Jordie Van Den Berg has a lot to say about shit rentals. Known as @purplepingers to his $140k TikTok followers, Jordie has amassed more than 3.5 million likes for his hilarious monotone take downs of the country’s worst rental properties.
“Looks like the owner strapped a disk sander to the bum of a dog with worms and just sort of scooted around for a couple of years,” he says, deadpan, into the camera, holding his trademark tiny microphone.
“It's a no from me to the mould feature wall,” he says in another.
Jordie’s videos are laugh-out-loud funny. But the rental properties he reviews are anything but.
There are missing sinks, ripped up tiles, rooms without windows, broken walls, leaks, cupboards without doors, and plenty of mould.
“I did a video at one place. I was there for an hour and was sick for two days afterwards. Literally because of the amount of mould in the place,” says Jordie.
"People were actually living there. They had constant rashes all over their bodies, they’d go away on holidays for a week just to feel better.”
@purplepingers #shitrentals #shitrentalsofadelaide ♬ original sound - Jordie van den Berg
It gets worse.
“I went to an old property and there was exposed asbestos everywhere, there was a gas leak, no electrical safety certificate at all, a shower that didn’t turn off, you had to turn the mains off to get the shower to stop leaking.
“It drained straight into the floor, so the whole carpet was just squishy, it squelched when you walked on it.”
Turns out, he wasn’t the only one angry. Jordie was inundated with requests to include particular rentals on his account, initially dubbed Shit Rentals of Melbourne, eventually spurring the website www.shitrentals.org
“The amount of things people sent in became really unmanageable and it’s not really fair that all these renters that can’t speak up are relying on some white dude on Tiktok to be a voice for them. That’s kind of yucky, so I wanted to make something where people could be their own voice, but anonymously.”
@purplepingers 56 Brooks Street, Wallsend NSW - Maison Property Management If youre in victoria and need free legal help with rental repairs and unfairly held bonds, reach out to anika legal #shitrentals #wallsend ♬ original sound - Jordie van den Berg
How it started.
It’s not unique to have had a bad experience with a real estate agent. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t.
“I was just really annoyed at the way real estate agents were treating vulnerable people and young people in particular,” says Jordie.
“The fact nothing was being done about that for so long and everyone just kind of accepted it made me really angry, so I started making fun of them.”
Like many viral TikTokers, Jordie launched his Shit Rentals account during lockdown, when the app was in its infancy.
“When there’s nothing else you can do, your last resort is to make fun of something. It’s a pretty Australian thing to do as well. No one is above a joke.”
Jordie thought he was just making funny videos, but they resonated with thousands of Aussie renters.
“I started by just trawling Domain and realestate.com.au. And then people started sending in stuff as well so I started doing those too.”
Using humour to highlight a more serious issue.
While social media users were watching Jordie’s videos, behind the scenes he was diving a little deeper into the rental crisis.
“The biggest thing for me was why no one was doing anything about this,” says Jordie.
“The government is overwhelmingly of the landlord class, so they’re desensitised to what would make things easier for renters. There’s just a massive power imbalance. Renters can’t do anything about it because they’ll get evicted and there’s no one to speak on their behalf in government, because there are (very few) renters in government.”
@purplepingers Shit Campbelltown, South Australia #shitrentals #campbelltown ♬ original sound - Jordie van den Berg
The biggest issues, Jordie says, are mould, repairs, and withheld bonds.
“The big one is repairs and mould. They don’t want to maintain their investment properties. So as a renter, you have to fight for someone else to maintain their investment properly, for which you’re paying the mortgage.
Issues such as tenant black lists and unofficial black lists are also a big problem, leaving renters who do fight for their rights, at risk of being left out in the cold - literally. Complaining can also get you evicted, he says, as can refusing a pay rise, which some renters may try if the repairs they’re legally entitled to aren’t completed.
“You do have to show some evidence for why, but it’s easy to get around.”
Jordie also believes racism is rife.
“It happens behind closed doors. People from inside the industry who work in adjacent roles, talk about the conversations the agents have with the landlords. It’s really heartbreaking.”
Listen to this episode of Things You Didn't Learn In School to find out how to score a great rental. Post continues below.
Beyond a joke.
While Jordie’s TikTok videos use humour to make a point, the website www.shitrentals.org allows the public to leave honest reviews on their rentals.
The website serves as a warning for other potential renters before they sign up to a new property. It’s current receiving around 50 submissions every day, that Jordie personally reviews.
“It’s a lot of work, (but) with the amount of shit rentals there are in Australia, you should be able to speak up. It’s been pretty good.”
Jordie says he hopes the website and growing interest generates a real change in an industry that’s leaving thousands of Australians behind.
“Everything about renting in Australia is wrong.
@purplepingers Jellis Craig Boroondara - 16 Puerta St, Burwood #shitrentals #shitrentalsofmelbourne #jelliscraig ♬ original sound - Jordie van den Berg
“I would love to see every rental in Australia on the website or every real estate agency, so renters know what they’re getting into. At the moment, you just have the pictures that are from 20 years ago, plus a bunch of lies or an AI generated description.”
But the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) says Jordie's going about things all wrong, despite his good intentions.
“Unfortunately, websites such as these don’t really seek to achieve the collective, desired outcome of delivering more affordable rental homes in Australia," REIA president, Hayden Groves, says.
"Whilst much of the content on this particular website is questionable and sometimes oddly satirical, the message to property owners and the agents that represent them is serious: provide rental homes that are fit for purpose and comply with governing standards.
"REIA encourages property managers to avoid taking to market properties that fail the reasonable test of being fit for rental purposes, irrespective of the tight market conditions that currently prevail.”
Jordie’s long-term goal is to use the information provided to gather enough data to identify themes, trends and hotspots, and hopefully, present those findings to the government and researchers.
“I want to demonstrate that this is a really big issue, and ask, 'can we do something about it please'?"
Feature image: Getty
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