Terms of Service

Welcome to RenterBuzz ("Company," "we," "us," or "our"). RenterBuzz operates the website located at renterbuzz.com (the "Platform"), a user-generated review platform for New York City residential rental buildings.

By accessing or using the Platform — including browsing listings, creating an account, submitting a review, or contacting a landlord — you ("User," "you") agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"), our Privacy Policy, and all applicable laws and regulations. These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and RenterBuzz.

Active Acceptance Required: To submit a review, you must affirmatively check two boxes: one confirming your residency and honesty, and one confirming agreement to these Terms. By checking these boxes you are bound by the full terms of Section 4, including the warranty of truthfulness, indemnification obligations, and all legal remedies available to RenterBuzz for breach. Passive scrolling does not constitute acceptance.

You must be at least 18 years of age to use the Platform. By using RenterBuzz, you represent and warrant that you are 18 or older and have the legal capacity to enter into a binding contract. Users under 18 are prohibited from submitting reviews or creating accounts.

To submit reviews or access certain features, you must create an account. You agree to:

• Provide accurate and complete registration information
• Keep your password confidential and not share it with others
• Notify RenterBuzz immediately of any unauthorized use of your account
• Accept responsibility for all activity that occurs under your account

RenterBuzz reserves the right to terminate accounts that violate these Terms or that are used for fraudulent, deceptive, or abusive purposes.

Anonymous Display: To protect reviewer privacy, RenterBuzz displays reviews under anonymized user identifiers (e.g., "VerifiedRenter01178") rather than real names. Your identity is never publicly displayed without your explicit consent.

By submitting a review on RenterBuzz, you expressly represent, warrant, and certify the following:

1. Residency Warranty: You are a current or former resident of the building you are reviewing, or you have direct, first-hand knowledge of the building's conditions through your tenancy.
2. Truthfulness Warranty: All statements of fact contained in your review are true and accurate to the best of your knowledge. You have not fabricated, exaggerated, or materially misrepresented any condition, event, or interaction.
3. Opinion Disclosure: You understand and agree that your review constitutes your personal opinion based on your individual experience. You will frame subjective assessments as opinions ("In my experience," "I felt that") rather than as objective facts when making evaluative statements.
4. No Competitor Activity: You are not submitting a review at the direction of, or on behalf of, a competitor of the building's owner or management company for the purpose of damaging their reputation.
5. No Paid Reviews: You have not received any payment, gift, discount, or other incentive in exchange for submitting this review.

Breach of Warranty: Submitting a review that contains deliberate falsehoods, fabricated events, or material misrepresentations of fact constitutes a breach of these Terms and may expose you to civil liability. You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless RenterBuzz and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your breach of these warranties. RenterBuzz will cooperate fully with any legitimate legal process seeking to identify users who have submitted fraudulent reviews.

You agree not to submit reviews or any content that:

• Contains false statements of fact presented as objective truth
• Constitutes defamation, libel, or slander under applicable law
• Includes the full name of any private individual paired with specific accusations of criminal conduct (e.g., "John Smith is a thief") — focus reviews on management entities and building conditions, not named private individuals
• Contains profanity, hate speech, slurs, or language targeting protected characteristics
• Discloses your unit number or any information that could identify other tenants
• Constitutes harassment, threats, or intimidation directed at any person
• Violates any applicable local, state, or federal law
• Is submitted for the purpose of artificially inflating or deflating a building's ratings (review manipulation)
• Contains personal contact information of private individuals without their consent
• Is spam, duplicative, or submitted multiple times for the same tenancy

Automated Filtering: RenterBuzz employs automated tools to detect and flag content that may violate these prohibitions. Flagged content is placed in a review queue for human moderation. Automated flags do not constitute a final determination of a violation.

RenterBuzz is built on the principle that honest, experience-based reviews protect renters and promote housing quality. To maintain the integrity of the platform, we ask all users to:

• Share opinions, not accusations: "Management was slow to respond to maintenance requests" is an opinion. "The landlord is a criminal" is an accusation. Stick to your personal experience.
• Focus on the building and management entity, not individual employees by name
• Be specific: "The boiler broke three times in one winter with no heat for days" is more useful than "The heat was terrible"
• Be fair: Acknowledge positives where they exist. Balanced reviews are more credible and more helpful
• Avoid unit numbers: Do not include your unit number in reviews. This protects your privacy and the privacy of current occupants
• Upload evidence: Timestamped photos of mold, water damage, or broken amenities strengthen your review and help future renters

RenterBuzz moderates all content neutrally, without favoritism toward landlords or tenants. Our goal is accuracy and fairness, not advocacy for either party.

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless RenterBuzz, its officers, directors, employees, agents, and successors from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees and court costs) arising out of or relating to:

1. Your use of the Platform
2. Any content you submit, post, or transmit through the Platform
3. Your violation of these Terms
4. Your breach of any warranty contained herein, including the Warranty of Truthfulness in Section 4
5. Any claim by a third party that your review contains false statements of fact, constitutes defamation, or otherwise violates their legal rights

Fraudulent Review Indemnification: If a user submits a review that is determined by a court or arbitrator to be deliberately fraudulent or fabricated, and such determination results in RenterBuzz incurring legal fees, damages, or court costs, the user who submitted such review is contractually obligated to reimburse RenterBuzz for all such costs. This obligation survives termination of your account and these Terms.

Moderation Policy: RenterBuzz reserves the right to remove, edit, or decline to publish any content that violates these Terms. However, we are not obligated to monitor all content and our failure to remove any particular content does not constitute endorsement of that content.

Reporting: Users may report reviews they believe violate these Terms using the "Report" feature on each review. Reports are reviewed by our moderation team within a reasonable timeframe.

Notice and Hold Protocol: If a landlord, property manager, or other party submits a formal written complaint regarding a specific review alleging defamation or terms violation, RenterBuzz will respond with the following standard protocol:

RenterBuzz does not automatically delete reviews in response to complaints. Removal requires a determination that the review actually violates our Terms, or a valid court order. Landlords retain the right to post a formal management response to any review.

Appeals: Users whose content has been removed may appeal the decision by contacting renterbuzz@gmail.com with the subject line "Content Appeal." We will review all appeals in good faith.

RenterBuzz is an interactive computer service provider as defined under 47 U.S.C. § 230 of the Communications Decency Act. RenterBuzz is not the author or publisher of user-submitted reviews and is not liable for any user-generated content posted on the Platform. Users who submit content are solely responsible for that content.

Nothing in these Terms waives or limits any immunity or protection afforded to RenterBuzz under 47 U.S.C. § 230 or any other applicable law.

Agreement to Arbitrate: You and RenterBuzz agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms, your use of the Platform, or any review submitted on the Platform — including disputes about the validity, enforceability, or scope of this arbitration clause — shall be resolved exclusively through final and binding individual arbitration, rather than in court.

Waiver of Jury Trial: YOU AND RENTERBUZZ EXPRESSLY WAIVE THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY FOR ANY DISPUTE COVERED BY THIS AGREEMENT.

Waiver of Class Action: YOU AND RENTERBUZZ AGREE THAT EACH PARTY MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. No arbitration may be consolidated with any other arbitration without the consent of all parties.

Arbitration Rules: Arbitration shall be administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, or such other arbitration body as the parties mutually agree. The arbitration shall be conducted in English.

Venue: The exclusive legal venue for any dispute — whether arbitration, court proceeding permitted by these Terms, or enforcement of an arbitration award — shall be the State of New York, County of New York. Both parties consent to personal jurisdiction in New York County, New York.

Governing Law: These Terms and any disputes arising hereunder shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

Small Claims Exception: Either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court if the claim qualifies. This arbitration agreement does not prevent either party from seeking emergency injunctive relief from a court of competent jurisdiction.

Opt-Out: You may opt out of this arbitration agreement within 30 days of first accepting these Terms by sending written notice to renterbuzz@gmail.com with the subject line "Arbitration Opt-Out." Your opt-out will not affect any other provision of these Terms.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, RENTERBUZZ SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM OR ANY CONTENT ON THE PLATFORM, WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, EVEN IF RENTERBUZZ HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

IN NO EVENT SHALL RENTERBUZZ'S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) $100 OR (B) THE AMOUNTS PAID BY YOU TO RENTERBUZZ IN THE TWELVE MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM.

RENTERBUZZ MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR RELIABILITY OF ANY REVIEWS, BUILDING DATA, VIOLATION RECORDS, OR OTHER INFORMATION ON THE PLATFORM. HPD VIOLATION DATA AND 311 COMPLAINT DATA ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" FROM NYC OPEN DATA AND MAY NOT REFLECT CURRENT CONDITIONS.

Your use of the Platform is subject to our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. By using RenterBuzz, you consent to our collection and use of your information as described in the Privacy Policy.

Email Notifications: By creating an account, you consent to receive transactional emails (account verification, review notifications, etc.). You may opt out of non-essential email communications at any time through your account settings.

Data Retention: Reviews and associated data are retained indefinitely unless removed pursuant to these Terms. Deleted account data is purged within 90 days.

RenterBuzz reserves the right to suspend or terminate your account and access to the Platform at any time, with or without notice, for any reason, including but not limited to violation of these Terms.

Upon termination, your right to use the Platform ceases immediately. Sections 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, and this Section 13 survive termination of these Terms.

RenterBuzz reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time. We will provide notice of material changes by posting the updated Terms on the Platform and updating the "Last Updated" date. Your continued use of the Platform after such changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.

If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you must discontinue use of the Platform and may close your account.

If you have questions about these Terms, the Notice and Hold protocol, or to submit a formal complaint, please contact: