Rent Referee
Authentic Property Insights for Confident Rental Decisions
Company
Rent Referee
Category
Real Estate
Industry
Rental Marketplaces
SErvice we provided
UI/UX Design
About the Project
Rent Referee is an authentic property review platform designed to help renters make informed decisions before booking an apartment or home. The platform empowers users to access genuine, experience-based reviews while enabling landlords to build credibility through verified feedback.I designed the review submission flows, property discovery experience, and trust-centered interfaces that ensure clarity, transparency, and usability. The focus was to create a balanced ecosystem where renters feel informed and landlords maintain confidence in the fairness of reviews.
(01)
The Challenge
Rental decisions often lack transparency—photos can be misleading, details incomplete, and reviews scattered or unreliable. The challenge was to design a platform that users trust, with systems that minimize fake reviews while making it easy to browse and compare properties based on real experiences.
(02)
Immersion & User Research
Understanding the renter mindset and trust barriers
To align the design with real user needs, I conducted targeted research:
Studied how renters evaluate properties and what information they trust
Analyzed common pain points: misleading listings, lack of transparency, hidden issues
Benchmarked review platforms in travel, real estate, and e-commerce
Identified verification methods to reduce fake or biased submissions
Created renter personas and mapped decision-making journeys
The research emphasized the importance of credibility signals, structured reviews, and easy comparison tools.
(03)
UX Strategy & Information Architecture
Building trust through structure, clarity, and transparency
The UX strategy focused on guiding users through reliable and confidence-building experiences:
Designed structured review inputs to standardize feedback and limit manipulation
Created centralized property profiles with aggregated ratings, pros & cons, and user stories
Implemented search and filtering for location, price range, amenities, and review themes
Added trust indicators like verified badges, reviewer history, and transparent review guidelines
Ensured consistent UI patterns to build familiarity and confidence
The result is a platform that feels credible, usable, and renter-friendly from the first interaction.
(04)
Review Flows, Prototyping & Usability Testing
Simple, guided, and resistant to fake submissions
Design iterations focused on making review submission effortless, informative, and trustworthy:
Built a multi-step review flow with prompts for accuracy and fairness
Added mechanisms to verify tenancy and prevent spam submissions
Designed prototypes for browsing reviews by category (noise, maintenance, neighborhood, etc.)
Conducted usability testing to identify friction in reading long-form reviews
Refined interaction patterns and microcopy to encourage honest, balanced feedback
Testing revealed higher confidence in review credibility and smoother task completion.
(05)
Final Outcome & Impact
A transparent and experience-driven rental decision platform
The final design achieved a robust, trustworthy review ecosystem:
Clearer validation of reviews through structured inputs and verification steps
Faster property discovery with filters tailored to real renter needs
Stronger trust through transparent review rules and credibility signals
User-friendly property profiles with aggregated insights
A scalable interface ready for multi-city rental expansion
Rent Referee demonstrates how thoughtful, trust-centered UI/UX can transform the rental experience—empowering renters with reliable insights and giving landlords a fair platform to showcase their properties.
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