PropTech deposit alternative and rental passport provider beefs up product

A PropTech supplier specialising in rent passports and tenancy deposit replacement has launched an advanced version of its primary product, on the back of new investment of over £3.1m. 

Canopy, founded three years ago, is currently used by some 15,000 tenants.

The core features of the product include digital reference, whereby using Open Banking renters can automatically verify income and past rental payments and pass this on to agents and landlords. 

Canopy also offers a DepositFree insurance product, while a free-to-use RentTracking feature allows renters to build credit for paying rent on-time.

Canopy founder Tahir Farooqui says: “The capital we are raising will allow us to fulfil our vision of making renting work for everyone, initially addressing one of the core issues of the housing crisis – affordability.  Canopy 2.0 takes it one step further for us by expanding our portfolio even more and takes us closer to our purpose of building an ecosystem of financial wellness for renters.

“Across the UK each year, renters pay over £54 billion in rent plus council tax, but until now that had barely factored in to any credit scores. What’s more, at any given time, about £4.5 billion of UK renters’ money is locked away in cash deposits, which is structurally inefficient. It’s a no-brainer for us to make a change to the industry and a privilege to build a rental platform aimed at having a positive social impact on the lives of millions of renters.”