete the Rooms and Amenities Checklist.
You will then confirm the specifics of the property by selecting or deselecting items in the checklist. For example, if your bathroom does not have an exhaust fan, or you brought a microwave oven when you move, the app allows you to specify these parameters.
3. Add the photos and notes you want.
You will then see a list of all selected rooms with yellow notes and camera buttons to the right of them. Click the notes button to document the details of each part of the house using your phone keypad or manually.
4. Save and load the report.
After you click ” Finish “, the application will automatically generate a PDF report file for verification. After making sure everything is correct, choose the option to download to your computer.
Renaissance
The unpredictability of life can mean that you find yourself in circumstances that make it difficult to pay rent, and housing insecurity is further exacerbated if you have a poor homeowner. Rentervention is a site with a chatbot named Rennie that can point you in the right direction when renting. The creators of Rentervention originally created a web app for Chicagoans, but you can use the site if you live elsewhere.
1. Enter a keyword or phrase to explain the problem.
There is a chat box on the Rentervention home page – just enter a word or phrase that relates to your problem, such as “can’t pay rent,” “eviction,” or “renovation”. If the chatbot does not understand the request, it will ask you to try again. Alternatively, he will provide a list of several problems, such as “I have no heating, water, gas or running water,” “My landlord has blocked me,” or “My landlord is not solving problems in my apartment. … »Select one to continue.
2. Follow the prompts.
The chatbot will then confirm your problem by saying something like, “Am I correct in understanding you are dealing with an eviction?” Just enter yes or no. If you need to return to the previous question at any time, press the “Back” button in the chatbot window.
The chatbot will then clarify that rental laws depend on where you live, so it will ask for your zip code.
3. Receive resources
By entering the zip code for Chicago, you will receive information about the website of a local organization that helps renters. Otherwise, the chatbot provides information on the most appropriate way to get help based on your location.
Openigloo
Many people dream of living in the Big Apple and know that renting there will be expensive. Rental prices fell during the pandemic but are rising again in many areas . It is more difficult to bear high costs when it comes to a bad landlord or constant, lingering problems with an apartment.
An app called openigloo (on iOS and Android ) aims to prevent this kind of situation. It provides a database of anonymous testimonials specifically from New York tenants, although the app’s developers say in FAQs on the website that it could be expanded elsewhere over time.
Start by entering the address of New York – as you enter the first few characters, a drop-down list will appear where you select the correct one. The property listing has a few colored bubbles at the top that give you some quick facts, such as the number of evictions and whether the building has a history of bed bug problems, litigation, and open violations.
Here you can also leave your feedback and find information about property managers, details of their overall history of property ownership or management, and other tenant reviews.
The tenant testimonials section assesses everything from noise levels to landlord responses. If you decide to leave a review, there are several required fields such as pros, cons, and your advice to the property owner. Making this information mandatory increases the likelihood that the reviews will provide really useful information to other prospective tenants.
Surround
It’s not so much protection from a bad landlord, but preparation in case of other unpleasant circumstances, such as theft, damage or destruction of your property (for example, in a fire or flood). In such cases, having a clear catalog of these items can help ensure that you can repair or replace them appropriately.
The Encircle app (on iOS and Android ) can help here; This home inventory app is free for homeowners and renters and is full of useful property maintenance tools. One of these tools makes it easy to document the contents of your home for future use; Combined with your renter’s insurance, you can make serious claims to get your belongings restored or replaced.
Encircle allows you to record items with notes and photographs via your mobile or desktop computer for easy claims filing if you need to send documentation to your renter’s insurance company. You can also use the relocation company documentation when you change your apartment or move to a new home.