SafeRent — Check a rental before you sign
SafeRent Ireland is a free, independent platform for anyone looking to rent in Ireland. It helps tenants check any Irish rental address before signing a lease — with anonymous tenant reviews, structured ratings, rent benchmarks, scam alerts and a free rental toolkit.
It is not a listings portal and is not affiliated with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).
At a glance
Role: Founder & Product Designer (solo)
Type: Personal product — tenant protection for the Irish rental market
Timeline: Built during Independent Product Designer period (May 2024 – Dec 2025) · Live
Platform: Web app (Ireland-focused)
Focus: Address check · Anonymous reviews · Rental toolkit · Scam awareness
Live: Visit live product
Tools: Figma, React, Supabase, Lovable, HTML/CSS
Problem
Renting in Ireland is high-stakes: listings show what is available, but not whether an address has a history of damp, deposit disputes, noise, or poor communication. Prospective tenants often rely on scattered Facebook groups, word of mouth, or signing blind.
Listing portals (Daft.ie, Rent.ie and similar) optimise for finding a property. They do not help you decide whether that tenancy is worth the risk before you pay a deposit.
Approach
I defined SafeRent as a decision tool, not another marketplace:
1. Check any Irish address first — search before you commit.
2. Read anonymous, structured tenant ratings (heating, damp, noise, deposit fairness, landlord communication) tied to addresses only — no landlord names.
3. Use free toolkit flows — e.g. whether rent looks fair, whether an increase or notice looks valid, deposit questions — with links to official RTB resources.
4. Surface scam-awareness guidance and rental news/guides so renters can act with clearer context.
UX priorities: clarity under stress, anonymity by default, and trust (moderation, subjective-rating disclaimers, “verify with RTB” always visible).
Key decisions
• Address-first IA — the primary job is “check this place,” not browse listings.
• Anonymity & fairness — ratings without landlord names; moderation for abusive content; ratings framed as subjective tenant experience.
• Toolkit beside reviews — practical check flows next to social proof, so the product helps both before signing and during a tenancy.
• Independent positioning — free, not a letting agent, not RTB; always point users to official sources.
• AI-assisted build, designer-led UX — used AI tools to accelerate implementation while owning research framing, IA, UI and trust copy end to end.
Outcome
• Shipped a live Ireland-wide product at saferent.ie: address check, anonymous reviews, ratings, toolkit and renter guides.
• Established a clear category position: “not another listings site” — help renters decide if a tenancy is worth it before they sign.
• Early public footprint: reviewed addresses on the site, editorial guides for Irish renters, and ongoing iteration on trust, scam guidance and RTB-linked resources.
• Product continues to evolve with real renter use; scale and coverage are still growing.