Staff Reporter
A RENTAL property review app is empowering tenants to ensure their future homes are safe, healthy and liveable.
The app Reviu allows tenants to share their renting experiences and read information about new properties they’re considering renting. The Barcelona Institute for Urban Research created the app last year.
At first glance, an apartment can look great, but there is always much to be discovered once you’re settled, and not all of it is positive. Reviu hopes to take away the mystery, with tenants sharing their lived experiences of the home, the neighbours and the wider area.
“This year, we’ve learned that it could be a comprehensive portal, where, in addition to providing reviews and information, people could find apartments,” Reviu co-founder Jaime Palomera said.
He explained the app would work similarly to Booking.com, where you can look for accommodation, read the reviews and then book the property.
“For now, it’s important to continue providing transparency in a market as opaque as the rental market,” Palomera said.
“We want to transform the rental jungle into a fairer and safer space, honouring those who do things right.”
In the coming weeks, the digital platform will be expanded from Barcelona city throughout Catalonia and a national expansion is planned for soon.
With the expansion of the app to wider Catalonia, users will be able to navigate a map and search by area or neighbourhood or real estate agency name. Previously, users could only search for reviews based on a specific address.
Palomera believes the app is essential in cities like Malaga, Madrid and Valencia, where the rental estate market is extremely competitive and “opaque,” and landlords often have the upper hand.
He says they have already received a great amount of positive feedback from users of the app, although some real estate agents have remained skeptic and said some tenants may spread untrue rumours about a property.
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When the rental market is tight, like it is now, this is a good idea. Don’t be surprise to find landlords needing a similar app when the market turns – so they get a good idea of who is a good tenant!