The analysis below is looking at live reviews on 31st May 2018
Students from the University of Leeds form the large majority of survey respondents with 1790 (69%). Rate Your Landlord is open to all students.
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Which Institution do you attend? |
||
|
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
|
University of Leeds |
68.5% |
1,706 |
|
Leeds Beckett University |
20.4% |
599 |
|
Leeds Trinity University |
2.9% |
85 |
|
Leeds College of Music |
2.8% |
83 |
|
Leeds Arts University |
1.6% | 47 |
|
Leeds City College |
0.2% |
5 |
|
Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD) |
0.6% | 19 |
|
Other |
3% |
87 |
What the results tell us
Every question delivered an above average score overall, suggesting highly positive perceptions of housing across the board from student tenants. This is great news, and counters concerns that students only use the site to leave negative feedback. Particular highlights include:
· the signing and letting process question with 1,372 ratings of 5 (an average of 4.2), indicating that students feel comfortable throughout the viewing and signing process
· the safety and security question with 1,289 ratings of 5 (an average of 4.0), indicating that students feel secure in their homes and the areas they live in
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the questions on efficiency of repairs and customer service returned the most polarising responses. Efficiency of repairs returned 1,079 ratings of 5 and 428 ratings of 1, with the ratings in between scoring significantly lower. This category still returned a largely positive average score of 3.6 (the lowest average across all questions). Customer service returned scores of 1,260 ratings of 5 and 339 ratings of 1 also with lower scored ratings in between. Again, this category still returned a positive average score of 3.8. The scores demonstrate that when it is felt that service in these key areas falls short of expectations, it is likely to cause most frustration for tenants. Judging by the polarisation of responses, the two aspects of management appear to be closely linked i.e. a review that scores lowly on efficiency of repairs is likely to score lowly on customer service too.
Just over half of reviewers chose to submit a written comment with their review, with the remaining choosing instead to rely on the numerical ratings.
Conclusion
The scores paint a positive picture for tenants and for landlords, with the majority of respondents reporting above average levels of satisfaction with key aspects of their accommodation. It also gives clear indications of areas for improvement, particularly around repairs and customer service. Both these areas are rooted in the management of expectations and improving communication. Where we all can get it wrong sometimes or misjudge how long it will take to get a particularly difficult repair resolved, how we communicate with our tenants is of the utmost importance.