Proptech start-up which uses your debit card instead of a deposit has raised over £9 million to improve renting life

Flatfair start-up thinks it has the solution to hefty rental deposits 
Derickray / Unsplash
Amelia Heathman16 August 2019

Renting a property is extremely stressful, from trying to find a suitable place that you can afford which isn’t hours away from your office, to getting the funds together for a deposit.

The average deposit in England and Wales is around £1,041 but in our dear city it can reach up to £1,750, according to the Tenancy Deposit scheme cash not everyone has at their disposal.

Luckily, a proptech start-up wants to do away with this problem. Flatfair, launched in 2017, requires renters to secure a flat using only their debit card, the way you would in a hotel. The company has just raised £9.1 million ($11 million) from the likes of Index Ventures, which has invested in start-ups like Citymapper and Deliveroo, to ensure renters get a fairer deal when trying to find a place to live. The funding is going towards expanding the team as well as the development of new features on the platform.

Speaking about the raise, co-founder and CEO of Flatfair, Franz Doerr, said: Like much of Britain’s housing stock, its rental sector is stuck in the Victorian era. Thankfully, cutting edge payment technology can boost transparency, build trust and make instant move-ins a possibility.

The founding Flatfair team L-R: Bartosz Alksnin (CTO), Franz Doerr (CEO) and Daniel Jeczmien (COO)
Flatfair

Flatfair’s payments system is only available through agents or landlords that accept it so bear that in mind before you think your days of scrapping a hefty deposit together are over. Whilst the start-up is already working with real estate companies including Greystar, CBRE and Places for People, that obviously doesn’t cover the whole of the UK.

However, prospective tenants who are in the process of securing a flat can refer their agent or landlord to Flatfair if they then decide to proceed with the tech then the tenant receives a 50 per cent discount on their membership to the platform.

The membership fee is usually the cost of one week’s rent. If the average monthly rent of a two-bed flat in London is £1,780, the one-off membership fee would be £493.

The benefits for tenants are clear: cutting down on the upfront payment costs of moving as well as giving them a trust score. Flatfair says this can go towards future discounts on the membership costs, so a tenant with a good track record can get a discount of up to 25 per cent on their next tenancy.

Landlords aren’t left behind in this, Flatfair offers 12 weeks’ protection for landlords, instead of the usual five offered by a paid deposit. As well, the company offers free recovery of an additional end-of-tenancy charges, and handles any disputes through an independent adjudicator, to remove the stress for both landlords and tenants.

Sharief Ibrahim, director of CBRE’s residential agency, said: As a sector, we have to improve service for the millions who rent and embracing payment technology to cut deposits and boost transparency is critical. Cutting down pointless admin and enabling renters to secure homes instantly, can only be good for both landlords and tenants.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in