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Review Policy

Last Updated: 07/07/2025

TRU Living is committed to maintaining the highest standards across its platform, ensuring that both guests and hosts enjoy a respectful, fair, and high-quality experience. This Review Policy outlines our expectations for property ratings, how reviews are monitored, and the protections in place for our hosts and the integrity of our guest community.

1. Minimum Rating Requirement

To ensure a consistent level of quality and guest satisfaction:

  • All listed properties on TRU Living must maintain an average rating of 4.8 stars or higher.
  • Averages are calculated based on historical guest reviews and new bookings integrated into TRU Living.

2. Review Monitoring and Evaluation

To maintain integrity while allowing for fluctuations and isolated incidents:

  • Reviews and property averages are formally reviewed every 6 months.
  • This interval allows hosts a reasonable opportunity to improve performance following any isolated or negative experiences.
  • Properties falling below the minimum rating threshold may be subject to warnings, temporary delisting, or removal from the TRU Living platform, depending on the circumstances and improvement efforts made.

3. New Property Listings by Existing Partners

TRU Living supports growth from trusted hosting partners. Therefore:

  • An existing Partner (host) may list a new property without initial guest reviews.
  • The property's review rating will first be assessed after 6 months from the listing date.
  • If the property has fewer than 5 reviews at the time of that assessment, a second review will be conducted after an additional 6 months to allow time for feedback to accumulate.
  • This ensures fair evaluation while maintaining platform standards.

4. Protection from Unfair Reviews

TRU Living supports its hosts and takes a firm stance against unfair or abusive feedback:

  • We do not tolerate defamatory comments, personal attacks, or reviews resulting from erratic behaviour, excessive requests, coercion, or retaliatory intent.
  • Reviews found to breach platform guidelines or Australian consumer and defamation laws may be removed without notice.

External Platform Reviews:

  • If a review is posted on an external platform and the host has reported the review to that platform, but it was not removed, TRU Living reserves the right to independently investigate the review.
  • If, upon review, it is found that the content violates TRU Living's review policy, the review will not be displayed on the TRU Living platform, even if it remains visible on the originating platform.

5. Review Challenges and Removal Requests

Hosts have the right to challenge any review they believe is inaccurate or unjustified.

A review may be subject to removal if the host can clearly demonstrate any of the following:

  • The guest violated house rules or terms of the booking.
  • The review contains false claims, misleading information, or content that can be proven to be factually incorrect.
  • The guest engaged in harassment, threats, extortion, or retaliatory behaviour.
  • The review includes offensive, discriminatory, or defamatory language.
  • The reviewer never stayed at the property or booked under fraudulent circumstances.
  • The guests expectations where unreasonable on the Host or the property.

To initiate a review challenge, hosts must submit a formal request via their TRU Living dashboard or by email, including evidence such as guest correspondence, security footage, check-in records, or photographic documentation.

6. Guest Reviews and Conduct

TRU Living welcomes honest and respectful feedback from guests, but reviews must comply with our community guidelines:

  • Any review rated below 3 stars is considered a bad review.
  • All reviews below 3 stars will be internally reviewed for compliance with this policy and for factual accuracy.
  • Guests are expected to leave fair, respectful, and fact-based reviews.

If a guest breaches TRU Living's review policy, including posting reviews that are defamatory, retaliatory, misleading, or abusive:

  • TRU Living reserves the right to remove the review.
  • The guest may be suspended or permanently banned from using the platform.
  • TRU Living may request supporting documentation or communication records from both parties before making a determination.

7. Final Decisions

TRU Living will assess all reviews and challenges on a case-by-case basis. All decisions are made at our sole discretion and are final. Our goal is to ensure a safe, respectful, and trustworthy community for both guests and hosts.