Online operator says it aims to be lettings version of Deliveroo

An online lettings service which says it’s aiming to triple its level of business in the next 12 months claims it’s following in the footsteps of Deliveroo in terms of providing high levels of quick-response service to customers.

“We want to change the way residents think about renting. We want to provide them with the high level of service they have come to expect from other sectors and their subsequent disruptive brands such as Deliveroo, Airbnb and Spotify” says Trevor Stunden, chief commercial officer at the agency Residently.

“In order to do that we’re digitising the process of finding, setting up and running a home so it is as simple as ordering a taxi or a takeaway. There are thousands of online and mobile brands fighting for our attention in every sector, yet somehow property has been left behind” he claims.

Residently - which operates only within London - claims that although online agencies currently have only around five per cent market share, this is likely to rise to 15 to 20 per cent by 2020 because of what it describes as “dissatisfaction with current lettings processes.”

The agency claims to stand out from others by offering additional services including cleaning, laundry, floristry, storage and - perhaps surprisingly - artwork rental, in addition to regular property management, tenant verification and so on. 

Residently says it relies on “an innovative data driven pricing algorithm” for pricing properties. 

It says its stock consists only of new or newly remodelled properties in London’s zones one and two. It also claims to have “scrapped strict tenancies” so as to encourage flexibility “enabling residents to move as their circumstances do.”