Community Guidelines

1. Anti-Fraud Rules

Rental scams disproportionately impact the Chinese-speaking community. To protect all users, the following are strictly prohibited:

• Fake listings:Posting non-existent properties, using someone else's photos, or stating incorrect addresses.
• Upfront payment scams:Requesting deposits, advance payments, or any fees before a property tour.
• Impersonation:Posing as a landlord, broker, or other user.
• Wire transfer scams:Requesting payment via wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or other untraceable methods.

2. Anti-Discrimination Policy

UrbanMate complies with the U.S. Fair Housing Act and NYC's Human Rights Law. In listings and roommate selection, discrimination based on the following factors is prohibited:

• Race, color, national origin, or ethnicity
• Religious beliefs
• Gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation
• Familial status (including whether you have children)
• Disability
• Age
• Marital status
• Immigration status

Roommate preferences (such as sleep schedule, cleanliness, smoking) are reasonable lifestyle preferences and do not constitute discrimination. However, using the protected characteristics above as filtering criteria violates both the law and these guidelines.

3. Content Standards

All content posted on UrbanMate must meet the following standards:

Listings

• Photos must be real photos of the property — no renderings or someone else's photos
• Rent, size, room type, and other info must be accurately stated
• Addresses must be accurate — don't deliberately misstate location
• Clearly indicate whether the listing is a full rental, shared room, or living-room partition
• Additional fees (utilities, internet, etc.) must be clearly stated

Profiles

• Use a real personal photo or an appropriate avatar
• Do not upload sexual, violent, or offensive images
• Your bio should accurately reflect who you are

4. Communication Standards

When using UrbanMate's chat, please follow these guidelines:

• Communicate politely and respectfully with other users
• Don't send harassing, threatening, abusive, or hateful messages
• Don't send spam or repeated advertisements
• Don't solicit or share sensitive personal info (e.g., bank account, ID numbers)
• Don't try to move transactions off-platform to evade safety mechanisms

5. Reporting Process

If you spot behavior that violates these guidelines, please report it via:

• In-app reporting:Click the "Report" button on a listing detail page, user profile, or chat, choose a reason, and submit.
• Email:Send a message to report@urbanmate.com with relevant screenshots and details.

We will review reports within 48 hours of receipt. Reports are kept confidential — we will not disclose the reporter's identity to the reported party.

6. Enforcement

We will take the following actions depending on the severity of the violation:

• Warning:For a first minor violation, we will send a warning and request correction.
• Content removal:Violating content (listings, messages, images, etc.) will be removed.
• Account suspension:Repeated or serious violations will lead to a temporary account suspension.
• Permanent ban:Fraud, severe harassment, or repeated violations will result in a permanent ban; re-registration is not allowed.

We will cooperate with relevant law-enforcement agencies for unlawful conduct.

7. Community Commitment

UrbanMate believes a safe housing community requires effort from all members. We commit to:

• Continuously improving anti-fraud measures and verification systems
• Responding quickly to reports and handling them fairly
• Protecting users' privacy and safety
• Listening to community feedback and continuously refining platform guidelines

If you have questions or suggestions about these Community Guidelines, please contact us:

Email:support@urbanmate.com