Ziroom,aChineseappsimilartoAirbnbbutforlong-termrentals,isplanningtouseindividualcreditratingsofusers,ratherthancashdeposits,toauthenticateleasingtransactions.
Thecompany,whichisChina'sfourth-largestonlineresidentialleasingapp,willalsousesmarttechnologiesandbuilt-insmartfurnitureintheroomstheyarehiringout.
"WewillmakeuseofourallianceswithotherfinancialtechnologycompaniessuchasZhimaCredit,aunitofAlibabasubsidiaryAntFinancial,togaugethecreditworthinessofourfuturetenants,"saidXiongLin,chiefexecutiveofficerofZiroom."Clientswithgoodcreditrecordscanrentplaceswithoutpayinganydeposit."
MostoftheChinesehouserentalfirmsusuallychargefivemonths'rentsatonego-onemonthrentasdeposit,threemonthsrentpayableinadvanceandanextraoneasagentfee,posingaheavyburdenfornewtenants.AccordingtoZiroom'sdata,around30percentoftheappuserscanbenefitfromthenewpolicies.
XiongalsosaidZiroomisintalkswithotherfintechcompaniestocreateabiggerdatasharingnetwork.
Ziroomisnotthefirstapp-basedplatformthatischallengingtraditionalindustrialnorms.AntFinanciallaunchedasimilarsystemineightpilotcitiesincludingBeijingandShanghai,allowingqualifiedtenantstoskipthedepositfee.Over1millionhouseswillbelistedonitsplatform.
YanYuejin,ananalystatapropertyinformationproviderE-houseChinaR&DInstitutesaidcreditmanagementhassofarbeenagreyareaintheChinesemarket.
"CompanieslikeAntFinancialandZiroomareintroducingpersonalcreditscoresinthehouse-leasingbusiness.Thiswillcreateanewmechanismandaregulationsysteminthemarket,"Yansaid.
"Suchinnovationwithinthefintechsectormayrockthetraditionalmarket,"saidChenSheng,presidentoftheChinaRealEstateDataAcademy."HouserentalsareanoveratrillionyuanmarketinChinaandthefinancialdataofconsumersisveryvitaltothebusiness."
ButsomeindustryplayersaredoubtfulwhetherthecreditratingsystemwouldimposesufficientsafeguardsasagoodcreditscorefromfintechplayerslikeZhimaCreditdoesnotnecessarilytranslateintosufficientbankcredit.
"Itdoesnotcosttoomuchfortenantstoviolatecontracts,"saidLiuXiang,CEOofUoko.com,aChengdu-basedonlineleasingwebsite."Thepenaltysystemisyettobefurtherexplored.
"Internet-plushouse-leasing"agencieshavebeenonabumpyroadespeciallywhenitcomestocompetingwithbrick-and-mortaragenciesinresidentialareas.Thetraditionalleasingagencieshaveeasyaccesstohousingresourcesandtheabilitytomakequickdeals."
Dingding,anonline-to-offlineappthatwaslaunchedin2015,madeamarketsplashbyclaimingnoagentfees.Itlost200millionyuan($30million)anddidnotmakemuchheadwayinsecuringrealestateresources.Itsparent,Lianjia,China'slargestrealestatebroker,pulledtheplugontheventurein2016.
Someinternet-basedleasingfirmsareusinginnovationtosecureresourcesandattractusers.OnesolutionZiroomhasutilizedhasbeentotakeovertheflatfromthelandlordandfurnishitinanappealingway.
Inthefuture,thecompanyplanstointroducesmartfurniture,suchasfitnessequipmentandtelevisionprogramsthatchargebytheminute.Tenantscanalsousethelaundryonapay-as-you-gobasis.Xiongsaidsuchupgradeswillsuityoungstersandreducethetroubleforinteriordecoration.
However,AndyXu,a27-yearoldpostgraduatewhoiscurrentlylookingforaplaceinBeijingviaZiroom,saidwhilesuchchangeswilleasethelivingburden,itwouldmaketheroomlessofahome.