Ald. Eli Judge, District 8, announced the creation of ""Madison Property Ratings"" Tuesday, a website that would allow students to evaluate their property owners.
The website will asses the quality of campus area housing in Madison while giving students an opportunity to rate property owners, assess maintenance and staff and give feedback on their overall renting experience.
Judge is working with UW-Madison students and Hardin Design & Development to establish the website, which he believes will benefit both students and property owners.
""Right now tenants, especially students, are unaware or simply lack adequate information when it comes to selecting a place to live,"" Judge said in a statement. ""I hope this website serves as a valuable tool, promoting good landlords in the campus area while also serving as a fair and open forum for poor property management to be documented.""
Scott Resnick, vice president of Hardin Design & Development, serves on the Board of Directors for the Madison Property Ratings website and will head the technology aspect of the project. Hardin Design & Development is a technology firm run by UW-Madison students and alumni, and has worked with several Fortune 500 companies. The Madison Property Ratings website is a nonprofit enterprise for the company, and Resnick is excited about the possibilities.
""Having current UW-Madison students work on this project is truly the Wisconsin Idea in action,"" Resnick said.
Resnick said the website is focused on UW students, but it could expand to the greater Madison area and eventually even farther.
Currently, Judge and Resnick are working to guarantee that the website is within all legal boundaries and to determine what protections need to be put in place. ""We set up a series of precautions,"" Resnick said. ""If there's something suspicious, landlords can comment and have things removed from the site.""
Nancy Jensen, executive director of the Apartment Association of South Central Wisconsin, said she thought the website would reward property owners who provide good service. ""I look forward to continuing my consultation with Alderman Judge to ensure this project is sustainable and has the proper oversight,"" Jensen said.
The Board of Directors will present the idea Wednesday, March 4 at the ASM Student Council meeting in order to get the website running as soon as possible.
""It will be up before August, but the major push will be for move-in, move-out day August 15,"" Resnick said.
