Doomed

NESTSETTLE

3.6 million eviction cases are filed every year in the United States. Most stem not from bad actors; but from broken communication, missing transparency, and a system that gives neither side the tools to resolve conflict early.

February 2026

DOMAIN

Proptech | Civic

ROLE

User Researcher
Product Designer
Strategist

TOOLS

Mural
Figma
Slack

_____ Problem Statement

The rental market is broken on both sides

The US has approximately 44 million renter households. Each one is a relationship between a tenant and a landlord; yet both sides operate with incomplete information, no shared tools, and a dispute-resolution system that defaults to an adversarial courtroom. The result is a market where minor friction escalates into major crisis: unpaid rent becomes an eviction; a delayed repair becomes a habitability lawsuit; a missed deposit return becomes a small claims case.

The underlying issues are structural, but the experience failures are designable. Communication is informal and undocumented. Maintenance requests lack accountability loops. Lease violations go unacknowledged until they become legal. Both sides lack tools that build shared understanding rather than arm both parties for conflict.

22.6M

Cost-burdened renter household

$4k

Average landlord turnover cost

14M

Informal evictions per year

_____ Research Findings

What the data reveals about both sides

Secondary research drawing on data from the records shows consistency in where and why these relationships break down.

1. Non-payment is a symptom, not a disease

21% of renters fell behind on rent in 2024; but most evictions are filed for amounts under $600. The median eviction debt across major US cities is 1–2 months' rent. This means missed payment is rarely chronic bad faith; it's a financial emergency with no communication pathway to resolution

2. Maintenance disputes dominate complaints

38% of landlords cite property upkeep as their single biggest challenge. Tenants cite habitability failures as their #1 non-financial grievance. The root cause: there is no shared, documented, time-stamped record of what was requested, when, and what happened next. Phone calls and texts create fog, not accountability.

3. Security deposit disputes are almost entirely preventable

The two top causes of deposit disputes are: (a) landlords claiming damage that tenants deny, and (b) landlords failing to return deposits on time. Both are solvable with structured move-in/move-out documentation and automated deadline tracking; but almost no landlords use a formal system for this.

4. Racial & gender disparities are embedded in current systems

Black renters represent 18.6% of all renters but account for 51.1% of eviction filings. 54% of those facing eviction are women, disproportionately Black and Hispanic. Algorithmic screening tools that use eviction records as a primary filter perpetuate this cycle by blocking access to housing for those who were previously evicted, even unjustly.

5. Informal evictions are invisible and enormous

14 million tenants report feeling pressured to move due to rent increases annually; more than 5× formal filing numbers. These are invisible: they produce no legal record, leave no data trail, and are not counted in any eviction statistic. They are the largest form of housing displacement in the US.

6. Pre-court mediation dramatically reduces filings

States that require landlords to provide notice periods before filing saw a 63.1% decrease in annual eviction filings. Cities with pre-court mediation programs (Philadelphia, Denver) have reduced filings by 20–35%. The window between conflict and courthouse is where design can intervene most effectively.

_____ User Personas

Two sides. One broken experience.

_____ Journey Map

_____ Design Opportunities

"How might we..." reframe the problem

_____ Proposed Solution

Between Conflict and Courthouse

The UX opportunity is not in the courtroom, it is in the six weeks before a landlord files. Research shows that most evictions could be resolved if both parties had a shared communication channel, documented history, and access to assistance options before legal action is taken. The proposed product concept addresses this gap directly.

SCREEN 01 OF 04

Move-In Condition Log

Photo-verified, dual-signature room documentation. Addresses the #1 cause of deposit disputes: no agreed-upon baseline at move-in.

SCREEN 02 OF 04

Maintainance SLA Tracker

State-specific legal deadlines, surfaced in the moment. Tenants know their rights; landlords see the clock. 38% of landlords cite maintenance as their biggest challenge.

SCREEN 03 OF 04

Pre-Eviction Crisis Hub

Surfaces assistance before a filing. The 6-week window before eviction is where design can intervene most, connecting tenants to $46B in available but unknown assistance programs.

SCREEN 04 OF 04

Dispute Mediation

Neutral, evidence-based resolution before any legal filing. Uses documented move-in/out photos and state depreciation law to propose a fair outcome, replacing the courthouse with the app.

_____ Why it looks the way it looks

_____ Projected Impact

Based on existing research into pre-court mediation programs, right-to-counsel outcomes, and digital maintenance platforms, the following impact projections are grounded in documented precedent, not extrapolation.

Get in touch

United States
Email: sampadapote1@gmail.com