Six pillars
The defaults that keep the platform clean.
Student-only accounts
Every account is tied to an active .edu email. We check enrollment status at signup and may re-verify periodically.
Lease-backed listings
Hosts attach their master lease before publishing. We can’t inspect the property, but we can confirm there’s a real lease behind it.
Messaging stays in-app
No phone numbers, no burner emails. Conversations are stored so we can support you if anything goes wrong.
Initial Platform Payment, then off-platform
We collect first month (and optionally last month) at booking. We don’t hold deposits and we don’t process ongoing rent.
Encryption at rest and in transit
Your profile, documents, and messages are encrypted. We share the minimum data needed to complete a booking.
Massachusetts-aware by default
We don’t hold deposits, the platform enforces a 32-day minimum stay, and listings are reviewed for fair-housing language before they go live.
Watch for these
Five red flags to walk away from.
“Just send me Zelle / Venmo / Cash App”
A Host should never ask you to pay outside the Initial Platform Payment flow before you sign the agreement. Off-platform payments are legal between you, but anyone insisting on them before booking is one of the most common scam patterns on student-housing platforms.
“Let’s move this to text/WhatsApp/email”
Conversations belong in-app. We can’t support you if something goes sideways in a thread we never saw. Anyone insisting you take it off-platform is removing the safety net.
“My landlord doesn’t need to sign — they’re cool with it”
Landlord written approval is a hard requirement on every Student Spots sublease. If a Host says it’s not needed, walk away. The agreement won’t hold up if the landlord later disputes it.
“The price went up at the last minute”
Whatever was in the Offer at booking is the price. If a Host tries to renegotiate after you’ve started paying, that’s a breach — and reportable.
“Send me your school login to verify”
We never ask for your school password. Verification is .edu email only. Nobody on our team or any Host needs your university login.
How to report
What we need from you and what we’ll do.
Include if you can:
- Listing URL or listing address
- Username or @handle of the user you’re reporting
- Screenshots of the conversation (in-app messages preferred)
- A short description of what happened and when
- Whether you’ve already paid anything off-platform
Reports about safety or fair-housing get human-reviewed within 24 hours. Your account stays anonymous to the user you’re reporting. Urgent physical-safety concerns should always go to local police first; we’ll cooperate with any legal request that follows.