How reviews work

Reviews on Maskani Yetu come from people who viewed or stayed at a property. This page explains, in plain words, who can post them, what we check, how ratings are worked out and what they change.

Who can review

Anyone with a Maskani Yetu account can review a listing, once per listing. You cannot review your own listing, and members of a lister's team cannot review listings their team manages.

A review has star ratings for your overall experience, communication and whether the listing matched reality, and optionally for timekeeping (or cleanliness for short stays). It also asks whether you were asked to pay anything you weren't told about upfront. A written comment is optional.

Verified visits

A review is marked "Verified visit" when you booked a tour of that listing through Maskani Yetu and the lister marked the tour as completed. We match the tour to you by your account, or by the email address you booked with, so a tour booked before you signed up still counts.

If the lister marks your tour completed after you've posted, editing your review within the edit window adds the mark.

Verified-visit reviews count 1.5 times as much as other reviews in averages and badges, because we know the reviewer was there.

How a review is published

There is no approval step: most reviews go live as soon as you post them. Before any review is saved, an automatic check runs on the text. It is rule-based, not a person, and is tuned for English, Swahili and Sheng.

Personal details are removed

The check removes phone numbers, email addresses, M-Pesa transaction codes, KRA PINs and national ID numbers, and replaces them with a note such as "[PHONE REDACTED]". Only the cleaned text is stored. The same happens to listers' replies.

Accusations are held for a check

A review that accuses someone of a crime or dishonesty, for example calling them a thief, a fraudster or a conman, is held rather than published. While it is held:

• our team reads it and decides whether to publish it;
• the lister is emailed and can send a reply, which appears under the review if it is published;
• you can see on My reviews that it is on hold, and when we expect to decide.

We aim to decide within 48 hours. A held review does not count towards any rating or badge until it is published.

Abuse and threats are removed

Reviews that contain slurs, threats of violence or extreme abuse are removed automatically. You'll see why on My reviews, and you can rewrite the review while the edit window is open.

Strong opinions about service are allowed. "The caretaker was rude", "worst landlord I've dealt with" or "the agent never showed up" are honest reviews and are published.

We don't publish the exact words the check looks for, because that would only help people get around it.

Editing and deleting

You can edit your review for 48 hours after posting it. After that it is locked. Edited text goes through the same automatic check as a new review, so an edit can also be held or removed.

You can delete your own review at any time.

Reporting a review

If you're signed in, you can report any published review that isn't yours, choosing a reason. Reports go to our moderation team, who remove reviews that break the rules.

A report never hides a review by itself. It stays up until our team has looked at it, so a lister cannot take down a fair review just by reporting it.

Replies from listers

The lister, or a member of their team who manages the listing, can post one public reply to each review. It appears under the review. They can correct it for 48 hours after posting; after that it is fixed.

Replies go through the same check as reviews: personal details are removed, and a reply with abuse or threats is not posted.

How ratings are averaged

A listing's rating, and a lister's rating, is a weighted average of its published reviews. Held, removed and deleted reviews don't count.

• Recent reviews count more. A new review counts in full. Its weight falls steadily over 24 months, to 62.5% at 12 months and 25% at 24 months, and stays at 25% after that. A change of management or caretaker shows up in the rating quickly, while older experiences still count a little.
• Verified visits count 1.5 times as much (see verified visits).
• "New" until there are enough reviews. Below 3 published reviews, a listing or lister shows "New" instead of a number, so one or two reviews can't make or break it.

A lister's rating covers reviews of all their listings, including listings they have since taken down, and reviews that name them as the agent. Removing a badly reviewed listing does not remove its reviews from the lister's rating.

Ratings update as soon as a review is published, changed or removed, and are recalculated every night because weights change with age.

Lister badges

Two badges show on a lister's profile and listings. Both are worked out automatically from reviews, using the same weighting as ratings. Nobody can buy them or ask for them.

Accurate listings

The lister's listings match what renters and buyers found. To hold it:

• the weighted average for "listing matched reality" is 4.5 or higher out of 5;
• over at least 5 reviews that gave that rating;
• including at least 1 verified visit.

No hidden fees

Reviewers say they weren't asked to pay anything they hadn't been told about upfront. To hold it:

• no more than 5% of answers (weighted) say "yes, I was asked for a fee I wasn't told about";
• over at least 5 reviews that answered the question;
• including at least 1 verified visit.

Reviews where the question was skipped or answered "Not sure" don't count either way.

Badges are recalculated every night and whenever a review changes, so a lister can gain or lose one at any time.

Reviews and search order

When you search without choosing a sort, results are in "Recommended" order. In that order, listings from listers who hold these badges rank higher: a lister with both badges ranks above one with one badge, who ranks above one with none. Among badge holders, a better rating moves a lister up slightly. Within each group, newer listings come first.

This is deliberate. It gives listers a direct reason to describe listings accurately and to disclose every fee upfront.

If you choose another sort, such as price, newest or best rated, results follow that order exactly, with no badge boost.

Featured listings are marked "Featured". On the All listings page, up to 4 featured listings are shown first, whichever sort you choose.

For listers

Our lister guide to reviews explains how to reply, what to do when a review about you is on hold, and how to earn the badges.

Questions about a review? Contact us. See also our Terms & conditions and Privacy policy.