Renters are now able to pay their rent online, regardless of whether their landlord accepts online payments or not, thanks to a new offering from Rentals.com.
According to the website, any renter can use its online payment functions to pay any landlord.
And the function will likely have appeal, as the company reports that more than 43 million households pay rent each month. And of those, approximately 80% of them (roughly 34 million households) use paper-based methods like writing checks or paying cash.
Now, all of those households will be able to pay their rent via eCheck, debit, or credit card, regardless of whether the landlord has an account with Rentals.com.
How it works is that renters can use the Rentals.com platform to submit their online rent payment. Then the website will mail a check to their landlord even if the landlord isn’t registered on the platform.
“This provides flexibility for both the renter, who prefers digital forms of payment, and the landlord, who still requires a physical check,” the company states.
For the landlord, the service is free. But the renter will have to pay for the convenience.
According to the company’s website, Rentals.com will charge 3% of the rent payment for credit/debit cards and $2.95 per eCheck/ACH transaction.
Beyond that, the platform is “easy,” according to the company. Renters simply need to register and create a RentPay account, then provide their landlord’s basic information, including name, payment address, and their monthly rent amount.
The renter then specifies when they’d like their landlord to receive the rent check and selects their payment method.
Landlords can register with the platform as well if they’d like to begin accepting online payments directly. If they enroll in the service, landlords will receive rent payments directly into their bank account. Additionally, landlords are able to offer their tenants the option to use various payment methods, like credit or debit cards, to pay rent.
“We wanted to create an easy and delightful rent payment solution that appealed to both renters and landlords,” said Nishant Phadnis, general manager of Rentals.com. “We believe empowering the renter to drive the payment experience can transform the industry. Even if some landlords have been slower to adopt, we think giving renters the choice and flexibility to pay rent digitally will change historical behavior.”
Rentals.com is a RentPath property. The company’s other properties include ApartmentGuide, Rent.com, and Livelovely.com.
