Vision Behind Openroom

💡 Who this document is forAnyone in the rental ecosystem who comes to know of Openroom

To build a transparent and connected rental ecosystem

Hold people accountable for their actions

As a result, we will build a world where small-scale housing providers will feel the confidence to put their vacant units back on the market and know how to run compliant rental business that treats renters with care and respect they deserve.

“OPEN” = Information that is publicly available should be accessible by members of the community to make informed decisions with.

“Room” = With the fragmented small-scale housing providers and millions of renters, we need to gather together as if we’re in the same ‘room’ to share knowledge, resources, and contacts with each other.

I’m Weiting Bollu

Co-Founder and CEO at Openroom

It's not easy or zen to be in a tenancy dispute. It is painful, stressful, and no one wants to be in the dispute. I was in one that led me to create Openroom.

👉 Late 2020

I wanted to grow my family and move into my home

I issued the notices, paid compensation, and gave more than 2X the amount of time for my tenants to find a new home. Tenants decided they weren’t going to leave and they weren’t going to pay rent anymore.

$35K in non-payment of rent and 7 LTB orders later

I was 30 weeks pregnant, I went to the Tribunal Hearings and finally got the order to evict. It was a near 2 year dispute that was mentally exhausting.

👉 September 2022

Built Openroom to hold people accountable

I found out I was not the only one. That thousands of people were going through disputes - be it tenants or landlords. I wondered why these orders were not made public because Canada has the Open Court Principle. With that, I shared my 7 orders with the world.

👉 In 2023

Over 100K visitors and 2 million searches

The Openroom community members, like you, helped us build a Court Order Search Engine that has changed the rental industry. All of us created this movement towards transparency in the rental ecosystem.

👉 2024

Continuing this epic movement

I ended up leaving my corporate job to continue educating, sharing, and building for the Canadian rental ecosystem. My team and I believe in a world where great renters and great housing providers can thrive together.

📃 We wrote this letter to the Openroom Community of members in May 2023, and it still applies today. We stand behind the work we do with the highest ethical standards and we thank everyone for being part of this movement with us.

Dear Openroom Community,

As Founders of openroom.ca, we want to take a moment to express our heartfelt appreciation for your passionate support and involvement.

In September 2022, we created a small passion project that was motivated from our own tenancy dispute. Over the course of the last year, the community has responded to our project with curiosity and engagement. This is not to be taken for granted because many projects don’t end up getting the attention they deserve. Thank you for your continued involvement and participation.

As we maintained the website and got feedback from you, we have begun to understand the depth of the rental ecosystem. Our interactions with you, the community, has taught us about the current state of affairs and pain points from many different perspectives. While there is a lot more to still learn, your feedback helped us understand the key points that Openroom is now rallying around. 

Our vision is that one day, there will be a transparent and connected rental ecosystem that appropriately incentivizes responsible members. Our operating principles will always remain true as we continue our work to achieve this vision.

1. Landlords are business owners. Being a landlord is not hands-free passive income. Landlords are providing a service of housing in exchange for money. The tenants are customers. Landlords should make every attempt to provide the best service: a well maintained rental unit that is safe and legal to inhabit. Landlords should be aware of and comply with rental policies and regulations of their place of business.

2. Tenants are responsible customers. Tenants are aware of the policies and regulations and should be empowered to advocate for their rights. Tenants are responsible customers who will pay for services rendered in a timely fashion, maintain the rental unit in good condition, and respect what is stipulated within the signed rental agreement.

With the two key points above, we want to create an ecosystem that incentivizes the millions of Landlords and Tenants to engage in the business of tenancy as responsible members of the rental ecosystem.

There is a lot of opportunity to save time, money, and mental calories. We can make massive improvements together.

Openroom Founders,

[email protected]

We are always on the look out for team members and/or advisors who believe in a better future for great renters and great housing providers.

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