Notably, near the University of Wisconsin-Madison, prior to his term ending, former Common Council member Ald. Eli Judge organized plans for a “Rate My Landlord” website (see under Solutions for Landlord Accountability) that, at last report, is due out this August. The site is proposed to be a constructive and professional arena for renters to air their complaints, and landlords or property managers to have the chance to respond or defend themselves. The article explains Judge’s goal for the website,” is two-fold: rewarding responsible landlords and protecting tenants from bad apples.”

While Landlord rating systems are nothing new ( in fact, some national sites have been around since 2003) and forums bashing evil landlords and equally snotty-nosed tenants have no doubt been around since the internet’s inception, it does not mean that their implementation lacks the potential to be effective.

Here is a short list of sites that Google spits out in the top ten search results for me:

landorslum.com

pickalandlord.com

ratemystudentrental.com

ratemylandlord.com

While many seem to be based for students and student housing, sites like landorslum.com are national and apply to anyone who has rented room to tenant.

So, what does this mean for landlords and property managers?  More and more sites are popping up online for landlords to be starred and smileyed or tarred and feathered and while there has yet to be a site so definitive as to create blood feuds between management companies over reaching Numero Uno as a top ranked manager, landlord or company, is this the way we’re headed? How much of the content of these sites is valid, and how much is just angry ranting from wounded tenants?

The sixty four thousand dollar question is: Does anyone read these reviews anyway?