About RateMyPlace

RateMyPlace is a public record of rental housing, from the people who know it best. Tenants share verified reviews of apartments, buildings, and landlords. Anyone considering a lease can search before they sign.

Why we exist

Our mission

The rental market runs on information asymmetry. Landlords run credit checks, use tenant blacklists, and know exactly who's renting from them. Tenants get listing photos and a viewing. We collect what tenants know and make it public, so the next renter has something to work with before they sign.

Methodology

How we rate

Scores come from tenants who lived in the building. We don't inspect properties ourselves. The record is built from what tenants reported.

Our 27-item assessment is adapted from three validated public health instruments: the Observational Housing Quality Scale (Krieger and Higgins, 2002), the Physical Housing Quality Scale (Jacobs et al., 2009), and the WHO LARES study (Bonnefoy et al., 2003). Items fall into three categories:

Unit quality (10 items)

  • Structural integrity
  • Plumbing & water
  • Electrical systems
  • Temperature control
  • Ventilation & air quality
  • Pest control
  • Mold & moisture
  • Appliances
  • Layout & functionality
  • Listing accuracy

Building quality (9 items)

  • Common areas
  • Building security
  • Exterior & grounds
  • Internal noise levels
  • External noise levels
  • Mail & package security
  • Laundry facilities
  • Parking
  • Trash & recycling

Landlord experience (8 items)

  • Maintenance response
  • Communication
  • Professionalism
  • Lease clarity
  • Privacy & boundaries
  • Security deposit handling
  • Rent practices
  • Non-retaliation

Scoring transparency

Scores aren't simple averages. Conditions with documented health impacts carry more weight than cosmetic complaints. Pest control and mold are weighted 1.5×. Structural integrity and temperature control are weighted 1.3×. Plumbing and security are weighted 1.2×. The weights come from peer-reviewed public health research.

Scores apply recency weighting, because housing conditions change over time. Newer reviews count more than older ones (Hu, Pavlou, and Zhang, 2017).

Learn more about our evidence-based scoring methodology

Privacy as identity

Privacy protection

Anonymity is the foundation, not a footnote. Landlord retaliation against tenant reviewers is illegal under federal fair housing law and most state law. To make sure no review can be traced back to a specific tenant:

  • Move-in and move-out dates are displayed as seasons (e.g., "Fall 2023") rather than exact dates
  • No personally identifiable information is displayed on reviews
  • Reviews are checked for guideline compliance before publishing.
  • Reviewers can delete their reviews at any time.

Standards

Review guidelines

All reviews must:

  • Be written by someone who actually lived at the property.
  • Focus on factual experiences rather than personal attacks
  • Don't contain discriminatory language or threats
  • Don't include personally identifiable information about landlords or staff

Disputes

Handling disputes

Landlords can't respond publicly to reviews. They can submit a dispute if they believe a review violates our guidelines. Our team investigates, and if the review breaks a guideline, we act on it. We don't remove negative reviews because a landlord disagrees. Submit a dispute or email landlords@ratemyplace.org.

Behind the work

Who's behind this

RateMyPlace was created by Meredith McGee, a public health researcher and grant writer based in Boston. The methodology is adapted from three validated housing quality instruments and weighted by what peer-reviewed research shows actually affects tenant health. The platform exists because tenants are the experts on their own housing, and that knowledge belongs in public.

You can learn more about Meredith and her other work at meredithmcgee.org .

Get in touch

Contact us

Have questions, feedback, or need to report a problem? Email us at contact@ratemyplace.org