Dear Landlord
Introduction
Empowering renters to understand their legal rights, communicate effectively with their landlord, and take steps to avoid eviction.
Sector
Not-for-profit, Social Impact, Homelessness Prevention, Legal Tech
Challenge
Redesign Dear Landlord to support renters navigate COVID-19 laws, while creating a scalable solution that could live beyond the pandemic.
My Role
User Experience, Information Architecture, Prototyping, Interaction Design
Our Solution
Personalised guidance
Helping users identify their situation and where they were inside the legal process increased user confidence and left no dead ends.
Those who take action inside Dear Landlord are supported through the process of generating a document that they can forward straight to their landlord, removing as much friction as possible.
How we got there
Rapid redesign
We had 8 weeks to update the tool in line with new rental laws. We spent 6 weeks digging into the data, iterating, prototyping and testing, and then a mad dash at the end to build, but we pulled it off.
Our starting point
Data showed the tool was valuable but confusing to navigate, and had lots of content and legal jargon. Eligibility concerns, lack of confidence in the process, and anxiety about their situation were some other themes that emerged.
Early prototypes
Rapidly iterating, we landed on a home page that focused on addressing key concerns that might prevent them from starting and providing a clear situation they could identify with. We tested and launched this solution to meet our 8-week deadline.
Post launch issues
After launch, data and feedback showed users were selecting an option on the first page but struggled to get through the next stage, where they needed to answer 1-3 questions about their situation. I returned to the drawing board to redesign this stage, make it easier, and prevent dead ends.
The ‘situation helper’
I worked with a subject matter expert to map out user-friendly entry points, corresponding legal outcomes and actions people could take.
Removed confusion
We tested a new solution and updated the tool with a new visual identity and process. Data and insights showed users were navigating the tool with confidence.
Outcomes and learnings
The outcomes from my time on Dear Landlord were huge; not only did we help 1,000s of vulnerable people, but we also built a framework that Justice Connect reused for another tool, helped secure more funding for other projects and were awarded the Good Design Award for Social Impact.
User feedback
- “[Dear Landlord] made [my wellbeing] better because I was stressing so much about it with everything else on top of that. I had no one else here to ask for help so when I saw my options on dear landlord I decided to try it out and helped me create a payment plan that worked for me and my landlord and everything else just fell in to place. I am no longer stressing over my rent and other things. My rent was the biggest stress trigger for me but things are much better now.”
- “Dear Landlord helped me create a payment plan that my landlord was able to agree with, and we are extremely happy with the outcome. We have stuck to the payment plan and haven’t missed a payment since”
Some data
- 115% increase in usage in the first 6 months post-relaunch
- 86% reported increased confidence and reduced stress
- The average user was $2,500 behind on rent – indicating a high need
Industry recognition
“Great integration of all aspects from the identification of an area of opportunity/need, the iterative approach to design that allowed for testing and refinement with the target user, but doing all of this with an eye for what makes the delivery of the work scalable and more cost-effective at the same time. This strong human-centred design approach has resulted in a smart, accessible solution that meets renters’ needs. Terrific project.” – Good Design Awards Jury