Rentpay, a rent collection system that provides real-time payment reconciliation and automation of business processes, has launched in Kenya to reduce operational challenges for property managers and landlords.
Rentpay, a product of Proptech Kenya, is a cloud-based platform that mainly facilitates real-time payment reconciliation done either via M-PESA or bank deposit to a landlord’s account while managing tenancy agreements. It is ideal for residential properties as it automates the entire process of onboarding a tenant, invoicing of rent, service charge and utilities, and acknowledgment of payment through an e-receipt. Tenants receive notifications either on email or text message based on the preference selected by the property manager or landlord.
Founded in 2019 by Christabel Ojuok and David Kimani, Protech Kenya launched Rentpay to help solve the manual processes involved in Kenya’s property management sector. The platform was launched after its founders went through two unpleasant experiences with property managers.
Christabel is a seasoned retail property manager with over 9 years experience in shopping centre management. Her expertise spans across a portfolio of key shopping centres in Nairobi. She currently holds a MSc. in Real Estate Finance and Investment from the University of the West of England, Bristol. She is a registered Estate Agent and a graduate member of Institution of Surveyors of Kenya. David has over 9 years experience in IT business analysis and project management. He has a wealth of experience in fintech and his passion for innovation has been instrumental in designing the blueprint for Rentpay.
As a tenant, Christabel would often find a heap of piled paperwork consisting of invoices, receipts and statements issued by the caretaker every month that was now becoming a nuisance. As a property manager, most of the tenants were paying rent in installments and she had to obtain bank statements, liaise with accounts to manually receipt who in turn would then send tenant statements to her. This was a tedious process especially for properties with several tenants and the landlord had to solely rely on reports from her.
“It was then that we teamed up to develop a product that could enhance the user experience for both tenants and landlords/property managers. To avoid biases, we conducted a survey to study key pain points for property managers and behavioural patterns of rent payment,” Kimani told TechMoran.com
Kimani adds that Rentpay is designed to address two main issues based on the feedback collected: tenant account reconciliation and automation of property management business processes.
The platform is accessible through https://proptech.co.ke/. Registristration is currently free with an additional 30 day free trial period including an aided onboarding process by the Rentpay team.
The monthly subscription fee is $15 (Kshs. 1,500.00) without a cap on the number of units.
“One of our main goals was to create an affordable platform that can be used by all players namely Landlords, Resident Associations, and Property Management Firms with essential tools of trade,” said Kimani. “The platform is mobile friendly and can be added to your home screen for ease of access.”
Though very promising, Rentpay is not the first to launch in this market. Kenya’s Manyatta Rent tried and was put out of market by Safaricom. KodiPay is trying a different model which aims to help tenants pay their rent in time using installments.
