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SpareRoom has a rating of 1.6 stars from 49 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. SpareRoom ranks 8th among Roommate sites.
I have used this site for 2 years and found it very well organized, the search is easy and fast and it has a lot of people from all over the world, so your choice is great. It is a little bit expensive but considering I was able to find good roommates within a week, I really can't complain. As i have stayed without because of Covid 19, I'm not sure what I'll find this year (2021) in terms of choices. But yes, you can trust this service.
I'd posted and been paying the weekly fee for almost two months posting the room for rent. I got nothing but a few scam tenants responding asking for my account info so they can cashapp the deposit for me to hold the room, due to being out of town. I refused and block the scammers. The many other tenants messages me regarding the room, but never ever responds when I respond back. Totally a waste of my money and time. About to cancel this crap.
I'd posted and been paying the weekly fee for almost two months posting the room for rent. I got nothing but a few scam tenants responding asking for my account info so they can cashapp the deposit for me to hold the room, due to being out of town. I refused and block the scammers. The many other tenants messages me regarding the room, but never ever responds when I respond back. Totally a waste of my money and time. About to cancel this crap.
Tip for consumers:
I wouldn't recommend to landlords renting a room
Products used:
Paid to keep my listing active every week.
Had SpareRoom for years and it's always had problems with verifying posted ads and handling reports.
Just roomed with a landlord who promised "a room with heat, tv/Roku/switch access, shared living space and two cats". The room was not the one they advertised, heater was broken, remote and games kept away. And the apartment was trashed with pee & poop everywhere, random junk on the floor, a sour smell and two VERY hungry/lonely cats.
Was any of this squalor checked by SpareRoom for false advertisement? No. Did they offer a decent option for reporting? Also no. I witnessed multiple other tenants go through this too and it'll be the last time for me. Don't use that site. SpareRoom, and the con-artists who use it, don't deserve to live off your dime.
Products used:
Rental
Hi Sam,
We're sorry to hear your experience with a landlord away from the site.
As an advertising platform, we offer an online space for users to post accommodation for rent and those looking for accommodation to rent to find each other and do always recommend an in-person viewing (or video viewing if that's not possible) to decide if a property is suitable.
We're not involved in any part of the letting process, so if you do come across something that isn't, or doesn't seem right, you can report an ad or advertiser to us right away and we'll investigate.
As we're unable to locate any specific details from your review here and your experience sounds concerning, please contact our moderation team on site.moderator@spareroom.com so they may investigate and where appropriate, we do remove advertisers from SpareRoom if deemed necessary from any report and evidence we receive.
Best wishes
The SpareRoom Team
I have found this app to be quite useful, but living with a landlord can often be a challenging experience. In my experience, many landlords are primarily concerned with financial matters and tend to place a significant emphasis on saving money. As a result, they may request tenants to engage in extensive communication, perform most of the housework, and minimize the use of electricity and water. In my opinion, it is often preferable to live with friends and avoid spare rooms if possible, as this can help avoid the potential difficulties and frustrations that can arise from living with a landlord. Overall, living with a landlord can sometimes be a less than ideal situation. Additionally, there are numerous challenges associated with living with flatmates, such as the tendency for some to neglect their share of the housework, resulting in untidiness and overall uncleanliness. Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence that happens all too frequently.
UK ONLY
Hi TT,
Thanks for your comments on differing living situations and we're glad the app itself was useful!
We do always recommend meeting those you might be living with first and discussing any potential house rules, as this helps with decision making and if a share is going to be a good fit.
For many of our users, living with a landlord works very well, as it's often a more budget-friendly option and as the owner also lives in the property, it can offer a more homely set-up. Additionally, if you do have anything you need to raise, the landlord is immediately available to speak with.
For others, living with similar flatmates to themselves helps them settle into a new area, with a ready-made set of people who already know it and can show them the ropes!
We do recommend placing a Room Wanted advert, if you've not already done so, as this gives you the opportunity to mention any dealbreakers, such as around household tasks and cleaning, and if you have any strong preference around this for the type of share you're looking for, so that those with a matching living situation can connect with you.
Best wishes,
The SpareRoom Team
You can't block users, even if they are harassing you through messages on your ads. One person who did not get chosen for the rental I had posted created multiple fake accounts, one of which was under the identity and photo of a dead celebrity. Spareroom did communicate with me after I reported this, but they did not take the accounts down. You also cannot delete messages in your inbox without first opening them, which is pretty annoying in this particular situation.
Spareroom your customer service team is very nice and professional from my experience, but the security is lacking. Too easy for someone to make fake accounts and say awful things on your platform through private messages and get away with it. There should be a stronger screening process or some kind of security measure to ensure accounts are real.
Hi LH,
Thank for your review. We're sorry to hear you came across some advertisers you believed were non-genuine.
We can see you were in contact with our Site Moderation team (SpareRoom is fully moderated with a security system to monitor, detect and remove fraudulent accounts) and they looked into your report made to them. They have confirmed with you as part of their investigation, action will be taken if appropriate.
We are launching background checks for renters very shortly so there will be a further layer of security on accounts as well as our own moderation team.
If you do need any further help or advice, our team will be pleased to help and can be contacted on 877 257 4944 or at site.moderator@spareroom.com.
Best wishes
The SpareRoom Team
Spare room don't care when you get ripped off by one of their paying clients. This company needs regulating and there should be some sort of protection to the person renting the property. Avoid these jokers
Hi Carl, we're sorry to hear the letting process may not have been as expected. As we're not involved with that in any way, if you can contact us directly we'll be able to look into this further and we always offer advice if it's something where we may not have any jurisdiction. Our moderation team can be contacted at site.moderator@spareroom.co.uk and look forward to hearing from you.
The site has a lot of sketchy landlords who will not return the security deposit, speaking from my personal experience as well as a few others' experiences. You are better off finding a room on other websites like Airbnb that handles all the finances through the website rather than giving it to an unreliable landlord.
They quick take your money when is about early bird subscription.
But in case you want to pop an email to someone after the subscription expired, the account present issue.
No comment.
I don't recommend
Hi Cristiana,
Thanks for your feedback, that's appreciated.
You'll have access to new early bird ads while your upgrade is active and can still communicate with everyone you've already contacted even when your upgrade has ended via your SpareRoom inbox. Once your upgrade ends, your account will revert back to a free one and if you wish to contact any new early bird ads you would need a new upgrade to do so.
We'd like to make sure you're getting the best from your account so please do get in touch on 877 834 2909 or at customerservices@spareroom.com and we'll be happy to help.
Best wishes
The SpareRoom Team
I have been running a bad now for at least 3 months. And all of the people come on say they are French in Project Management or finance day they are interested you never hear back. Days later they are still on the site looking. Most don't have pics and have recently joined the site. Very unusual activity and SpareRoom is not addressing. I have used them b4 no problem so I know something is wrong.
Hi Marilyn, Thanks for your feedback, that's appreciated.
You may have a business in the area where several people may have moved for work, though we're sorry to hear you've not had a reply back from them yet. It may be that they've had lots of contacts to deal with or are currently at viewing stage and will then come back to any rooms that might be on their shortlist for an area if they haven't found what they're looking for.
Sometimes groups of workers will try and look individually for themselves as well as look for whole properties to move in together, so there's some familiarity, especially if they've moved from overseas to start a new job. If you think any of the ads don't look right, please contact us at site.moderator@spareroom.co.uk and our team will be happy to check them for you.
Best wishes,
The SpareRoom Team
They will cancel your subscription at any moment for no reason. Total waste of time and money. Stay away and use other platforms. I have very good results with facebook and gumtree. In general spareroom will bring you useless leads and mainly people who is there just to waste your time. They will arrange a viewing and then will not even bother to show up. On the other hand, if you invite them in your office to better qualify the potential tenant before taking them for a viewing, they may report you. Spareroom became ridiculous.
UK only
Hi Phillip,
We can see our moderation team have asked for some further security details a few times, so if you could provide those to them, that would be great as unfortunately we can't reopen an account without them. We do recommend determining suitability as much as possible before inviting anyone to attend a viewing, so as not to waste either your or their time. Our users apply to specific rooms advertised, and unless they've been advised beforehand a room may be about to go and other options offered to see if those would also be of interest, doing this at viewing stage is more likely to cause problems and lead to complaints. Our team will be happy to provide any additional advice.
Best wishes
SpareRoom Team
Avoid at any costs.
At the very beginning it was a decent company, but now they are bunch of crooks.
Don't ever give them your bank details or make any payments from their website. They will be taking money from your account without your knowledge.
UK ONLY
Hi George,
We're sorry to hear your feedback. We have a range of upgrades, some which are one-off purchases so no repeat billing, while others are clearly marked as subscriptions on the site, so you know that these will be billed monthly. We also don't store any card information or take any bank details from any of our users, so your comment sounds like this may relate to an advertiser during contact made outside of our platform. Our moderation team would therefore like to be able to look at the account this may relate to and investigate further so have asked if you can contact them at site.moderation@spareroom.co.uk or on 0161 768 1162.
Best wishes
The SpareRoom Team
I paid the $24.99 to have my ad for a roommate and 2 days later they deleted my account because they said I was trying to sublet my entire apartment, which is clearly not the case. Also, all the "people" they sent were very obviously spam information collectors.Do not use this site, ick!
Hi OP,
Thanks for your review. It sounds like your account was selected for a security check by our moderation team and they may have requested some further information as part of that check.
This is quite normal and they do carry out regular routine checks to ensure the safety of all site users. In this case, they may be waiting for a few more details from you in order to allow continued use of the site.
For any further information on the status of your account, including any upgrades purchased, please do contact us at site.moderator@spareroom.com or on 877 834 2909 and they will be happy to assist.
Best wishes
The SpareRoom Team
This site seems to have more fresh Ads than Roomster, but I have been a member for months, and am still looking. I send messages and wonder if recipients even receive them, as I have gotten few responses.
Hi Fran, it looks like this was a few years ago when we were still new to the US, we've grown considerably since then so do check back if you're ever looking for or offering a room again!
Best wishes
SpareRoom Team
The site is jam full of time wasters and people who don't read your ads. You can spend hours, even days, arranging views where people don't even show up! Their prices are way too high and the 'service' is non-existent, with messages unresponded to and calls unanswered.
On the other side, I tried finding rooms on there before and it was an absolute nightmare. Most were already taken, or they just ignored the message, or sent a $#*!ty auto-response. In other cases the place was totally unsuitable, and a few were blatant scams. The odd gem is on there but you'd be better off pinning a 'room wanted' ad onto a community noticeboard.
Definitely not recommended.
I have used this site for 2 years and found it very well organized, the search is easy and fast and it has a lot of people from all over the world, so your choice is great. It is a little bit expensive but considering I was able to find good roommates within a week, I really can't complain. As i have stayed without because of Covid 19, I'm not sure what I'll find this year (2021) in terms of choices. But yes, you can trust this service.
A lot of fake properties and people in this website. Their system doesn't work properly saving old expired ads. Anyone who even don't have any link with a property can advertise it … any current tenant put anything and were not able to carry on any responsibility for this. How is the current tenant can say – accept DSS?! They refer you to a landlord or estate agency who refuse fairy tales of current tenant and sometimes they are not aware the property is advertised! Just a waste of time with this fake website SCARErooms))
UK ONLY
Hi,
Thanks for your comments ad we're sorry to hear you have come across a misleading ad. You can report these directly to our moderation team at site.moderator@spareroom.co.uk and they will be pleased to help.
They do ask for proof of ownership where this is required, however, many current housemates do advertise correctly if their landlord has allowed them to manage finding a new housemate to join them. Of course we would expect that they've checked any details with their landlord first so everyone is on the same page, as we understand it can lead to disappointment if one of the details is incorrect.
Our site moderation team look forward to any further details you may have so they may investigate further.
Best wishes
The SpareRoom team
I'm a Landlord looking for a tenant to join our house share I was contacted by a young girl who sent me a message as she wanted to view my room, I replied and never got a reply. I managed to find the girl who's picture was on her advert and got in contact through Facebook to my surprise she said she never made an advert on spare room and was living in India and only dreamed to come to the UK. Her profile stated she was in project management in the UK. Such lies this website makes false profiles and fools people like me who paid for there services. Stay away.
Hi Sonia,
Thanks for your review. As all accounts, ads and messages are created and sent manually by users, we've contacted you directly with our site moderation details as we'd like to take a look at the account concerned. While we do allow people to browse the site, registration (compulsory) ad creation and messaging are only for if you intend to actually move or let a room out. Our moderation team look forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes,
The SpareRoom team.
Spare room pretend so hard to tackle 'fake' profiles, insinuating for the most part that these 'fakers' are pretending to have a property to illicit money from a tenant. This is distraction technique. Nobody nowadays needs to be told that they should not hand over bank details or money without checking the accommodation and landlord first. Those scam artists are few and far between. Their advertising revenue comes mainly from Landlords and people looking for a housemate. The scam that THEY are involved in is creating false profiles, many, many of them. This keeps landlords etc, paying for contact. There a number of ways to identify that they are doing this which the ASA is aware of. Just don't use this scam artist of a company.
UK ONLY
Hi Antony,
It looks like you may not have understood the service and we'd like to help clarify how it works. We don't post any ads ourselves as this is not company policy and our time is spent assisting our customers and improving our service as best we can. We have many users who are brand new to seeking accommodation online, some for the first time ever when moving from home either for work or study and even from overseas, where renting in the UK may be new to them.
We include plenty of safety tips information on the site as well as the ability to email or calls us to help users and indeed receive lots of positive feedback on the fact that we do offer this type of information and have a security team monitoring the site.
Our customer services and/or site moderation team team would be happy to speak with you to make sure you're getting the best from your account, talk you through why safety online for everyone is important and address any other concerns you may have. Our contacts details are customerservices@spareroom.co.uk or site.moderator@spareroom.co.uk or on 0161 768 1162. The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) are also welcome to contact us via the same details.
Best wishes,
The SpareRoom Team
I have spent many hours responding to ads, Not one phone call. The ads are fake or old. Not one response. I am going to request a refund and see how difacult it is to contact them, most bogus sites will not respond in person and avoid scammed customers.
Hi Mr B,
We're sorry to hear you didn't get the level of replies you were looking for. Competition for rooms is at an all time high across both the US and UK, so we're aware those offering rooms have been inundated with enquiries and are trying to get back to everyone as quickly as possible.
We do recommend having your own Room Wanted advert, as this helps those you message see something about you, as well as increases your chances of getting a reply.
We'd like to make sure you're getting the best from your account, so if you're in the US, please call us on 877 834 2909 or email at customerservices@spareroom.com, or if you're in the UK, 0161 768 1162 or customerservices@spareroom.co.uk and a member of the team will be pleased to assist.
Best wishes,
The SpareRoom Team
There are other roomie sites that don't chargé a fee so I'm not sure why people even use this one. They don't even spell properly; I'm assuming they are originally a British company, but if you're doing business in the states, at least adjust your spelling to match. "Enquiry?" No, that's not how we spell it here. You have to be on site for a week with your "advert" (another Brit word they didn't bother to adapt) and it is unclear whether I will be able to finally contact people after a week or whether they will continue hounding me to pay a fee, we will see. Otherwise, I'll just keep using Roomies for free. At least they're an American company.
Tip for consumers:
There are free sites that do the exact same thing, there’s no reason to pay
Products used:
Placed an ad to find a roommate
Hi Allie,
Thanks for your review.
Everyone can place a free ad and use the site free of charge if preferred and there are optional upgrades that provide additional promotion and open your contact links up instantly to all those looking.
We do offer a premium service in order to keep our site running and help people find homes. We make this service optional and many of our users use our free service and while many companies offer free platforms, in time monetising is often introduced in order to keep them running, including where investors may be involved who are looking for their returns.
We've always been privately owned and managed and instead chose to be upfront and provide both the free and optional paid options from day one (we're 12 years old in the US, 24 years in the UK and also have sister platforms around the world).
Thank you for your comments on localisations, there may be the odd one that's escaped onto the platform so we'll pass this on to our tech team to have these resolved.
In the meantime, if you need any further help with your account, do get in touch at customerservices@spareroom.com or 877 834 2909.
Best wishes,
The SpareRoom Team
Finding a room shouldn't be this difficult, they needs to start banning non responsive landlords from the site as they just waste everyones time. Landlord wants to know more about you? Cool I'll spend 20 minutes writing something that conveys that only to get ''read''. At least allow us to put a BIO section so we don't need to waste time introducing ourselves what we do etc, absolute waste of time, this site sucks so bad I'm starting to use gumtree instead.
UK ONLY
Hi Daniel,
We're sorry to hear you didn't always get a reply. We're aware since the UK opened back up after the pandemic, the demand for rooms has been extremely high, so landlords have been inundated with requests for their rooms and are doing their best to get back to everyone in turn. We're currently highlighting our bulk auto reply features to them so they can get back to everyone in one go to help them keep on top of replies.
You can also post your own room wanted advert stating all your requirements (a bit like a bio) and landlords and flatmates with rooms to offer can also reach out to you directly.
In the meantime, if you need any further help and to make sure you're getting the best from your account, please contact us at customerservices@spareroom.co.uk or on 0161 768 1162 and a member of the team will be pleased to help.
Best wishes,
The SpareRoom Team
On 5/22/23 Nathalie Ruault discriminate against me by failing to rent me a room base on my age.
This discrimination was done by her via spare room.com, and it violates Federal Fair Housing Act ( 42 US Code 360-3619).
Hi Chuck,
We're sorry to hear you had a negative experience with an advertiser on SpareRoom and we'd like to look into the account concerned. Please contact our moderation team at site.moderator@spareroom.com or on 877 834 2909 and they will be pleased to investigate further.
Best wishes,
The SpareRoom team
I have been contacted by 3 people non of which I believed. The first had photoshopped pics and was never available to meet in person. The second was asking a fake question the third suggested he was a Dr who showed me a utility bill that was 9 months old then a bank statement with over £11k in it... plenty of money to get a hotel room and meet in person rather than have to move in straight away. I think the profiles are click bait and scammers. Feels like a very dodgy site. Beware
Hi Joan,
We're sorry to hear you came across other users you were uncertain of and you can always get in touch with our moderation team directly, as they monitor the site 7 days a week and will look into every report or any concerns another user may have to keep the site safe for everyone.
Please contact them at site.moderator@spareroom.co.uk so they may look into your experience further and where they will be pleased to assist.
Best wishes
The SpareRoom Team
I have a four bedroom house for three roommates I am very happy as a homeowner to have had so many interested people. I have a lot to offer and am happy to welcome the right people. I found all three from Spare Room. I am truly content with the end result. If I ever need another roommate I will definitely only go with Spare Room. Hawthorne, CA USA
Hi Lori,
Thanks for taking the time to let us know and it's fantastic to hear SpareRoom has been helpful in your search. We hope that everyone settles in well and if you need any further help feel free to get in touch!
Best wishes
SpareRoom Team
And I decided to post an ad, for a roommate. MUCH better than CraigsList, even though a small fee is involved (you can use the free version, but then you have to wait 7 days before someone can contact you). The phone didn't answer and I don't like how they don't make the policies very clear up front, which is why they only get 3 starts. Do it right, SpareRoom, and even if people have to pay a little bit, you'll quickly win over the CrapList, I mean CraigsList crowd. That service is free with no waiting, but HORRIBLE now.
It was in vain looking for a shared room (No matter single or double bedroom) on this sxxt website, once I've messaged to a "landlord" or "current flatmate", they just had read the message that I sent to, rather than had taken any response to me. So exhausted to carry on looking a room on it.
Tip for consumers:
None
Products used:
None
UK ONLY
Hi Jacky,
We're sorry to hear you didn't always get a reply from the advertisers you contacted. Demand is extremely high right now versus rental stock supply and those offering rooms are being inundated with messages, so it's taking them a bit longer to get back to everyone who enquires.
We do always recommend a personalised Room Wanted ad as well as tailoring your messages according to the person's room ad requirements to get the best chance of a reply.
We'd like to take a look over your account to make sure you're getting the best from ir and can be contacted at customerservices@spareroom.co.uk or on 0161 768 1162 and a member of the team will be happy to help.
Best wishes
The SpareRoom Team
Gain trust and grow your business with customer reviews.
SpareRoom: Find Roommates and Rooms to Rent
Hello,
We're sorry to hear you had a negative experience with other users on SpareRoom and as your comments sound concerning, we'd like to look into this further and would be grateful if you could contact us on 877 834 2909 or at site.moderator@spareroom.com.
We have a team of moderators who investigate every report made and where appropriate, will remove a user from the site. If you can provide as many details as possible to them in your report, including any off-site communication if this activity did not take place within our messaging system, that will help them locate any account concerned.
Best wishes,
The SpareRoom Team