A digital platform that claims it will “finally bring renting into the modern age” says it has secured £4.5m in funding.
A statement from Residently, announcing the funding, uses familiar terms to say that “by digitising the end-to-end customer experience … Residently will streamline operations for property owners and renters, reducing costs and delays throughout the full 360 rental experience.”
It claims its service will streamline operations and save agents £400 per property per year and double their landlords’ net operating income through void reduction.
Residently’s so-called ‘super-app’ allows renters to arrange viewings, take virtual tours, make offers, secure their home, pay deposits and extend or renew their lease all within one app. Broadband and other utilities can be set up in advance along with moving, storage, furniture rental, cleaning and digital locks.
In the longer term it describes its vision as “a marketplace where homes can be secured months in advance with flexible leases, renter reviews and communications with prior tenants.”
The platform claims that by 2039 - just 17 years from now - renters will outnumber owners while currently half of all renters in the UK are under 35, ”a segment that is used to seamless digital solutions providing them a high quality service on their own terms.”
Tom Allason, founder at Residently, comments: “In a world where we can secure a taxi, takeaway or trip away in seconds it is nuts that we tolerate friction and uncertainty where we spend most of our time and money. We’re here to transform the experience and economics of renting.
“We started by digitising the rental journey, next up is solving the greatest problem with renting. Letting renters secure their next home more than a month in advance will eliminate unnecessary stress and double rent for them and costly voids for landlords. We’re delighted to have Love Ventures join our existing investors for this next stage of the journey.”
The new investors include Love Ventures alongside existing investors Felix Capital, LocalGlobe and A/O PropTech as well as a Seedrs crowdfund.
Adrian Love, partner at Love Ventures, says: “There’s a gap in the market for a property platform that radically transforms renting, that’s also truly aligned with both renters and landlords. Tom and his team have the ambition and understanding to re-shape the customer experience for renters in ways that are long overdue. We’re excited to be working with Residently to help fund their global expansion and create a world leading home brand.”
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Sounds fantastic for rogue tenants.
Comparing renting a house to buying a takeaway is insane.
Personally I prefer to meet my prospective tenants or at least have a video call with them. A bit more effort before handing over the keys results in a lot less stress after.
You can't smell them over Zoom!
Smokers, pet owners and poor personal hygiene are not picked up online!
Robert - you are so right.
I wonder how many of us do the sniff test either consciously or unconsciously.
Jo
For me it's definitely consciously.
I can also (usually) smell trouble makers and the workshy, although I have got it wrong occasionally.
How can you secure a tenancy months in advance when only periodic are allowed and a landlord won't know when the current tenancy will end?
That's currently a big problem in Scotland, especially with the student market when outgoing students only need to give four weeks notice but others (especially the more switched on, which are the tenants we want) are keen to get their plans fixed up a lot earlier.
I tend to ask about their plans for the following academic year around February and offer to "go easy" on how they leave the flat provided I get plenty of notice and the chance to check out what needs done well in advance.
In Edinburgh and St Andrews, many landlords have moved away from winter student rentals to full time Airbnb, simply because they can't plan ahead for tourist bookings and can't rely on longer term tenants co-operating by giving plenty of notice - thus reducing the availability of good student rentals.
Another unintended consequence of the SNP anti-PRS dogma!
Open rent is already doing that. Seems as though a lot of venture capitalists are chucking money at a nickle and dime business. Long time ago l read a remark from seasoned investors who said, renting out property is ok if you like cleaning drains.
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