Renters negative reviews could be costly
An apartment complex near Disney has voided its renter lease agreement that called for tenants to pay $10,000 fines for posting negative reviews on social media.
Complaints surfaced this week about Windermere Cay’s lease provisions, which prohibited tenants from writing negative comments about the complex on Yelp!, Apartment Ratings, Facebook or any other online medium.
On Tuesday, the property management group for Windermere Cay responded to an Orlando Sentinel inquiry about the lease provision by stating the measure came from a “previous general partner.” Current management does not support the lease addendum and has voided it for all residents, according to an email from property managers at the Greystar-operated apartments.
In the lease posted to the Ars Technica website, Windermere Cay’s management had expressed concerns about a “growing trend” of renters posting unjustified and defamatory reviews on social media in order to negotiate lower rents.
“Such postings can cripple a business by creating a false impression in the eyes of consumers,” the lease states. “The damages resulting from this false impression can include potentially millions of dollars in economic losses, and have permanent consequences that can unjustly destroy a business.”
Windermere Cay’s social-media provisions are part of a growing business of online reputation management. A 2012 report from the Virginia consulting firm BIA/Kelsey estimated that small and mid-size businesses spend at least $700 million a year on tools and services designed to keep their cyber-profiles shiny and bright.
Some services claim they can erase negative reviews from top sites such as Yelp and Angie’s List, although both of those providers say it’s impossible for companies to control social media reviews. Other groups offer guidance for balancing out negative reviews with more factual or positive comments.
“The Internet can define who you are,” said Eric Schiffer, chairman of Reputation Management Consultants in Irvine, Calif. “You either allow it to define you — or you decide that you’re going to present the facts fairly.”
The most recent reviews of Windermere Cay on the website Yelp include a series of one-star ratings by individuals who complained about the apartments’ proposed five-figure fines for negative commentary. Oakland, Calif., resident Kevin Boerner told the Sentinel that he felt compelled to post his concerns, even though he lives on the West Coast. “What century do you people exist in?? I wouldn’t live here if you paid me,” he wrote on Yelp.
Greystar did not respond for additional details about the leasing policy.
The rental community is located off Reams Road, just west of a Walt Disney World entrance used mainly by employees, and owned by Texas-based Timberlock Partners LP.
Source: OrlandoSentinel.com
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