The 'Robin Hood' TikToker taking on landlords

Three years ago, lawyer Jordan van den Berg was an obscure TikTok creator who made videos that mocked existent property agents.

But contiguous the 28-year-old is 1 of the astir high-profile activists successful Australia.

Posting nether the moniker Purple Pingers, Mr van den Berg has been taking connected the nation's lodging situation by highlighting shocking renting conditions, mediocre behaviour from landlords, and what helium calls authorities failures.

It is his vigilante-style attack - which includes helping radical find vacant homes to squat in, and exposing atrocious rentals successful a nationalist database - that has won implicit a legion of fans.

Some person dubbed him the Robin Hood of renters.

But Mr van den Berg's unorthodox methods person besides brought him enemies and stirred contention successful Australia, and present overseas too.

It's nary question that lodging successful Australia is successful crisis. Experts accidental astir everything has gone wrong.

Buying a location is astronomically expensive, overwhelming a rental marketplace already successful shortage, and determination is obscurity adjacent capable nationalist lodging to capable the gaps.

The crunch has sent rents to grounds highs and vacancy rates to grounds lows, forcing galore Australians into insecure, unaffordable, overcrowded oregon unsafe lodging - oregon homelessness.

Bearing the worst of the situation are the young and the vulnerable. Mr van den Berg sums up the concern with an expletive.

He adds: "We had aged people, who benefitted from… really, truly generous lodging policy, propulsion the ladder up down them, and past permission young radical to conscionable fig it retired connected their own."

Mr van den Berg is present a homeowner himself - he's speedy to admit he's from a privileged inheritance - but says helium besides knows what it's similar to beryllium a renter.

"Seeing the mode that successful Australia susceptible radical were being treated… truly pissed maine off," helium tells the BBC from Melbourne.

And truthful helium began making amusive of existent property agents online. Posting to his Purple Pingers accounts - a username referencing ecstasy pills that helium chose arsenic a precocious schooler and present regrets "immensely" - Mr van den Berg offered deadpan impersonations, sarcastic reviews of the kinds of homes disposable for rent nationally, and adjacent songs.

His TikToks - often intentionally cringeworthy and spoken into a tiny mic clipped to random objects - were a hit. He was soon inundated with messages from radical with akin experiences and began telling their stories too.

But determination were truthful galore that helium couldn't support up.

"I thought it wasn't close that immoderate achromatic dude connected the net is the 1 that should beryllium telling everyone's stories… you should beryllium capable to archer your ain story, nary substance who you are, without fearfulness of repercussions."

And frankincense the "Shit Rentals" database was born. Its much than 3000 reviews from anonymous radical crook up images of exposed electrical wiring, disintegrating walls, cracked floors, wide squalor, and endless mould - positive the occasional mushroom.

There are stories astir unannounced, amerciable visits by landlords, racism from existent property agents, and countless radical claiming to person been evicted aft asking for indispensable repairs. Many accidental their spot was instantly relisted, successful the aforesaid condition, for much money.

"The [landlord] is simply a scumlord... Every clip we asked for a basal repair, his effect was that we should determination retired instead," writes 1 idiosyncratic from Brunswick, Victoria.

Landlords and existent property agents person entree to truthful overmuch accusation astir renters, but tenants don't get the aforesaid level of transparency successful return, Mr van den Berg says, reasoning that his database helps adjacent retired the scale.

But this period helium has acceptable his sights connected landlords with vacant homes, arguing they could assistance easiness the strain connected the rental market.

Australia's astir caller colonisation snapshot revealed astir a cardinal houses were sitting empty, galore successful areas wherever the lodging situation has forced radical to unrecorded successful tents.

It's hard to gauge however agelong galore person been sitting vacant and the reasons wherefore - but that concern besides irked Mr van den Berg: "So I thought I'd marque a list."

With the assistance of his supporters, he's gathering addresses from astir the federation and encouraging radical to squat successful them.

Squatting is ineligible is Australia, but laws prohibiting breaking and entering oregon trespass - remaining connected backstage spot erstwhile instructed to permission - inactive apply.

"If the authorities won't bash thing astir the affluent hoarding bare homes, marque them," helium captioned a video calling for submissions.

He lists immoderate addresses publicly, but owed to information concerns helium besides gives immoderate to radical privately.

And aft a large assemblage effect he's present expanded the database globally, compiling vacant houses successful places including the UK, US and Switzerland.

"The Australian effect has been overwhelmingly: 'Hey, yeah, we should bash thing astir this. This is not needfully the close mode to bash it,' which is just criticism," helium says.

"It's mostly the affluent that aren't ace jazzed astir what I'm doing."

He says helium gets called tons of things, but determination are besides ineligible and carnal threats - particularly since helium started his vacant homes list.

It's kicked disconnected a nationalist statement successful Australia, wherever he's been accused of encouraging transgression - thing helium rejected connected nationalist TV portion wearing a t-shirt speechmaking "good radical disobey atrocious laws".

"He should beryllium charged by constabulary for incitement to interruption and enter," said Sky News Australia big James Macpherson, adding that "homeowners person nary ethical work to stateless people".

Real property manufacture bodies were likewise incensed.

"What determines whether a spot is empty, successful his lofty opinion? Because it has an overgrown tract and nary furniture?" Nicola McDougall from Property Investment Professionals of Australia told news.com.au.

"There is simply a plethora of reasons wherefore a location mightiness beryllium vacant - including it has been sold oregon leased but the caller owners oregon renters simply haven't moved successful yet."

The president of the Australian Landlords Association acknowledged lodging could beryllium an affectional issue, but likened squatting to stealing someone's car and taking it for a joyousness ride.

Another radical said vacant properties were "a valid concern" but that squatting posed "significant ineligible and information risks for some spot owners and imaginable squatters".

Mr van den Berg's database has besides prompted swift backlash successful America.

In his mentions online, radical person threatened to involvement retired the homes listed and sprout radical connected sight, portion others person tagged the FBI. At slightest 1 idiosyncratic tried to dox him by publishing his address, but outed the determination of his parcel locker instead.

"It doesn't look similar determination is simply a batch of empathy successful that country," Mr van den Berg says.

So what, then, does helium accidental to disapproval that he's tarring radical with the aforesaid brush, oregon encouraging vitriol?

He's not concerned: "I'm like: 'Sure, possibly not each existent property agents. But astir of them'.

"[And] would you alternatively beryllium stateless oregon person a small spot of vitriol? Like, person a small spot of position connected what we're talking about."

Others accidental helium should absorption connected achieving argumentation change.

"If this vigor was directed to our MPs and senators, possibly determination would beryllium capable backing and resources to resoluteness nationalist lodging waitlists," said a spokesperson for the Real Estate Institute of Australia.

Mr van den Berg says he's nether nary illusion that his attack is not ideal.

"But we've had decades of mismanagement which has led to this situation, and portion we're focusing connected argumentation solutions, what bash radical bash successful the meantime?" helium says.

"If you don't similar what I'm saying… what's your argumentation solution?"

He wants to spot greater protections for renters legislated, reforms to lucrative taxation incentives for spot investors, and a ample taxation imposed connected landlords who support their properties vacant for agelong stretches.

He says helium has had talks with advocacy bodies and lawmakers, but astir support a region from him.

"I get it," helium says. "I'm conscionable immoderate idiot connected the internet."

But with much than 200,000 followers connected societal media alone, Mr van den Berg says helium had nary thought his advocacy would stroke up similar this. He is present juggling a full-time occupation with the often "heart-breaking" work.

"I'll get radical email maine astatine similar 2am saying they've conscionable been kicked retired of the house… similar really, truly horrible stories wherever I genuinely can't bash thing astir it," helium says.

"It's truly stressful and benignant of bittersweet due to the fact that I consciousness similar I person an work to people."

"[But] 1 idiosyncratic tin bash a just spot done the powerfulness of others," helium adds.