This week saw the launch of Ruumi, an ‘Airbnb-meets-Tinder’ platform for tenants.

Like Tinder, which matches relationship hopefuls, Ruumi claims to match users to compatible housemates and rental properties based on interests, lifestyles and living preferences.

The free service allows users to provide character references from friends and previous landlords to build the profile which will be seen by prospective housemates. 

For landlords wishing to list on the site, there is a ‘post a place’ section on the website and the firm says it wants the listing process to be a straight forward as Airbnb.

Ruumi is the brainchild of Jack Archer, a 29-year-old entrepreneur. 

He says it can be frustrating for renters to go through countless viewings and endless property searches to find that they have nothing in common with their new housemates, and it’s this problem which his product is aiming to eliminate.

Archer says Ruumi takes inspiration from Airbnb and focuses heavily on simple design, where the user experience is central to everything.    

“Who you live with matters just as much as the place, but somewhere along the way, this has been forgotten. We want to put people back at the heart of the process by building a community of happy renters and making it fun, free and easy to connect with the right people,” he says.

The site is now available across desktop, tablet and mobile devices and has initially launched in the east London boroughs of Hackney and Tower Hamlets, with plans for a full roll-out across London in the near future.

There are currently seven rental properties listed on the site.