Bugs found in Rent.com.au Rental Properties for iOS
Rent.com.au is a dedicated rental property website developed for Australia’s housing market. Designed to serve tenants, agents, and landlords, it offers listings for everything from apartments to houses, ensuring all rental needs are met.
Its features include NBN status updates, lifestyle-focused search filters, and useful in-app tools like RentBond, RentConnect, RentCheck, and PetResume—all aimed at simplifying and streamlining rental processes. By centralizing these capabilities, Rent.com.au stands out as a user-centric solution for the Australian rental market.
During QAwerk’s bug crawl, we identified several issues that could affect platform stability and user engagement. Below are the problems found, along with their details and recommended improvements.
Search: User gets “No rentals available” when any lifestyle filter is applied
Severity:
Major
Precondition:
The user is logged into the app.
Steps to Reproduce:
- Tap “Search” in the main navigation menu.
- Tap “Filters” in the top-right corner.
- Select “Lifestyle.”
- Choose any lifestyle filter.
Environment:
- Device: iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iOS 18.1.1
Actual Result:
“No rentals available” is displayed despite having rental listings.
Expected Result:
A valid result indicating the number of rentals that match the chosen filter should appear.
Search: App adds a leading “0” to the postcode and returns no results
Severity:
Major
Precondition:
The user is logged into the app.
Steps to Reproduce:
- Tap “Search” in the main navigation menu.
- Tap the search icon in the top-left corner.
- Enter a valid Australian postal code (e.g., “4037”).
- Tap “return.”
Environment:
- Device: iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iOS 18.1.1
Actual Result:
A leading “0” is prepended to the user’s postal code, invalidating the search results.
Expected Result:
The valid postcode should remain unchanged, returning matching listings.
“Check plans” button in “Plan options” leads to blank webpage
Severity:
Major
Precondition:
The user is logged into the app.
Steps to Reproduce:
- Tap “Search” in the navigation.
- Open any rental listing.
- Scroll down to the “Plan options” section.
- Tap “Check plans.”
Environment:
- Device: iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iOS 18.1.1
Actual Result:
Tapping “Check plans” redirects the user to a blank page.
Expected Result:
A relevant external page should load, providing additional plan details.
“Rentpay” & “Rentbond” display a “Tech error” when there is no internet
Severity:
Major
Precondition:
- The device is offline.
- The user is logged into the app.
Steps to Reproduce:
- Disable the internet on the device.
- Tap “Rentpay” or “Rentbond” in the main menu.
Environment:
- Device: iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iOS 18.1.1
Actual Result:
A generic tech error is shown.
Expected Result:
A prompt indicating an offline status should appear, instructing the user to reconnect.
“Your contact details”: entering valid, non-Australian number shows “Network error.”
Severity:
Minor
Precondition:
- The app is installed.
- The user is going through the sign-up process.
Steps to Reproduce:
- On “Your contact details,” input a valid but non-Australian number (e.g., a British number).
- Tap “Next.”
Environment:
- Device: iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iOS 18.1.1
Actual Result:
A “Network error” is displayed initially.
Expected Result:
An error clearly indicating “Not a valid phone number” (i.e., must be Australian) should appear.
Rental list sometimes shows large gaps with no ads
Severity:
Minor
Precondition:
The user is logged into the app.
Steps to Reproduce:
- Tap “Search.”
- Scroll through the rental listings.
- Observe spacing between rentals and ads.
Environment:
- Device: iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iOS 18.1.1
Actual Result:
Large, occasional white spaces appear where no ad is placed.
Expected Result:
Consistent spacing without empty or distracting gaps.
Entering three spaces in “Suburb or Postcode” field yields “Request failed with status code 404.”
Severity:
Minor
Precondition:
The user is logged into the app.
Steps to Reproduce:
- Tap “Search.”
- Tap the search icon in the top-left corner.
- Press the spacebar 3 times in the “Enter Suburb or Postcode” field.
Environment:
- Device: iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iOS 18.1.1
Actual Result:
A “404” error appears, indicating a failed request.
Expected Result:
Leading/trailing spaces alone should not trigger a server error.
“Me” section: tapping “PDF” first time triggers alert pop-up
Severity:
Minor
Precondition:
The user is logged into the app.
Steps to Reproduce:
- Tap “Me” in the navigation menu.
- Tap the “PDF” icon in the top-right corner.
Environment:
- Device: iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iOS 18.1.1
Actual Result:
An alert pop-up is shown instead of the PDF.
Expected Result:
A PDF containing the user’s data should appear on the first attempt.
I tested the Rent.com.au app, which stood out for its intuitive design and generally smooth performance. However, certain server-handling nuances—especially during initial interactions—could use attention. Addressing the reported bugs will boost reliability and user trust.
