Tenants in Malta can now rate their landlords online
Ikri.net created to address lack of transparency in rental market
Two young Maltese entrepreneurs have launched a website that allows tenants to rate their landlords.
Ikri.net- the Maltese word for 'to rent' - went live last week and allows tenants to share their experiences by completing a detailed survey on both their landlord and the property they are renting.
The website’s creators, Simon Theuma and Keith Mock, started by building a database of all rental properties in Malta, which landlords themselves can claim as their own in a similar way as business owners can claim a business page on Google Maps.
Speaking to Times of Malta, Theuma said that while the pair are not involved in the real estate industry, they were motivated to create the site after reading several news stories about abusive landlords.
“I’m part of the start-up community in Malta so I'm very solution-oriented, while Keith comes from a compliance background. We pitched the idea for the website to the Malta Digital Innovation Authority and managed to secure funding through one of its programmes,” he said.
Theuma said foreigners who looking to move to Malta and rent, or who have not been in the country long, were currently at a particular disadvantage when searching for housing, since they had to rely solely on word of mouth.
To prevent abuse, the website has a stringent verification system that confirms that tenants are who they say they are, and that they live at the property they are reviewing. This includes a phone call as well as cross-referencing with data from the Housing Authority.
“Tenants are anonymous, and we do not include landlords’ names to protect their privacy.”
Theuma stressed that the site is not just exposing abusive landlords, and tenants were encouraged to leave positive reviews as well.
“At the moment we’re working on adding a way for landlords to leave reviews too,” he said.
The site has received positive feedback so far, Theuma said, and is being promoted on the popular Facebook group Expats Malta and Reddit, among other spaces.
When researching the project, Theuma and Mock received support from tenants’ union Soliderjetà.
“This is an important project, since there is currently a lack of transparency in the local rental market – landlords do not have to obtain a licence and there are no minimum standards they must adhere to,” said Solidarjetà’s Matthew Attard, adding that the site will also serve as a good advert for responsible landlords.