A new platform is to launch which will reward outgoing tenants that find a replacement for their landlord.
If leaving tenants schedule their own viewings and secure a new tenant for the property, they could be rewarded with up to one week’s rent.
Online lettings community Mashroom also aims to benefit landlords with cheaper fees and reduced void periods.
Once a change in tenancy has been confirmed, the landlord can instruct Mashroom at which point either the landlord or the existing tenant can upload property details and images to the online platform.
Mashroom will advertise the property on the major portals and the outgoing tenant can manage enquiries and viewings with interested parties on the Mashroom platform, who will then be able to make an offer to the landlord.
Once the landlord has accepted an offer, Mashroom will make the necessary checks before the landlord and new tenant sign a tenancy agreement.
“By redistributing platform income to tenants and saving landlords money, Mashroom creates an integrated community that will produce a behavioural shift in the way people find and let their properties in large cities,” says Stepan Dobrovolskiy, Mashroom’s founder.
“The current system of tenancy changeovers can be expensive and slow with a lack of transparency and communication between landlords, tenants and intermediaries.
“By getting the outgoing tenant involved in the process, and rewarding them for doing so, we feel our lettings community provides a much-needed solution to a long-standing problem.
“Not only does Mashroom save landlords money while rewarding departing tenants, it also speeds up the rental process for all parties and allows the incoming tenant to gather key information from someone who has already lived in the property.”
As well as referencing and tenancy contracts, the online platform provides landlords with the opportunity to request advance rent payments and take out rent guarantee insurance and tenancy deposit insurance to make it easier for tenants to move in as the financial burden is not so heavy.
Dobrovolskiy added: “The property management sector is changing rapidly as more landlords seek alternative management platforms which cost less than traditional letting agents.
“With increased legislation such as the ban on tenant fees and landlord licensing schemes, the cost of letting a property continues to rise so it’s vital that shrewd landlords reduce management costs and keep void periods to a minimum.
“What’s more, tenants and landlords increasingly desire digital platforms which allow all parties to interact directly and enable several key parts of the tenancy process to be carried out quickly and efficiently online.”