Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of these terms

Welcome to RentalRated. These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of RentalRated, including the website, review platform, landlord tools, and related services (collectively, the "Services"). By creating an account, submitting content, or otherwise using the Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Community Guidelines and Privacy Preferences.

If you use the Services on behalf of a company or other organization (for example, as a landlord or property manager), you represent that you have authority to bind that organization to these Terms. If you do not agree with these Terms, do not use the Services.

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update this page and revise the effective date above. Your continued use of the Services after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

2. User accounts

Some features of RentalRated require an account. You must provide accurate and complete registration information and keep it up to date. You are responsible for safeguarding your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account.

Accounts are personal and may not be shared, sold, or transferred. You may maintain only one account, and you may not create an account on behalf of another person or impersonate any individual, company, or organization.

You may close your account at any time from your account settings. Closing your account does not automatically delete reviews you have posted; instead, they are anonymized so they no longer identify you. See Section 5 for more detail.

3. Reviews and user-generated content

RentalRated allows users to submit reviews, ratings, photos, verification documents, and other content ("User Content"). You retain ownership of your User Content. By submitting User Content, you grant RentalRated a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, display, and distribute it as necessary to operate and promote the Services - for example, showing your review on a landlord or property profile.

You are solely responsible for your User Content. RentalRated does not endorse and is not responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any User Content, and User Content does not reflect the views of RentalRated.

You may not submit User Content that you do not have the right to share, that infringes another party's rights, or that violates these Terms or our Community Guidelines.

4. Firsthand experience requirement

Reviews on RentalRated must be based on your own firsthand experience as a renter or resident at the property you are reviewing. You may not review a property you have never lived in, write a review on behalf of someone else, or submit a review in exchange for payment or other incentives.

Only one review is permitted per user per property. If you have already reviewed a property, you may edit your existing review; duplicate reviews are not allowed.

Uploading residency verification documentation is optional. Where provided, it is used only to confirm your experience and to display a verified status; RentalRated handles verification materials according to our privacy practices.

5. Prohibited content and conduct

In addition to the standards in our Community Guidelines, you agree not to use the Services to:

• Post fake, purchased, or incentivized reviews, or manipulate ratings in any way.
• Harass, threaten, defame, or discriminate against any person or group.
• Share personal information about others - including names, contact details, or unit numbers - without their consent.
• Impersonate any person, landlord, property management company, or RentalRated employee.
• Post spam, advertising, promotional material, or irrelevant links.
• Scrape, harvest, or systematically copy data from the Services without our written permission.
• Interfere with the Services, attempt to gain unauthorized access, or circumvent security or moderation controls.
• Use the Services for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable law or regulation.

6. Property and landlord information

Some information displayed on RentalRated - such as property names, addresses, property types, rent ranges, amenities, and landlord or property management company details - is informational data about properties and their management ("Listing Information"). Listing Information is provided for general reference only.

Listing Information may be incomplete, out of date, or inaccurate. RentalRated compiles this data from user submissions, landlord submissions, and other sources, and we do not independently verify every detail. Availability, pricing, and management are subject to change without notice and must be confirmed directly with the property or landlord.

Listing Information should not be relied upon as a substitute for your own due diligence. It is distinct from user-generated reviews, which reflect the opinions and experiences of individual renters and are not statements by RentalRated. Nothing on RentalRated constitutes a rental listing offer, a lease, or a guarantee that a property is available for rent.

7. Landlord responses

Verified landlords and property managers may publicly respond to reviews of their own company or properties. Responses are User Content and are subject to the same rules as other content: they must be professional, truthful, and free of personal attacks or private information about reviewers.

Landlords may not edit or remove reviews they disagree with. Reviews may only be modified by the user who wrote them, subject to moderation as described in Section 9. Landlords may dispute a review under our dispute process (one dispute per review).

Landlords are responsible for the accuracy of their own profile information, portfolio listings, and any updates they submit through the platform.

8. Claims and verification

Landlord and property manager profiles may be claimed by their authorized representatives. By claiming a profile, you represent that you are authorized to act for the company or owner it represents. RentalRated may request documentation to verify ownership or management authority and may decline or revoke verification at our discretion.

Verification status indicates that RentalRated has confirmed, to a reasonable standard, that a profile is managed by its authorized representative. It is not an endorsement of the landlord, a warranty of service quality, or a guarantee of any property condition.

9. Moderation, disputes, and enforcement

RentalRated moderates content to keep the platform fair and trustworthy. We may review, edit, hide, or remove any User Content that violates these Terms or our Community Guidelines, and we may warn, suspend, or terminate accounts that violate them.

Landlords may dispute a review they believe violates our standards, and users may report content. Disputes and reports are reviewed by our moderation team, which makes the final decision about whether content remains on the platform. We aim to apply our standards consistently, but moderation decisions may not always match every user's expectations.

We reserve the right to refuse Service, remove content, and limit or terminate access to anyone for any lawful reason, including violation of these Terms.

10. Account termination

You may close your account at any time. When you do, your account information is handled according to our privacy practices, and reviews you posted are anonymized rather than deleted so that the community retains the benefit of the shared experience.

We may suspend or terminate your account immediately, without notice, if you materially breach these Terms, if required by law, or if we believe such action is necessary to protect the integrity of the platform, other users, or RentalRated.

Upon termination, the license you granted to your User Content survives as necessary to continue displaying previously posted, anonymized content. Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination (including intellectual property, disclaimers, and limitations of liability) will survive.

11. Intellectual property

The Services, including the RentalRated name, logo, design, software, and original content (excluding User Content), are owned by RentalRated, Inc. and protected by intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or create derivative works from our platform without our prior written consent.

You may access and use the Services for your personal or internal business purposes. All rights not expressly granted in these Terms are reserved by RentalRated.

If you believe content on the platform infringes your intellectual property rights, contact us with sufficient detail to identify the material and we will review your claim.

12. Third-party services

The Services may rely on or link to third-party services, such as hosting, email delivery, maps, and payment providers. These third parties operate under their own terms and privacy policies, and RentalRated is not responsible for their content, availability, or practices.

Your dealings with any third party - including landlords, property managers, or service providers you find through RentalRated - are solely between you and that party. RentalRated is not a party to any lease or rental agreement and does not facilitate rent payments or transactions between users and landlords.

13. Disclaimers

The Services are provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, and non-infringement.

We do not warrant that the Services will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure, that any review or Listing Information is accurate or complete, or that any defect will be corrected. You use the Services at your own risk.

14. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, RentalRated, Inc., its officers, directors, employees, and agents will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages - including lost profits, lost data, or loss of goodwill - arising from or related to your use of, or inability to use, the Services.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, RentalRated's total aggregate liability for any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services is limited to the greater of one hundred U.S. dollars (USD $100) or the amount you paid RentalRated in the twelve months preceding the claim.

Because User Content and Listing Information come from users and third-party sources, RentalRated is not liable for any decision you make - including where to rent or whom to do business with - based on content found on the platform.

15. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the United States and the State where RentalRated, Inc. is incorporated, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any dispute arising from these Terms or the Services will be brought in the courts located in that jurisdiction, unless applicable law requires otherwise.

If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

16. Contact information

Questions about these Terms? Contact RentalRated through our contact page and we'll get back to you.