Prop-tech heavyweights launch lettings site HomeRenter

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HomeRenter, an online lettings platform, launches today in London. The platform offers landlords and tenants a one-stop-shop for managing the entire rental process.

HomeRenter aims to create an Airbnb-style marketplace for the UK’s private rental sector, without the traditional estate agent fees. Landlords and tenants are able to collaborate via the platform, which also offers landlords the ability to manage their entire portfolio remotely.

A more fair, equitable marketplace

According to CBRE, the largest commercial real estate services and investment firm in the world (2017), over 25% of homes in London are rented in the private rental sector. That’s 850,000 homes. The demand for housing is at an all-time high and over the next decade, an additional 416,000 London households will be in rental accommodation.

HomeRenter was created in 2016 with the intention to create a fairer, more equitable online marketplace for the UK’s private landlords and renters. It has so far received £780,000 in external investment.

The lettings-only marketplace was founded by property entrepreneurs, Sean Quinn and Jim Thomas. Both currently run Q Developments, a property company with a twenty-year history of delivering development schemes across London. They are joined by Will Handley, a private landlord with a career previously in marketing. Through their own rental portfolios, the three founders have acquired extensive experience of the lettings industry as professional and private landlords.

Cutting out the middle man

The platform itself caters to four connected audiences – private landlords, tenants, key-holders and service providers.

For landlords, the site operates as a place to advertise, let and manage their rental properties on a subscription model across tenancies. Everything is managed through the site, including e-signature of leases.

To assist with finding tenants, landlords get access to a fledgling community of fully-vetted key-holders, known as HomeViewers, to help conduct viewings. HomeViewers conduct the tenant viewings on behalf of the landlords.

HomeRenter has partnerships with Rightmove, Zoopla and PrimeLocation, meaning landlords can promote their properties on all leading portals with HomeRenter.

Zero tenant fees

For tenants, the site allows them to create a permanent profile where they can manage their tenant history, conduct a rental search and view landlord ratings. The site allows tenants to search for future rentals and put a holding deposit on properties for up to 72 hours. HomeRenter charges no admin fee to tenants.

To deliver property maintenance, HomeRenter has partnered with Central Index, the largest services directory in UK.

Co-founder and CEO Will Handley commented, “As landlords, we believe the rental market works best when you remove the middleman and allow property owners and renters to connect in person. This is why we created HomeRenter and why we’ve set ourselves the aim of creating a fairer, more equitable online marketplace for UK’s private landlords and renters.”

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