Controversial pay-per-viewing company is dissolved

The company which in 2021 tried to introduce the concept of asking potential tenants and buyers to pay to view a property has been dissolved.

Companies House records show Viewrabbit as being dissolved in September of this year.

ViewRabbit proposed charging prospective tenants and purchasers £30 - or possibly even more - for so-called ‘guaranteed’ viewings. It said the same properties could be viewed without a charge, but the viewings could be cancelled by the agent or owner.

Comments from industry leaders at the time suggested some were happy to try to monetise time spent by agents on handling viewings, but the majority were highly sceptical of the idea in principle.

Many felt it risked damaging the image of agents who would charge substantial numbers of competing clients who would inevitably be unable to buy or rent their preferred property if beaten by a rival buyer or renter.

TV property expert Phil Spencer wrote on Estate Agent Today: “I’m a keen fan of innovation in the property industry, especially if it modernises and simplifies our way-too-complicated system of buying and selling. But charging £30 to view a home? The potential for bad publicity, and the confusion of agents acting for sellers yet receiving income from buyers for a viewing, smacks of complication and possible pitfalls.”

Founder Michael Riley - an ex-agent who describes himself as “the first known agent in the UK to earn £1m in commission as a hybrid agent” - told Estate Agent Today at the time: “There are tens of millions of viewings per year in the UK alone with consumers’ and agents’ needs that are misunderstood and under served. We think that is an exciting area to invest in.”