As Covid-19 continues to impact the economy and personal finances, there is a growing need for sensible solutions to reduce the cost to people’s livelihoods.
Covid-19 has had a particularly large impact on the buy-to-let market, putting financial pressure on landlords and renters alike – and given the dire economic forecasts, this will likely be the case for some time.
At PlanetRent we know that for many renters, finding a deposit on a new property is one of their biggest, one-off financial expenses of the year. For many, it can cost as much as half a month’s income – sometimes more.
Equally, we know that landlords want to reduce void periods while remaining protected in these uncertain times. There is always a risk taking on low-income renters who may not keep up with rental payments, but equally with furlough ending and the coronavirus the risk now to pretty much all tenants, so having eight weeks deposit/rent cover rather than five is definitely an advantage.
So what’s the solution? Well, now there is a way to help cash-strapped renters find their dream property at a fraction of the cost, and to give the landlords more protection than the five week deposit cap implemented by the Tenant Fees Act 2019.
How? Through PlanetRent’s new partnership with Reposit, the tenancy deposit alternative – getting more is now the norm.
Reposit is redefining the future for landlord-tenant relations. With Reposit, tenants can move into a rental property without stretching their finances to breaking point.
Rather than asking tenants to find a deposit worth five week’s rent, Reposit invites renters to purchase a ‘reposit’ costing just one week’s rent as a non-refundable service charge. Or the landlord can buy the ‘reposit’ as an incentive – or in lieu of the cost of traditional referencing as Reposit reference the tenants before accepting them into the scheme.
That’s not all.
With Reposit the landlord of the property gets added as a named beneficiary of its insurance policy, underwritten by Canopius.
With Reposit, landlords are protected whether they offer accommodation to those on lower incomes who can’t necessarily afford a traditional deposit, or those looking for their first job, just leaving education or looking for their first home.
At the end of the tenancy, Reposit mediates deposit deductions with the tenant via a simple claims process, taking away all the admin hassle of registering and returning deposits.
Reposit now offers market-leading property protection of up to eight weeks to all PlanetRent landlords. Better still landlords don’t need to pay for separate referencing as Reposit references tenants for free as part of the process of paying for the Reposit.
Users of PlanetRent can use Reposit automatically, with all of the relevant information being sent to Reposit at the first instance, including information around the tenant and the tenancy contract.
Deposit-free renting – a new era in renting in four simple steps:
Step One: Tenant finds their dream property.
Step Two: Agent or landlord refers tenant to Reposit.
Step Three: Tenant pays a non-refundable fee of one week’s rent.
Step Four: Landlords are covered by insurance for up to eight week’s rent. Any damages are paid for by tenant at the end of tenancy.
If you would like to find out more about how PlanetRent can support you and automate parts of the lettings process, please visit our website www.planetrent.co.uk
You can read more about PlanetRent in The Times, Letting Agent Today, LandlordZone and Property Week.